New Year's Resolutions (A Little Late)

Here they are then;

1. No drinking alone during the week.
2. No smoking.
3. Save/invest.
4. Give time/money to charity.
5. No men.

So how do you think I'm doing?

I've failed at 1 already. The thing is, I'm ill at the moment and there's the snow and I kind of feel a bit like I have cabin fever and so I went out and got myself a cheeseburger and a beer. Ah well, at least I'm not smoking.

The 'no men' thing has been interesting as it's made it a lot easier to get to know people for their humanity rather than trying to shoe-horn them into a lover, boyfriend, potential husband role and if I'm honest I've been rather enjoying it. Gets a bit tricky when someone of the opposite sex brushes up against you though.. Deprivation just makes those minor encounters all the more vivid.

I've already saved some money (amazing; something I haven't done since I was a child) so you could say that you can tick 3 already. Ditto money to charity.

One of the most interesting things I found about making resolutions is peoples' attitudes. I've found that the happier people in my life have all congratulated me on my choices and said that they're all good things to aim for. My best friend (who seems to be becoming more and more negative as the years go by) said 'why so many? you're setting yourself up to fail' and one of my charming colleagues requested that I email them to her so that she can email me back with the date that I fail.

In 2008 I began to feel less and less inclined to spend my time with people who are negative towards me and towards my efforts to improve myself, my life and also to help other people. When I look back to how I was feeling this time last year I remember being so low that I couldn't see things improving; I didn't believe that I could really change my situation.

Now, I can see how that through my hard work and commitment to my goals I really am turning my life around. I am in less debt, I don't smoke, I'm healthier, happier, I drink much less, I don't take drugs, I don't waste time and money in the company of people who make me feel bad about myself, I don't feel the cloying need to be physically close to someone, I can find different types of emotional fulfillment with different people and no longer seek just one person to offer this. All these positive things I have achieved!

This year, 2009, I've started to try to help other people to do what I did last year; to help them to make the connections that I did between taking control of my life and my happiness. I'll let you know whether I have any success.