We've officially made it through the first month :)
As promised, I worked SO hard these past seven days to make them the best of January. Overall, I think I was pretty successful (Okay, so I may have said something about Nicki Minaj having a rather large backside...besides that, spotless!). I think it really has showed me how much time I spend (waste) talking about other people. It definitely wasn't easy though. Thoughts about January, anyone?
So, it's February. And I've just spent the last hour mercilessly Facebook stalking. Why, you ask? Well, we've decided to go with a little alliteration for this month. That's right, it's February without Facebook.
I'm a little afraid that this is going to scare some of our followers away...but I hope that you all will join, even if it's just for a day. I waste so much time on Facebook. Especially now that I'm in college. So as difficult as these next 28 days may be (see, it's a short month!) I think it will actually be good for me to get some work done. Ideally, anyway.
Is it crazy? Unrealistic? Impossible? Maybe. A challenge? Absolutely. But who doesn't love a good challenge?
36 minutes in....happy February everyone!
-Erin
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
January 24th. Twenty-four days in to our "year without," and I can't help but feel like I should be better at this by now.
My first week back at school I honestly thought I did pretty well (that is, I didn't have any huge venting sessions with my roommate or sister...). Feeling like maybe I was going somewhere with this, I went into week #2 with high hopes. Never in my little idealist, optimistic mind did I ever expect an awful, embarrassing dinner disaster on Tuesday night to completely change my pace. But it happened. And I was not prepared.
I won't get into the gruesome details, but I was pretty much humiliated by a guy that I had been kind of seeing last semester. So I basically spent the rest of the week venting with my roommate about what I would do to this guy the next time I saw him (slap, spit, vomit, kick, you name it). And when she wasn't around to listen, I was constantly thinking about it. On average, I spent about 23 hours and 59 minutes of the next three days in total and complete negativity.
And now I sit here writing this, feeling SO lame. Really, Erin, you're going to let some guy completely wreck this good thing you've got going? Really, you're going to let some stupid, insignificant event take complete control of your thoughts? Yes. That's exactly what I've done.
I'm sad to say that although my anger and insane resentment towards this guy has subsided a little, it hasn't been the best few days. But I'm making a vow now to make the last seven days of January my best of the month. Appropriate, since tomorrow will be exactly one week since the my breakdown. Bring it on, Tuesday.
-Erin
My first week back at school I honestly thought I did pretty well (that is, I didn't have any huge venting sessions with my roommate or sister...). Feeling like maybe I was going somewhere with this, I went into week #2 with high hopes. Never in my little idealist, optimistic mind did I ever expect an awful, embarrassing dinner disaster on Tuesday night to completely change my pace. But it happened. And I was not prepared.
I won't get into the gruesome details, but I was pretty much humiliated by a guy that I had been kind of seeing last semester. So I basically spent the rest of the week venting with my roommate about what I would do to this guy the next time I saw him (slap, spit, vomit, kick, you name it). And when she wasn't around to listen, I was constantly thinking about it. On average, I spent about 23 hours and 59 minutes of the next three days in total and complete negativity.
And now I sit here writing this, feeling SO lame. Really, Erin, you're going to let some guy completely wreck this good thing you've got going? Really, you're going to let some stupid, insignificant event take complete control of your thoughts? Yes. That's exactly what I've done.
I'm sad to say that although my anger and insane resentment towards this guy has subsided a little, it hasn't been the best few days. But I'm making a vow now to make the last seven days of January my best of the month. Appropriate, since tomorrow will be exactly one week since the my breakdown. Bring it on, Tuesday.
-Erin
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Okay, this is a little pathetic.
I haven't even been back at school for 24 hours and I've already broken this resolution a least a dozen times. I'd like to think I'm pretty self-aware, but I never realized how much talking about other people dominates my conversations until I really listened to myself talk. I'm a firm believer that everyone needs at least one trusted friend to confide in and vent to, but maybe that's really not such a good idea. I don't know. I tend to get annoyed really easily, but for goodness sake I don't want to be that girl-- ya know, the one complaining about other people and pinpointing the bad qualities of everyone around all the time.
How is everyone else doing? What is keeping your words and thoughts kind?
<3 Em
I haven't even been back at school for 24 hours and I've already broken this resolution a least a dozen times. I'd like to think I'm pretty self-aware, but I never realized how much talking about other people dominates my conversations until I really listened to myself talk. I'm a firm believer that everyone needs at least one trusted friend to confide in and vent to, but maybe that's really not such a good idea. I don't know. I tend to get annoyed really easily, but for goodness sake I don't want to be that girl-- ya know, the one complaining about other people and pinpointing the bad qualities of everyone around all the time.
