Monday, January 3, 2011

It's a Brand New Year

New Year’s Eve 2009 was a pretty lame evening. One of closest friends was recently married the month before and all of my friends and I were all looking to have a fairly low-key and boring night. I ended up spending it with my parents and siblings at the house of one of our family’s closest friends. 

As lame as that night might have made me feel, I still had a strong feeling that 2010 was going to be “my” year! I had just accepted a position at Merrill Lynch, leaving my retail job behind, and I had a feeling that this was the ‘’break’’ that I was looking for needed. A few months after that, I moved out of my parents house, again, and into a one bedroom apartment by myself! Life was good! I officially considered myself a successful, independent woman! There are still a few things that I did not ‘’accomplish’’ last year as I had hoped but I still have a feeling that 2011 is going to be just a good!!

Most people make resolutions but this year I decided to venture down another road of making goals for the year. And to make it permanent, I sat down on NYE night before heading out and I wrote them down! So now I am letting you know as another form of accountability. They are:
  1. To start and complete Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.
I have never been very good at budgeting. When I was younger, it was easier for me because if I didn’t have the green, then I couldn’t spend it! Now I’ve just become lazy in keeping track of my spending and it hasn’t really worked out for me that well! I also have several big purchases that I need to make hopefully in the next year or so. One of them being a new car to replace the one I’ve been driving since I was 17! She’s been good to me, even if she’s missing a few hubcaps, but the inevitable is peeking around the corner.  Plus, I so want to live like no one else now so that I can live like no one else later! I’ve already taken the first step – Mom and I have signed up for his Financial Peace University classes!
  1. To have a closer relationship with God/To pray daily/To start a personal devotion
Growing up in middle school/high school, I was very involved with my church. I went on mission trips, I went on church choir tours, and was very involved with the youth group. There was a combination of things that lead me astray from my daily walk but needless to say, it’s taken me a while to find a happy medium and come back around. Don’t get me wrong, I would not change the way I was raised! I met some of my closest friends during this point in my life and contribute it to the way I am today! I also think that it helped me conclude my own theories on religion and a relationship with God. Towards the end of this last year, I felt a tugging to become involved in a Bible study and now I’m longing for a daily relationship with Him.
  1. To pass the Series 7
After being at Merrill for less than a year, I was offered a promotion. Yay!!! The only stipulation – I have to get serious about the 7. I’ve had the material to study for the 7 for several months now but between weddings and birthdays and holidays, it just felt impossible to study. Well, now the time has come where I really need this now for my job and plus there is a ‘reward’ for passing the exam.   Between this and saving money, I’m going to have a lot of self-discipline in my future!
  1. To become more active/lose some weight
Yes I just admitted that on the internet for everyone and their mother to read. That’s fine! Like everyone, I have my own personal problem areas and I’m ready for them to go away! The constant dieting before a big event is not only tiring but also totally unavoidable! I have also been toying with the idea of running a race. Again, something always comes up and gets in the way of training that I would need to do. To avoid taking on too much too soon! I’m going to forecast a race for the second half of the year. This way I will have worked my fat butt up to a place where I feel comfortable running 3 miles because anyone who knows me knows how much I despise running regardless of how good it is for you!
  1. To be more social and make new friends
I was recently awakened to the real reason of why you don’t want to be the last one in your group of friends to get married: After they get married they are busy starting their lives together and it’s not as easy for them to drop everything and go do something. This is the truth! Within the last year, I have had 3 of my closest friends get married and with that went my social life! It’s no one’s fault, that’s just life! But it occurred to me that I need more people in my life who are, for the time being, in my same stage of life. So…I have decided (between saving money, studying, and working out) that I am going to be more social with my current friends while branching out and meeting new people. I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to go about and do that but I am! 

I read an article this morning from Self magazine telling me that there is a 75% chance of these personal goals lasting a week and only a 40-46% chance of them lasting for six months. Here’s hoping they just made that up and these goals will be completed come this time next year! 

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