New Year's resolution

New Year. New Year's resolution. For most this is roughly about the time of year when all those well-intentioned promises start to fall by the wayside. (Of course, that is provided you've made any at all) Generally, the resolutions that people make at the beginning of the year are just half-arsed attempts to fool themselves for a little while that they can be better, do better, or just fit into that one pair of jeams that they've desperately been clinging onto in the hopes that one day soon they'll miraculously wake up and discover they've no longer got three chins, fat thighs, and a muffin top!

The reality is though that they don't really want it, or more importantly, they're not prepared to work for it. If you take it seriously, the whole point of a resolution is to not only identify something in your life that you are not happy with, but change it. But change does not come easy in most cases. Changing habits and lifestyles does not come by merely recognising that things need to be different. They come through hardwork, dedication, and willpower.

For the past two years I have made a real effort with my New Year's resolutions, I've treated them seriously and really put a lot of thought into them. The first year I decided that I needed to go out and make some new friends. Moving to the other side of the world was (relatively) easy, but putting yourself out there to meet new people and make new friends is a bit more of a challenge. So, I went along to a local community meeting and while there I met three new people who I've now become great friends with. I got more involved with the community and I even started kickboxing at the local hall! Resolution number one ... check.

So having made some new friends my resolution last year was a common one. I needed to lose weight and become healthier. Sound familiar? For me though, losing weight was more to do with self-confidence and self-esteem. I knew that shifting ten years' worth of excess weight was not going to be easy but I knew that if I could do it, then I would feel so much better about myself. It was really hard work and the first three days of 'healthy eating' were torturous as I had to wean myself off of my one true love (chocolate) and start to make a conscious effort to eat better foods and make better choices. This, combined with an extra kickboxing lesson a week, and I started to see some results. I took a good 8 months but I have managed to lose 15kg and keep it off. I'm well on my way. Resolution number two ... check.

The problem is that now that I'm spending all this time socialising and exercising (as well as full-time uni), I seem to have lost focus of what's most important in my life. My family. So this year's resolution is simply 'Family'. Spending more time together and doing the things that families should. Of course this will be no easy task as there are some very bad habits that need to be broken, but I'm sure that with a bit of persistence I can make it work. Of course there needs to be a balance between them all, it's finding that balance that is the tricky part. Sunday is now 'Family Day' and it's a day where we all just hang out together. We play board games, watch a movie, go bowling, take a walk round the lake, or whatever else takes our fancy. We don't spend it cleaning, doing jobs or sat with our faces glued to a computer screen.

So it's the end of January and we are still going strong. The TV is off and I'm about to go and play cars with Caillan, vroom vroom xx