2022 Resolutions & Word of the Year

New Year Resolutions

My 2022 New Year resolutions will be the same as my resolutions in previous years, as they still apply:

Resolution 1:  Continue to pursue good health by keeping all medical appointments, taking my prescribed medications, eating a healthier diet (more vegetables and complex carbohydrates, less refined sugar), drinking enough water and staying hydrated, increasing my activity levels to build up stamina and strength,  and getting sufficient sleep.

Resolution 2:  Better time management by procrastinating less and attending to things right away and getting them done.

Resolution 3:  Be more organized by decluttering, having a place for everything and making a habit of keeping/putting back everything in its place.

Resolution 4:  Be more positive by focusing on accomplishments.

Resolution 5:  Maintain a balanced life, by paying attention to all the different areas of my life.

I plan to continue to incorporate my New Year's resolutions into my Monthly Balanced Life Goals to make sure they are worked on throughout the year.  The monthly balanced life goals are how I plan to implement my annual resolutions.  Resolution 1 (good health) is incorporated in the Health and Well Being segment; Resolution 2 (time management) is incorporated in the Time Management segment; Resolution 3 (being more organized) is incorporated in the House segment; Resolution 4 (being more positive) is incorporated in the Spiritual segment, and Resolution 5 (a more balanced life) is incorporated into the monthly goals for a balanced life.

Word of the Year

My 2021 Word of the Year was Upeksha/Equanimity.  I hoped to respond to events in a composed, balanced manner.  I think I was able to manage that for the most part.

My 2022 Word of the Year is a word suggested to me by my daughter: Resilient: able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.  I hope that, in 2022, I will be resilient as circumstances continue to evolve around me.

Monthly Balanced Life Goals: December Review and January Goals

My monthly balanced life goals are similar to the spokes of a wheel, with the length of each spoke representing my satisfaction in that area of my life, from 1 to 10, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied.  Ideally, all the spokes are of equal length and the wheel will roll along smoothly.  If the spokes are of unequal lengths, then, the resulting wheel will be lop-sided and wobbly.  My ratings for each segment are shown within the parentheses, with the beginning of the month ratings in black and the end of the month ratings being shown in blue.

Monthly goals:

Spiritual (10)(10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:

- Continue with daily prayers, meditation, being grateful, positive, and joyful

- Continue to cultivate non-attachment by being generous and giving to the extent I am able

I continued with my daily prayers, meditation, being grateful; I have tried to be positive, generous, and joyful.  I was also able to talk with the monks at the Temple and have booked a date to have an almsgiving in the first week in January!  I feel that I do live a spiritually meaningful life and I am very pleased with this area of my life!

I will continue to keep the rating at 10.

January Spiritual  goals will include the almsgiving, scheduled for January 5.  My daughter has offered to do all the cooking and she will help me with the rest of the preparations, too.  It will be a much scaled back event, due to Covid precautions, but, I am looking forward to it.  

House (8.5)(8.5):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:
- Clean - Clean the house as needed 
- Organize - Continue to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
- Well maintained - Keep "erasing the evidence"; implement daily and weekly cleaning schedules
- Decluttered - Continue with the decluttering process

 

The house was cleaned and decorated for Christmas,.  I kept the house maintained for the most part, but, last minute holiday gift making and wrapping created messes that need to be cleared!  Decluttering went well, even with new items (mostly clothes) coming into the house!  I exceeded my goal of decluttering 31 items this month and about 8 bags of donations were picked up by a charity.

I am keeping my rating at 8.5.  

January House goals will be the same as above, with putting away the holiday decorations and getting the house ready for the almsgiving being the focus.  I am planning to continue with the decluttering in January, too; the goal is at least 31 items! 

Garden (9.5)(9.5):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week

- Focus on the winter vegetable and fruit plants

The garden continues to thrive, with Mother Nature doing most of the watering for me!  The lemon trees are full of fruits, the orange tree has fruits ripening, and I've harvested the first peapods.  

I am keeping the rating at 9.5, because the garden has been doing quite well.    

January Garden goals will include:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week
- Focus on the winter vegetable and fruit plants

Daughter (10)(10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her:

- Continue to enjoy the rest of the time together before she has to go back
- Take her to get her booster dose
- Do more fun (safe) activities together (some craft projects, painting, etc.)

