Goals are always a difficult thing for me. Why? The issue generally comes with flat out forgetting about them. Then once I've missed a goal (especially a daily one), I get irritated that I forgot to do it and then I get depressed. Each time I don't make the goal, I get more and more angry and depressed until the times that I do remember to do it, I get mad and am unhappy. I completely lose the want to do it since it becomes a negative thing.
The best way to try to fix a problem is to find the source. Other than issues I can't fix (bipolar), I believe the source of my problem lies with the way I think about and treat a goal. It's always been a serious thing; make a goal, put on the "serious face", and do it no matter how much it sucks. Needless to say, but making them 'serious business' isn't exactly inspiring and makes it much more disheartening even if I only have a small failure.
Instead of being super serious, I need to take a lighter approach to things. If I forget once or twice or ten times, it's ok, just pick back up where I left off. I also need to make goals that are fun and that are things I want to make habits. Once something is a habit, (or more likely an obsession since OCD tends to stop me from doing anything regularly without being totally obsessed), then it will be easier. I'll do it out of habit with less forgetful-type problems.
With that in mind, I've been setting short term goals for myself (long term are too hard to remember). Pretty much all the goals I have set so far are things I want to make a habit of; things that will better myself and my life.
Health goals:
-Eat around 1200 calories per day and keep a journal record (online one has been started and bookmarked so that I see it every day to remember).
-Exercise for one hour per day (starting slow and working my way up to that one, but daily exercise is the point),
-Go for a twenty minute walk after dinner.
Goals to better myself:
-Study Japanese for thirty minutes to an hour every day. I love the language and I'm a huge anime and manga fan. The added benefits of learning a second language are numerous as well. It never hurts to know a second language and learning one will help exercise the brain.
-Do something creative and fun at least once per week. How does this one better me? Being creative and having fun isn't always the easiest thing for me. I often get stressed out, depressed, pessimistic, etc. Taking time out to just sit and draw or craft or write I believe will help me to relax and lighten up a bit.
If I forget or miss one of these, it's not going to be the end of the world. No matter where it is I want to get, I have to get there one step at a time.
At this moment, in between sentences, I'm actually working on my creative goal by gluing pages of a book together. I've decided I want to try having fun and making one of these (and possibly more if I really enjoy it): http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=247680.0. It's an altered book art journal. They look like a lot of fun. As I'm going along, I'm also trying to make poetry and sentences that I like out of the words on the pages.
I have to admit that coloring, drawing and gluing in a book feels naughty. In a way, it's kind of like I'm making it better and it's still getting used. It still feels bad though, so I am breaking myself in on a book that I got for free, but I don't want, nor do I think many others would either. I'm starting with Bill Crosby's book called Fatherhood, aka one of those books that would sit at Goodwill on the shelf for years. It's been a lot of fun so far. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. If you have an old book, address book, notepad, whatever, and like being creative and having fun, I highly recommend starting an art journal. There are plenty of inspiring pages others have done in the thread I posted up there ^.
By the way, I have to say that I love Craigslist so much. <3 I picked up over 250 books for free from a guy on Craigslist. Almost all of them are fantasy books, which I love. There are some that I have already, but I'm keeping whichever one is in better condition. The hardest part is finding room in our tiny apartment for so many books. LOL! I would love to build shelves in the bedroom on one wall. I'll have to keep an eye out on Craigslist for free hand-held power drills/screwdrivers and free wood planks. Hehe.
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