Guest Post from Hilary Weeks, " I will and I won't"

 I loved this so much when I read it that I thought it warranted some plagiarism. Although I am going to give full credit to Hilary Weeks for writing it. Its a great way to look at goals for the New Year and good way to attack good and bad habits we want to work on.

I Will and I Won’t

 It has been 226 days since my last blog post. 226. That’s a lot of days. Too many. I have some really good excuses for why I didn’t blog. But they are uninteresting so we won’t dwell on them. I’m ready to move forward and blog again! 

 Just a couple of months ago I was doing some much needed ironing. (Do you let the ironing pile up too?) The stack of wrinkled clothes was high and deep – I was gonna be hanging out with the ironing board for a while. My mind somehow wandered ahead to 2014, goal-setting and New Year’s resolutions. Before I could mentally list the usual goals (lose some weight, study the scriptures more, be nicer…) an idea popped into my head.

 It was simple – I Will & I Won’t.

 As I pressed my husband’s golf shirt, I decided to approach the New Year a little differently. Each day, for one month, I will do something and I won’t do something. I brainstormed ideas. Possibilities flowed like the steam streaming from the iron. 

 Here are a few of the ideas I am excited about: For the month of January my “I Will” is to set a mini-goal each day and accomplish it. Recently I’ve lost my confidence in setting and actually achieving goals. I’m not sure if I believe I can set a goal and stick with it over a long period of time. But, I know I can set a one-day-mini-goal and I will see it through. 

 Some of my mini-goals during the first week of January have included: 

writing a thank you card, 

writing a missionary from our ward, 

sending an email regarding my calling as Cub Scout Den Mother, 

and choosing a new book to read. 

 Simple. 

Accomplishable. 

 What is my “I Won’t” for the month of January? 

 It’s a good one. 

 I won’t overeat. 

 I will not stuff myself to the point of having to unbutton my pants, loosen my belt or change into sweatpants. I will only eat to the point of feeling satisfied. It has been hard. I am definitely in the habit of overeating. I love to eat. I don’t want to stop. When something tastes good, it only seems right to continue until there isn’t one millimeter of space left in my stomach. The greatest challenge to sticking with this came last Saturday when our family ate at the Cheesecake Factory. That food is good. And plentiful. But I walked out of the restaurant feeling satisfied and in control. It was worth it. Each day as I have left food on my plate, I have estimated the number of calories I did not eat. My guess is I have walked away from 1,760 calories in just 9 days. If I keep that up, I will have saved myself a pound’s worth of calories (3,500) in no time. 

 I’m having so much fun with I Will and I Won’t! 

I am already thinking about what I’ll choose to do in February. 

 Blog to you soon, Hilary 

 P.S. My goal for today was to blog. Check.

MY "I WILLS & I WON'TS"

I Will:

do something good for my health every day

workout

eat clean

read a book a month

more meaningful prayer

temple time

serve outside my family

study scriptures

blog 

cook for my family more

I Won't:

eat sugar

eat whites

linger in bed

complain

say negative things about others

say negative things TO others

Ill probably add to the list as I go but that is a great start.