- Celebrate the holidays (Christmas and New Year) together

I have continued to enjoy having my daughter home with me; we celebrated her being home for a whole year, just before Christmas!  I took her to get her booster dose and fussed over her while she recovered from the side effects!  Fun activities included making our traditional holiday love cake and having some of her friends over to dinner one night.  We celebrated Christmas and New Year's Eve together and I hope it is something we can continue to do for many years to come.

I am keeping the rating at 10!

January Daughter goals will include:

- Continue to enjoy the rest of the time together before she has to go back (not sure when, but, probably at the end of this month or beginning of February)

Family & Friends (10)(10):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends:

- Regular phone calls and emails to check on them
- Attend aunt's memorial service

I interacted with family and friends mainly through phone calls, emails, texts, etc.  But, there were also more in person interactions in December, than in previous months, with me attending aunt T's memorial service and giving cousin P a ride, visiting cousin R a week or so later, attending a family gathering for Christmas (and giving P a ride), picking up bags of new-to-us clothing from cousin P, and curbside visits with friend R.  There was, also, the exchange of food with friends from time to time!    LOL.

I am keeping the rating at 10.  

January Family and Friends goals will include:

- Regular phone calls and emails to check on them
- Have friend R over to lunch (when we are having the almsgiving)

- Visit friend A when her health permits

Community (10)(10):  The goal is to be involved in my community:

- Continue to participate in the various community groups to the extent possible in the following ways:

  - Participate in the blogging community

  - Participate in the online organizing group

  - Weekly phone calls with neighbor T
  - Participate in temple events when safe to do so

I participated in the blogging community and interacted with my neighbors, exchanging holiday gifts with them, etc.  I'm keeping the rating at 10.

January Community goals will be the same as above!

Finances (10)(10):  The goal is financial security:

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose; the big expenses this month will be paying the homeowner's and earthquake insurance for next year (due at the end of the month) and holiday gifts, although I budget for that, year round. 

I continued to budget and spend as mindfully as possible in December.  I paid the homeowner's and earthquake insurance.  I haven't run the numbers for the whole year, yet, but, I stayed within budget for the most part and didn't incur any debt, so I am content!   

I am keeping the rating at 10.

January Financial goals:

- Set up my budget for the year

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose  

Health & Well Being (8.0)(8.0):  The goal is good health:

- Focus on continuing to improve my health
- Focus on diet and hydration

- Go for a blood test towards the end of the month

My health goals are on-going.  I had my blood test done at the end of the month and the results were mostly good, but, I need some further testing based on a couple of results.  I have told myself that I am not going to worry about it until the further tests are done (my doctor will put in the requests and I will be notified by the insurance company when they are authorized).  Until then, however, I will do what I can to maintain a healthier lifestyle.  

I am keeping the satisfaction rating at 8.0 on the strength of the good portions of the blood test results.

January Health and Well Being goals

- Focus on continuing improve my health

- Focus on diet and hydration

- Go for my mammogram (scheduled for January 7)

- Take another blood test (prior to appointment with the oncologist)

- Oncologist appointment (scheduled for January 27)

Time Management (7)(7): The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner:
- Spend time purposefully, mindfully

- Continue to focus on making my schedule work for me

- Procrastinate less

The good news is, I am getting things done on time.  The bad news is, I still procrastinate and, as a result, there is a lot of last minute rushing around!  This is another area with much room for improvement!  Therefore, I will keep the rating at 7.  

January Time Management goals are the same as above.  

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care (10)(10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Engage in daily joyful activities, with the focus on getting the holiday gifts done!

I engaged in daily joyful activities in December.  They've included making holiday gifts, chatting with family and friends, attending a Christmas get together with family, having friends visit, etc.  I am keeping the rating at 10.  

January Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care goas include:

- Resuming piano lessons (second week in January)

- Continue with craft projects that are in progress
- Participate in the Monthly Photo Challenge and the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt
- Watch some videos with my daughter

December has been another good month, overall.  My ratings remained the same as nothing improved or got worse that dramatically.  Health/Well Being and Time Management will continue to be the focus areas in January, too.      

Anyone else making New Year's Resolutions and monthly goals for a more balanced life?  Do you choose a word of the year?