Why is it that resolutions make us feel so good, yet so bad at the same time?

Your intentions were good. You purchased a really cute notebook from Rifle Paper Company, some really fun gold pens, and you scribbled down all of your promises to yourself. You then took a photo of said resolutions, maybe next to a glass of wine.. (this is the last glass of wine, you are doing dry January, remember?) and then you post the photo on Instagram…because it isn’t real unless you post it on Instagram.

I am not calling y’all out to make you feel bad. I admit I bought a really overpriced notebook from Anthropologie and did the exact same thing, I was very intent on not only sticking to these resolutions but because I am an extreme overachiever, I was going to exceed whatever expectations I set for myself.

And then, like a gale force wind… life happens.

So here I am, coming to you from my couch on a frigid November morning, listening to “Lose Yourself” and wondering where the hell the year went. I guess it is time to revisit the resolutions I wrote down in that adorable little notebook. I am fully prepared to hold myself accountable to all of you.

1. Worry Less. Literally, I wrote this down in my notebook. Just like that. I am actually laughing at this because I just don’t know what that means. I am going to put a pin in that one for now.

2. Patience. Ha. Another classic vague resolution. Patience is a song title by Guns N Roses, so did I mean I need to listen to more 80’s hair bands? Jokes aside, I don’t know if I accomplished this either.

3. Read More Books. These are such profoundly written resolutions. I think I accented books because I tend to read more articles and blogs. That said, I did read 5 books this year, which isn’t much, but I do feel the quality of what I read was there, and it did get me back into my love for reading, so I consider this one accomplished. Check. (By the way, my favorite book I read this year so far was Scar Tissue, which is the Anthony Kiedis autobiography. It is an oldie, but goodie)

4. Do More Yoga. LOL. Nope. I really want to be much more into yoga. I see the benefits, and it would probably help me with #1 and #2 on this list. Alas, I am someone who values high-intensity cardio such as FlyWheel or Barry’s Bootcamp, so I tend to gravitate towards that. Who says I can’t do both? Fail.

5. Explore Vegan Cooking. BOOM. For those of you who follow me on the ‘Gram, (@tiffanydyba) I would say this one I actually killed. I mean, I murdered the vegan cooking scene this year thanks to my two fave food bloggers @veganricha and @minimalistbaker.

6. Do Something Creative. I had to stop and think about this again, and then I remembered, "Oh sh*t, I started my own business this year." So I guess you can say I overachieved on this one.

I would like to make a case for not holding myself accountable to such strict standards for 2018. It is great to have goals for yourself, but also remember that you are human and things may not fall into place the way you set out when you were writing them down on December 31.

In place of resolutions, I am going to write myself a letter at the end of December, and it is going to focus on all of the things that went right and wrong in 2017. I would like to celebrate the fact that even though 2017 brought many hardships for us as a world, as a country, and as women— I am still standing. I would like to celebrate that I had the courage to start my own business and take a risk. I am going to share this letter with you guys at the end of the year, and then I am going to say f^^k it. No resolutions. Only goals with leeway. Leeway to say look if I didn’t do yoga, oh well but instead I signed up for a writing class to help me achieve more balance and expression.

So when you look back on 2017 and get upset for not running that half marathon you signed up for in a wine-induced stupor, don’t get upset. You did great somewhere else.

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

I may not have any patience, but that may have been the catalyst to me finally starting my own business. I was just not satisfied with my career any longer, so I bit the bullet. Once I get an idea, I am all in. I can’t be mad at that, right?

Looking forward hearing about how you all #survived2017. Let’s be honest, that trumps any resolution. Pun intended.

The Resolutions Before The Resolutions