Friday, July 25, 2008

My Vows

No, I’m not getting married, but I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the changes I want to make in my life. I want to make some vows to myself for the things I am going to do to make my life better.

Health

- I vow to lose 25lbs.

* I already participate in The Active Academic, and have also joined a Twitter Weight Loss Challenge that starts on Monday. This vow will be my focus for the next 12 weeks.

- More long-term I vow to deal with my intense iatrophobia and have check-ups at the doctor, dentist and OBGYN. I also vow to consider returning to therapy (I had a terrible experience in therapy several years ago (I went twice and somehow annoyed my therapist so much she asked me not to return and refused to give me a referral to anyone else, and have been reticent to go back).

- I will cook more often and continue my goal of reducing processed foods in my diet.

* In the past year I have significantly reduced my intake of processed foods, cut out 90% of my soda drinking and started cooking from scratch, but I want to expand on this. First up is making my own pasta sauce.

Financial

- I vow to rebuild my second savings account and get serious about having a financial cushion.

- I also vow to spend the extra money coming to me in October on a trip to California, but to save every penny of my holiday bonus in my second savings account and keep it there.

* I recently got out of debt and now want to take that second step of rebuilding my savings. I vow to go through the last two months of bills and figure out where my disposable income is going and to put myself on a budget.

Social

- I will go out and explore the city more.

*I bemoan that I’m unhappy in NY, but I haven’t truly “lived” here. I don’t go out, I don’t experience the city. Even if it means I sit outside my favorite bar once a week alone and have a martini, I WILL start experiencing life again.

Career(s)

- I vow to give myself a 5 month job hunt reprieve, but to start seriously looking on January 1. When my lease runs out on August 1, 2009, I will NOT renew it.

- During this 5 month hiatus, I vow to focus on my photography/photo editing free-lance work and to continue my Photoshop education that I have recently been neglecting.

Charity

- I vow to continue to give back.

* I will continue to actively participate in the solider pen pal program I am a part of.

Environment

- I vow to continue to do my part for the environment.

* In the past few years I have diligently been recycling, switched to environmentally-friendly cleaning products and bringing my own bags to the grocery store. I will continue with these endeavors. I also hope to start shopping at my local farmer’s market and supporting local businesses where I can.

Personal

- I vow to get over Tennis Guy and to not accept less than I deserve in my personal relationships.

1 comment:

Wendy aka Cheeky said...

Good for you my friend!