I know it’s such a cliche thing to say, but it is simply insane that it has been a year since I wrote my 2018 New Years Resolutions.

So how did I do? Well….great in some, ok in a few and not so good in others.

1. Improve my fitness.

Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t have started with this one…

I pushed myself way out of my comfort zone this year. I did gym classes I thought I would never be brave enough to do and even had a few personal training sessions. That being said, I am currently sitting here even less fit and healthy than I was this time last year!
So although I did push myself to try new things, they didn’t exactly stick.

You’ll not be surprised that this same resolution has made it on my list again this year but only because I do really love to exercise, not because it’s January and I’m jumping on the band wagon.
Have a read of my resolutions for this year to see how I plan on aiming for a bit more success.

2. Eat less meat

I have considerably cut down the amount of meat I’ve eaten over the last year. It’s been really great trying out loads of new recipes and upping my veg intake, all while doing my bit for the environment.
This Lent I am actually going to go Vegetarian, which is going to be seriously tough!

3. Mindfulness

Another success! Meditation has been good to me this last year when things have got stressful or I’ve struggled to sleep.
The Insight Timer App has been an amazing find. I will 100% be continuing this over 2019 and beyond.

4. Read More

I’ve just had a look at my Kindle and I think I only read 4 books last year! I listened to 3 audio books so lets count them and make it 7. There is also a series of books, which refuses to end and I read part of one of them so lets round it up to 7.2.
I read 7.2 books.
I’m actually quite surprised by that - I was sure I’d read more!
Three of them were down to an online book club I joined (all three not great books) and the other was a Stacey Dooley book (Women on the Front Line Who Fight Back - great book)
I got three Kindle books for Christmas and I started to read an old one (with actual paper pages!) a few days ago so hopefully i’ll beat that total in 2019.

5. Make my dog like people

Yea, she still hates people and dogs when she’s on the lead. Completely my fault - I didn’t put the work in so can’t complain. This one is 100% coming with me to 2019 because I need to work on this for both her and my sakes.

6. Send cards to friends on their birthdays and anniversaries.

Did I manage every one of these? No. Did I do more than I thought I would? Definitely!
I think I made it to about August before I took my eye off the ball, which I am actually very proud of! I don’t think I’m a card sending convert but I will still try and remember those important dates this year.

I think it’s important for me to finish by saying that although I may say at times that I have ‘failed’ at a resolution, I am in no way downhearted or hard on myself for not doing as well as I hoped.

I am the type of person who thrives off of having these little goals throughout the year. I enjoy the challenge and even when I don’t quite meet my goals, I have still enjoyed trying.

All of my resolutions are things that I really want for myself, rather than things that I feel I should aim for because someone else has made me feel that way.

I exercise because I love it, I read because it helps me switch off from work, I eat less meat because I’m conscious of the impact on the earth and I send cards because getting nice post will never stop being fun.

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