History won’t be repeating itself

If history’s repeating itself, you probably have the car in reverse

    ~~ Pa Trails of history advertisement

I don’t know what it was about the quote above that reminded me of New Year’s Resolutions, but it did.

I used to make a resolution or 2 or 10 every January 1st when I was younger.  It just seemed to be expected. Everywhere I turned someone would ask me what my resolution was, so I made sure I was prepared.

In my teens through my 30’s my resolutions were to lose weight, save more money, to find a second and most times third job, and to find a way to be nicer to the people who weren’t so kind to me, give more of myself in my relationships and so on.  Weight loss was a biggie then, and I took it to extremes that almost cost me my life.  Why?  I wanted acceptance.

I no longer make New Year’s resolutions.  I found I just repeated the same ones year after year like a never ending circle.  I would also go on binges right before the New Year.  I’d spend money on things I felt I wouldn’t be able to have if I was going to save everything possible.   Saving money would bring me into good graces with my grandfather who was so tight with his money and thought everyone else should be…a symptom of growing up during the depression.

Weight loss, yep. Between Christmas and the New Year I would eat things that normally I wouldn’t, binging on chocolate and cookies, fast food, anything I thought I’d be depriving myself of shortly. Then I would have the perfect body, as I was supposed to according to the media.  If I held 3 jobs instead of 2 I would be recognized for my hard work ethic.  It was all about being accepted by those I felt I didn’t measure up to, whether real or imaginary.

So now I take the time, now, before the new year to sit and reflect on where my life is, where I want it to go.  Rather than thinking about what others may believe I should be doing, I look into my heart.

So what do I want to see happen in 2013?

• Finish the book I started for my family of my grandmother’s favorite recipes to share with them, little by little, no stress with a deadline.
• Spend the time I can with friends and loved ones
• Continue the path of living lighter which includes reducing my trash and recyclables,  continue to repurpose found objects for others, reducing my footprint and to make even better decisions with what purchases I do make.
• Continue to work on my garden to produce even more of my own food
• Continue to make my apartment feel more like my home

Do I want to lose weight, of course, who doesn’t? 

But instead of making that a goal that I can take to an extreme and feel deprived, I will incorporate more of my homegrown foods to eat better and see what comes, this way it’s a positive goal not a punishment.

Do I want to save more money?

Of course, but I’m not going to stress about it. I did take on the January Money Diet to help me stop and think about where my money goes and set the tone for the year.   I am in a situation where my bills are very little and tend not to watch where my extra money goes each month.  More on that later.

We are coming up on a new calendar year, the key word is NEW.  Why would I want to repeat history and continue to follow the crowd with the same old resolutions I made in the past? I want to build on the past to make this a new and better year.

What about you?  Do you make resolutions and are they different each year? What are you looking forward to in 2013?