Today I am thankful for… bullets

No, not those kinds of bullets. I mean the bullets you use to organize lists in documents on your computer. The ones where you can pick if you want to be a circle or a square or a checkbox or one of those sassy Wingding options.These little symbols helped me organize my otherwise scatterbrained thoughts to create:

 

• the resume that helped me get my internship which resulted in an 11+ year career
• numerous grocery lists so I don’t wander the aisles buying unnecessary items
• printed turn by turn directions from mapquest before the all-knowing-GPS
• ideas for poems and stories and blog posts
• detailed recipes with ingredients for friends and family from Jessica’s Kitchen
• our packing list for trips so we wouldn’t have to buy an iPhone charger (again)

Confession: sometimes I use bullets that are checkboxes already filled with a checkmark so I can feel a sense of accomplishment before I even start 🙂

But today I used the bullets to finalize my 2014 “resolutions”. To be truthful, I’m not a fan of making resolutions. It almost feels like a dirty word that should be bleeped out from all verbal and written communications. A lazy word representing wishes without action, hopes without plans, and a buzzword to fill the interwebs with self help articles just to boost a site’s google ranking. So rather than use my trusty bullets for such an endeavor I have instead created what I call my mission statement for 2014.

I will…

• Reintroduce gratitude and thankfulness
• Reduce the clutter
• Create new learning experiences
• Respect the body God gave me

But as you know, lofty goals like these will remain nothing more than wishes unless you detail out the daily actions you plan to take to get there. A fitness coach I follow on Facebook shared this the other day about weight loss goals but I think it can apply to just about anything:

 “… people fail because they choose things that they actually have very little direct influence over… losing weight is not a behavior. Losing weight is an outcome not an action. Making that resolution sounds good, but it doesn’t address at all what you actually need to DO… rather than simply listing the outcomes you want to achieve, resolve to perform a list of ACTIONS that will bring about those outcomes. Then, when you begin execute those actions with consistency, the outcomes you’re hoping for will gradually begin to appear.” – Coach Mark from Lean Bodies Consulting

While I agree completely with the quote above I will spare you my step by step bullet by bullet details of how I plan to accomplish these lofty goals and just give you a few highlights, so you can be a part of the group that holds me accountable (if you so choose).

Reintroduce gratitude and thankfulness

• Focus my blog on this topic only. Write at least twice a week.

Reduce the clutter

• Each month go through one area in the house like an episode of hoarders and identify items to donate and throw away.
• Outsource or stop doing things in my life that fill up my calendar and steal time away from deeper relationships with God, my husband, my family, my church and my friends.

Create new learning experiences

• For myself: read a non-fiction book every month that has nothing to do with my profession and is different than the month before
• For others: this one if confidential. If you get an invitation, now you’ll know why J

Respect the body God gave me

• 80% of what I consume will be real food. Not processed.
• At least 3 days a week I will go to the gym and either lift weights or do burst training.

So thank you Jesus for bullets.

• For lists and a mind that can see a multitude of directions and organize them into a path.
• For the desire to grow and become a woman who is better than I was yesterday.
• For the resources to accomplish each task.
• For a husband and small group that hold me accountable.
• For the challenges that build character.

Help me fulfill my first bullet and tweet @journalynn what you are #thankful4 today