2012: twelve practices.

I've thought a lot about resolutions, to-do lists, goals, etc over the past couple of weeks. Tis the season, after all! As most of you know, I'm a self-improvement junkie anyway, so new ideas on being better make me giddy. A bit of a disclaimer – this is not entirely about being unsatisfied with a current state of being. It's not about being entirely unhappy. I'm just not one to let things rest. If something was good? Let's do it again! If something wasn't? Let's figure out how to fix that. So, I've been turning all of this over in my head, to a steady chant of twenty-twelve. (I adore the alliteration of this year. Seriously adore.) Do I write resolutions? Maybe I'll follow Lee's 4 simple goals pattern. I should definitely Move More Eat Well. Ooooh, what about a reading challenge? Should I make a chart? Is there room for a spreadsheet (a little project manager geekiness)? Turning, spinning, thinking…and in all of this, keeping my OLW in mind. How can I shift my thinking about all of this, well, thinking? Here's how - 

My shift is that I want to think in terms of journey, not destination – of creating habits instead of crossing off goals. Practicing. 

1. a yoga practice – really needing to get back to a yoga practice. Dealing with hip issues (still), but need to work around & through. 

2. a meditation practice – yep, still a work in progress! I will practice sitting & breathing. 

3. a bread making practice – for the love of all things gluten. I love bread. I spend way too much $$ on bakery bread. I am going to practice bread making this year. 

4. an adventure practice – travel? classes? I don't know what this practice will really look like – but I want to practice finding & creating adventure. 

5. a calendar practice – odd that a project manager doesn't use a calendar/planner? Uhm, yep. I have a really good memory, so I have a (bad) habit of storing everything in my head. Likely the reason that I have trouble with monkey mind. So, I'm going to practice getting things onto paper (virtual or physical). also weaving some other scheduling practices into this one – including a clean & organized practice, and a paying bills on time practice. 

6. an exercise practice – back to the gym. walking…maybe even some running. strength training. body pump! 

7. a writing practice – this blog might see some more action this year. 

8. a photography practice – I am still not comfortable with my camera. I want to practice food photography, product photography, and just plain everyday photography. 

9. a gratitude practice – everyday. at least one thing. watch this: 365 grateful.

10. a OLW practice – following through on the class prompts, creating an album, exploring my word. Really excited about this practice. 

11. a kindness practice – I'd like to think that I practice kindness pretty often…but I also know that there's always room for more. Self-kindness counts. 

12. a creative practice – I miss scrapbooking. I'm ready to tell stories again. 

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching. ~ Gandhi