Resolutions for a New Year

I love New Year; I always have. For many years it was a time of relief; I would have a whole new year ahead of me that I hadn't messed up yet. I would make all sorts of promises about how things would be different, but things usually ended up pretty much the same. These were during the long period when I was a drunk. By the end of most years I would be looking back at the previous one with shame, but full of hope for the next one. This doesn't happen anymore; well not in the same way. I still look forward with excitement to the New Year, but I have no shame about the previous one. I had a great 2009; in fact every year has been great since I gave up alcohol.

I do still like to make resolutions for the new year. I think that it is important to be always trying to improve my life. This year I have some work goals, and I have also lot of goals in regards to my health. Last year I did a lot to get fit, but the past few weeks has seen some backsliding. The problem is that when I start to allow myself to become unfit I really notice it quickly. I can feel a lack of energy and a general feeling of malaise. Staying fit is not really a choice it has become a necessity. For me health has to be focused on both physical and mental aspects.

One important part of my over all fitness is meditation. It can sometimes feel like my meditation practice is going nowhere; if I miss a few days though, the effect is dramatic. My mind just does not feel right and stress quickly begins to build up. When I meditate after a few days it is like soaking my brain in a hot bath. One of my new year's resolutions for this year is to make sure that I meditate for at least forty minutes a day. I will break these up into smaller sessions, but I want at least on to be longer than twenty minutes. I also want to have a few periods over the year where I practice a bit more intensively. Tai Chi is another thing that I do every day that has both mental and physical benefits.

I have other new year's resolutions are in regards to physical fitness. I want to exercise at least thirty minutes a day, and have one day a week where I do something for at least an hour. I want to vary the exercise so as to get the most benefit. I also want to be a bit stricter with my vegetarian diet and not eat too much dairy. I want to at least reduce my coffee intake and avoid drinking it after six in the evening. I will allow myself the occasional day to eat junk. I plan to only eat fried food once a week. My aim is to keep my weight around 73kg; this seems to be where my body feels the healthiest.

I have two other goals but I have no idea when I'll get around to achieving them; probably not this year. My first is to run a marathon. I only want to do this once and it does seem like a great achievement. My next goal is far more ambitious. I want to train and fight in a Muay Thai match. This is not going to be easy because I turned forty last year. Still, it is important for me to do this one time. One thing that I lost due to my alcohol addiction was my involvement in the martial arts; this would be a great way to get that back.

I am usually quite good for keeping my resolutions at least for the first few months. It always seems near the end of the year when things start to go off kilter. I think writing things down is a great way to keep me focused. When I keep a daily journal it seems to encourage me to keep to my goals; I don't know quite why writing things down makes such a big difference.