I’m generally not one who sets New Year’s resolutions, I’ve always felt that I was just setting myself up for failure. 2017 sucked for so many reasons and over the course of the last few days I’ve decided that I need to take some action.

I don’t know that I’d call what is to follow resolutions as much as aspirations for self improvement. I need to get my mental house in order. I need to get healthy and stay healthy. I need to be a better me. So hello 2018 and hello to a better me.

First, I’m going to stop cheating on my activity rings on my Apple Watch. The only person I’ve been cheating myself by faking workouts to close my rings each day. In 2018 if I don’t close them then I don’t close them. It may seem silly but sometimes the silly things are important too.

To piggyback off my activity rings, I’m going to do thirty minutes of activity a day. Whether it be a walk around Longwood Gardens, a run, some time on the elliptical or a karate class, I’m going to be active daily. I figure doing something everyday will not only help my physical health but it will help my mental health as well.

I’ve found a pretty little notebook and I plan to use it to start a gratitude journal. I started something similar a while back with my #ThreeHappyThings but in typical Mychal fashion I had no follow through. Even on the worst of days there is always something to be grateful for. In 2018 I will use my pretty little notebook to reflect and record what I’m grateful for. I just have to remember to take it with me when I travel.

Speaking of books, I’m going to continue my reading challenge in 2018. In 2017 I read 40 books from February through December. I’ve decided that I’m going to read 45 books in 2018. On a related note, I’ll be posting the second half of my 2017 book list soon. Click HERE for the first half.

Here we go into 2018 with a plan to make it my best year yet. Hell, I’d settle for a small improvement over last year.

How will you make 2018 YOUR best year yet?

Let’s face it, 2014 was rough. It started out looking pretty good but took a quick nosedive.

Taking a look back, it started with a hellacious winter filled with lots of snow, that usually fell while Bill was away, and many days off for the kids. The spring thaw started out awesome with me running in my first and second half marathons in the month of March.

There’s where we take our turn for the worst. I’m sure I’ll be paying off the medical bills that accompanied the process of my diagnoses and subsequent surgery for years to come. Spring was when the bill for Logan’s sleep study finally arrived only adding to the financial strain.

MONTHS of not running was made worse by our little family struggling to acclimate to the new normal as we entered the first full year of Bill’s business.

Summer was sedentary for all of us since Bill had to work and the boys were stuck with a mother who couldn’t even walk let alone drive to take them places. This summer will be the greatest Summer of Mommyland they have ever seen to make up for all the guilt I feel.

Mercifully the fall and holiday season came and went without much fanfare. Of course the stress of buying gifts while trying to whittle down the medical debt made the holiday season extra special.

So here we are, five days into 2015. I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been (without a baby in the belly) and I’m down to the last pair of jeans that fit me before I have to live in activewear. I’m ready to see life turn around.

My hopes for this year are simple, get out from under this debt so we can start building some savings, run injury free, lose the 20ish pounds I gained in 2014 and to make those little daily stressors go the hell away. Yeah, that last one is almost laughable. OK, how about learn to cope with those daily stressors in a better, more effective way. Oh and I’d also like to have my house clean enough that if someone were to pop in unannounced I could offer them a cup of coffee instead of meeting them in the driveway to see what they need before sending them on their way.

I am hellbent and determined to make 2015 my best year yet. Hell, I’ve got a milestone birthday this year so it would be nice to have a great year.

How are you hoping 2015 measures up to 2014 and years past?