“The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low, and we reach it.” ~ Michelangelo
Last year, I shared that each December, my husband and I update our family mission statement, vision, and goals for the new year. (For the post, click here.)
We do this instead of New Year’s Resolutions because we all know what happens to those. How many regular gym goers notice that the classes are packed, the machines in full use, and the parking lot fuller in January? Then the resolutions fade and it is back to usual habits. So, this year, consider goal-setting for the year and reassessing them at the end of the year to understand what you accomplished and where you fell short.
Last year we added a goal of being more active volunteers in our community; something that was harder to achieve when we were working full time. I volunteered to deliver a series of nutrition classes at the local YMCA, talked to high school sports teams about nutrition, and became active in Friends of Library to support our local county library. My husband just finished his term as president of the local Kiwanis chapter and worked on projects to benefit the youth in our town.
This year, we added a few more goals:
- To plan our meals for the week and shop our pantry before making weekly menus and grocery store lists. We think this will help reduce food waste (which is a big problem in the U.S.; consumers throw away 15-25% of all food purchased!) I wrote about food waste last January and here is a link to the post for more tips on reducing food waste and saving money.
- Eat seafood twice a week; a recommendation made by major health organizations, but we fall short on that.
- Eat more plant-based meals. We’ve never excluded meat from our diets, but this year we want to eat more fish and seafood and plant-based meals. Stay tuned for a future blog post featuring Sharon Palmer, The Plant-Powered Dietitian. I’ll be using loads of her recipes in 2019!
- Plan our exercise for each week. We are good about regular exercise, but if we put it on our calendars we are more likely to do it.
So, this year, instead of making new year’s resolutions, make a family mission statement for solutions for all that you value.
