This New Year's Day is a first - well, obviously, it is the first of January, but for me it is the first New Year's Day in ages that I am approaching differently. 

Normally, I wake up and rush around to get my weight and measurements so that I can get started on a new diet and exercise regimen...tomorrow. Later in the day, I tell my friends and family about my resolutions for the year, refusing to acknowledge that you really can't successfully change 900 things about yourself all at the same time. Within a week, I will have abandoned most of the resolutions and either abandoned or changed the new diet. It's not really a very positive cycle to start a new year.

Rather than continue the cycle that doesn't work, I've decided to do things in a fresh manner this year. Over the last month, I have spent lots of time reflecting about my life, my very good life. The areas that I want to improve are the same areas I've been working on for a while.  Why in the world would I want to abandon those efforts and "start all over"? 

So on that note, I started today the way I want to continue the year. I did my very best to focus on positive aspects of everything that happened, rather than fixating on the things that were not as pleasant. Obviously, today it was pretty easy to do that. Everyone around me is working on their resolutions, or sleeping off their New Year's Eve celebrations so I didn't have too many distractions from my good vibes.

I cleaned my kitchen. I wiped off a couple of cabinets and decided that I will pick one day in the next month to really clean the kitchen. Not going to assign that to the girls, I will do it myself, and be satisfied with the finished product. I walked with my dog, Joe. He was much more excited about the car ride, which reminded me that I too need to appreciate the journey, not just the destination. I argued with my husband. I know that doesn't sound like a positive, but we argued this particular issue all the way through to a solution.  I fixed dinner for my family. It wasn't complicated or fancy, but it was wonderful to eat together at the table. 

It is a good start to the new year. I am not stressed by already missing a self imposed deadline. I have no plans to change anyone else, but I am feeling strong about making some little changes to myself!