How is everyone else doing? What is keeping your words and thoughts kind?
<3 Em
Friday, January 7, 2011
One Week In
So, after a week of January resolution, I'm sad to say that I haven't been doing as well as I would have liked...pretty sad, right?
At the beginning of the week, I was almost thinking maybe this was going to be easier than I thought (ha), but after lunch with some old friends on Wednesday, it was far too easy to gossip about what everyone we knew had been up to recently. It wasn't necessarily bad things...but definitely some that could have gone unsaid.
Oh well. I guess that's what this blog is for, right? Keeping us accountable. Emily and I have a secret saying that we (lovingly) state when we hear the other saying something that maybe she shouldn't: "Remember, it's January."
I guess next week I'll be saying that to myself since I'll be back at school. Anyways, I hope everyone else is doing well with January resolution if you've decided to join in! More soon!
-Erin
At the beginning of the week, I was almost thinking maybe this was going to be easier than I thought (ha), but after lunch with some old friends on Wednesday, it was far too easy to gossip about what everyone we knew had been up to recently. It wasn't necessarily bad things...but definitely some that could have gone unsaid.
Oh well. I guess that's what this blog is for, right? Keeping us accountable. Emily and I have a secret saying that we (lovingly) state when we hear the other saying something that maybe she shouldn't: "Remember, it's January."
I guess next week I'll be saying that to myself since I'll be back at school. Anyways, I hope everyone else is doing well with January resolution if you've decided to join in! More soon!
-Erin
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Getting Started
This year, my sister Emily and I wanted to try something a little different than your typical New Year's resolution. I think we can all admit that our own resolutions don't always go as well as we had hoped, so instead we're taking on a different challenge for 2011: to give up something for one month, each month of the year. I thought maybe it would be a little more interesting to choose a monthly "resolution" in the hopes of making 2011 a year for (ideally) permanent positive change. Of course, I'm in it for the challenge too.
So we're encouraging anyone to join in - for a month, week, or even the whole year – to take part in our challenge of monthly sacrifice. Of course, no one is perfect; I can say with certainty that there will be months that just don't go as well as others. But this challenge is about making an attempt at a better self and a more peaceful life, and maybe just for fun as well. There will be days when we mess up or just plain forget, but that's okay. This blog is a spot to support and encourage one another throughout the year, and to document our progress, failures, and breakthroughs.
The Challenge for January: Make a conscious effort to stop "gossiping" or voicing negative thoughts about others.
Everyone likes to vent every once in a while, but this month is the beginning of the year's journey, so we thought it would be good to start off with something that focuses on getting rid of negativity. I have my mother's favorite saying ingrained in my head from the hundreds of times she's said it: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Okay, so it's a little cheesy, but kind of good advice when you really think about it (did I really just admit that?). If January had a slogan, I think that would be it. At work, school, church, home, anywhere and everywhere, we're going to try and control our negative thoughts toward others: their habits, actions, outfits, whatever might bother or annoy us in any way. There is really no easy way to measure this, so we're all holding ourselves accountable on this one. I know it's going to take some effort, but I really think it's worth it. But I guess we’ll find out!
-Em and Erin
So we're encouraging anyone to join in - for a month, week, or even the whole year – to take part in our challenge of monthly sacrifice. Of course, no one is perfect; I can say with certainty that there will be months that just don't go as well as others. But this challenge is about making an attempt at a better self and a more peaceful life, and maybe just for fun as well. There will be days when we mess up or just plain forget, but that's okay. This blog is a spot to support and encourage one another throughout the year, and to document our progress, failures, and breakthroughs.
The Challenge for January: Make a conscious effort to stop "gossiping" or voicing negative thoughts about others.
Everyone likes to vent every once in a while, but this month is the beginning of the year's journey, so we thought it would be good to start off with something that focuses on getting rid of negativity. I have my mother's favorite saying ingrained in my head from the hundreds of times she's said it: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Okay, so it's a little cheesy, but kind of good advice when you really think about it (did I really just admit that?). If January had a slogan, I think that would be it. At work, school, church, home, anywhere and everywhere, we're going to try and control our negative thoughts toward others: their habits, actions, outfits, whatever might bother or annoy us in any way. There is really no easy way to measure this, so we're all holding ourselves accountable on this one. I know it's going to take some effort, but I really think it's worth it. But I guess we’ll find out!
-Em and Erin
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