I resolute to.... be better

Ah, a new year. A clean slate, a fresh start, and a billion resolutions all jumping eagerly at your fingertips and waiting to be chosen. 

I've thought a lot about resolutions this year (I was in a car for over 24 hours to Colorado and back...I was basically forced to think about resolutions!). And while I love a good list of resolutions - because I love a good list of anything - I kept finding a common theme among my thoughts. 

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To just be better. 

Better at what? Well, all of it. I want to be a better Christian, be a better girlfriend, be a better daughter, sister, dog mom, friend, aunt, coworker, blogger - all of it. The bottom line is I just want to be better than I was yesterday. 

I think a lot of us, and I'll admit to being your fearless ring leader, set some extremely lofty goals around the new year. And why wouldn't we? We have a 12-month timeline to accomplish those goals. In the early days of January that seems like a for.e.ver long time to accomplish pretty much anything and everything. 

But then life sets in. 

Yeah. Life. That thing. 

And then you get to June and you haven't even started, or have started and failed and restarted 6 times (I'm looking at you "healthy diet"). But that's okay! Cause you still have six more months! And then life finds us again, and the next thing you know you're sitting around the Christmas tree and thinking about what resolutions you're going to ring in the following week. It's a vicious cycle people.

So that's when I decided to limit my scope. I don't want to look at a 12-month timeline. And a few months out of last year I did monthly goals, and even that was taxing (and I found myself cramming my goals in the last few days of every month). So now I'm looking at it day by day, and with no set list. I don't need blueprints for this one. Just be better. 

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Whenever you have five minutes to yourself to "reflect" each day - which is likely first thing in the morning or right before your head hits the pillow - just think about one thing you could do better tomorrow. And we're not talking about moving mountains, saving endangered species, or re-inventing the wheel. Refer back up to the discussion of "lofty goals." I'm just talking about being incrementally better. Baby steps. 

It could be eating eggs and fruit instead of chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. 

It could be not getting road rage when someone cuts you off on your commute. 

It could be actually communicating when your significant other asks what's wrong and you would normally say "nothing." (Which we all know in girl terms means "you best start guessing"). 

It could be letting your dog stop, sniff, and winkie on every tree instead of yanking the leash to get a move'on.

It could be taking the $5 you would spend on a fancy latte at Starbucks and putting it in a piggy bank (which is by no means a recommendation - I fully support lattes)

But it's just the little things. 

And there will be some days where we will wake up in the morning, strive to be better, and end up being way worse than we were the day before. We're human. Failure is expected. But you know what the beauty of this is? It's only a 24-hour window before you can strive to be better again. 

So no bullet points. No lists. No goals, to-dos, or lofty resolutions. 

I just want to be better than I was yesterday. 

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And before I leave you today (to go be better, of course), I have to give a shout out to my absolute favorite person on the planet. Because JEFF TURNS THIRTY TODAY!!! 

I'm dating an old man folks. Is there a 'girlfriends of geriatrics' support group out there? 

And because your birthday isn't your birthday until someone makes you a collage on social media - I shall also incorporate this little gem into my shout out :)

Y'all. I can't say enough wonderful things about this man. (Is he officially a man now? Thirty = man, right?) I just can't get enough of him. He, and his dimples, are the absolute best part of each and every one of my days. 

And now I'm getting all mushy and sappy and stuff so that's just going to have to be enough of that :)

Until next time,
Katy