Putting a positive spin on life

A Beautiful Mess has a challenge/idea on her blog to set yourself Four Simple Goals to achieve before the end of the year.

1. choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. choose things you may not otherwise get done, but that are not difficult to accomplish.
2. do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example…. instead of “lose 10 pounds”, choose something like “eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day”. get what i’m saying? positive actions instead of just the end result!
3. choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! they can be daily, weekly or one time experiences.

I found this through Zoot's site this morning, and decided to jump on the bandwagon myself. In a way, I'll be following Zoot a touch more than Beautiful Mess, because I'm going to try and keep these goals to things that aren't usually on my list of "to do by X day". If I did the usuals, it would be modifying the "lose weight" "better mom" "cleaner house" goals, and as they are everpresent, there is no need to rehash.

1. Write for ME at least 1 hour each week. This includes blogging, poetry, lyrics, and my novel.
2. Organize one area of the house each week. This doesn't mean a full room, which could get overwhelming, but simply an area. This week, I'm going to organize my desk. Next week, perhaps the bookshelves or the entry way. Eventually, I'll find the pretty, organized house languishing beneath the clutter.
3. Cook for fun each week. I make meals every day, but its been quite a while since I was able to just pick a random new recipe and set a day to make it. My new goal is to gather all of those recipes I keep wanting to try and just do one each week. It won't overwhelm my shopping budget if I stick to only one specialty buy menu item, and if the Toddler Princess doesn't want to eat it, it's only one meal lost.
4. Look for the positive in each stressor. I have a bad habit of allowing stressors to get to me. I end up with tense shoulders, headaches, bad sleep, fatigue, and a generally grumpy self who then doesn't present the best of herself to the people who matter most (Toddler Princess and Hubband). I'm aiming not to eliminate stress (which would be kind of like eliminating all crime at one fell swoop--impossible), just to take each stressor of my life and find the positive. Like... a side project I've taken on that was to be done by the end of June and is still lingering on taking far more of my time than advisable. Well, the positive? I'm getting a good bit of extra money in August that I never expected! There. :-) One goal done!

Actually, just in writing this post, I have accomplished 2 of my goals. And that's a positive spin on the loss of an hour of work time!

See you soon...