About this Blog -- New Year's Resolutions and Living a Fuller Life

So, it's the new year, 2010, a new decade, and time to make resolutions.

My resolutions in the past have been the usual suspects--exercise five days a week, go vegetarian, stop drinking pop, et cetera, and the only one I ever kept was to stop drinking pop (I quit for about six years, and now only drink it rarely). I thought for this year I wanted to make a resolution that I could keep, and then I amended that to making a resolution that I wanted to keep. So I decided that this year, I would commit to learning and/or doing one new thing every day.

This idea came on New Year's morning when I decided to make biscuits from scratch (a first for me), and discovered that I didn't have a rolling pin. I was upset at first, considered just throwing away the dough that I had already kneaded, but then decided that I didn't have enough money to replace the ingredients I would have been wasting, and anyway if I didn't make them now I probably never would. So I found a giant can of baked beans and used it as a rolling pin instead. And it worked! The biscuits kind of sucked anyway, but I was so proud of myself for not giving up and having my lack of proper kitchen utensils ruin my morning. I went on facebook later that day and updated my status about "the first new thing learned this year," and the rest is history!

I think potentially this resolution could devolve into me googling something I don't know just before midnight on some nights because I didn't want to break the resolution, so I also decided to attach it to a vision for myself and think about why I wanted to learn and do new things--what benefit would I get out of it? Here's what I came up with:

1. I will step out of my comfort zone (by learning how to grill food, or relearning how to drive stick shift, for example)
2. I will step out of my comfort zone (by admitting that I don't know everything, by asking questions, and making mistakes)
3. I will lead a more adventurous life; I will take mroe risks
4. I will continue to learn, and not just academically
5. I will do the things I always thought about (needlepointing, knitting, dance, more cooking)
6. I will be more present and engaged with my life and the world around me

By having these purposes backing me up, I will be less likely to quit or forget my resolutions. So it's not just about learning new stuff, but about living a life of adventure, power, and engagement.

So I will be posting every day (or at least every week) about the things I've been learning and the adventures I've been going on during this new year. I am keeping track of the things I learn (on my phone, notecards, journals, my computer, my hand... just about anywhere!) and I will be sharing them with you. I hope I can inspire others to learn and do new things, and I hope you all will comment on my posts and inspire me!

~Monica