Blog Every Day in January: I can't finish things, resolutions and courage (the Cowardly Dog)

Whenever I work out, there is this issue I have. If I am supposed to do 15 reps of something, I do 14. If I'm supposed to do 30, I do 29. Sometimes I tell myself I have to do 31 just so I get every rep in, because something about that last rep is so darn unattainable.

This applies to my "Blog Every Day in January" challenge. I actually did much better on this than anticipated! That being said, I couldn't seem to bring myself to blog Friday or yesterday, so I am finishing up my January posts on Groundhog Day.

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My last three posts included a cause I support and my resolutions. So I will do those and be done with this challenge! (There are two topics I didn't feel like doing, so I just...didn't do them.) It's going to be weird to try to blog without pre-set rules.

A cause I support: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Over the course of my lifetime, whether it be through people I know and love or volunteer efforts, I have seen the effects of domestic violence and abuse. It stays with people. It haunts them. And sometimes people can't, or don't know how to, leave an abusive situation. So this is one cause that has always been important to me. I like the NCADV, but there are a lot of local groups that I like, too. It's a battle worth fighting, and the statistics are staggering. I don't have a lot of money right now, but even if I did, I always enjoy volunteering my time to help. I don't do it nearly enough, but getting to see people and making them smile can make a huge difference. There are times I felt very down or alone, but the kindness of a stranger turned my day, or even my week, around. I think the power of human connection is often forgotten or underrated.

My Resolutions:

I know it's a little weird to end January with resolutions, but I like to give myself a little time to consider the year ahead and decide what I want to do. Plus, my birthday is this week so that feels like more of a new beginning to me than the calendar year. 

I don't make them often. When I do, they tend to be too vague for actual achievement. This year I tried to change them up a bit.

1. Finish two more books. I am publishing a fiction series, but only the first of three books is actually done. Getting going on the other two has been a challenge because I have been so stressed about finding a job. I didn't have much creative energy flowing. Sometimes you just have to sit down and get started. So this year, I'm hoping to get both completed. 

2. Work. Yes, this one is vague. But it doesn't feel that way. It is a loaded resolution. My focus this year is career, so that is the whole underlying theme of 2014.

3. Explore my spirituality. As I get more comfortable with who I am, I am trying to focus on finding out if there is a religion or spiritual path that I can connect with. My family wasn't very religious, so we were allowed to do a lot of our own exploration. (Except I did attend a Catholic School, but Catholicism didn't do it for me.) I am open to pretty much any religion. I have been doing research over the past couple years, and there is one that seems to speak my language. I don't believe that there is one "correct" religion out there. I think it's something each individual has to find on their own. This year I hope to continue seeking out the tools to develop my spirituality. 

4. Do something that scares me. I am a CHICKEN. Ask anyone who knows me. I have no problem speaking in front of an enormous crowd of people, but ask me to go to a bar (someone could drug me!) or go sledding (people die that way!) and I freeze up. My mantra this year is to just try things, and to take risks. It's healthy. I am the human version of "Courage the Cowardly Dog." Also, did anyone else find that show really, deeply creepy??

(I googled Courage the Cowardly Dog memes and found these. Sorry if the first one ruins your childhood.)

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5. Learn to cook a chicken. Or any chicken, really. I always char it! Except the slow cooker, which never chars the chicken. I am learning to love the slow cooker.

6. Finish reading The Count of Monte Cristo. Eventually. 

I have lots of little "eat well, sleep more" kinds of things, but those are always around. 

What are your main resolutions? How do you stay on top of them?

Happy February!