Image credit: rubyblossom photostream
It’s time for another ABC Wednesday, and today’s topic—as the title says—is Commitment.
As I mentioned recently, I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately. That’s caused some things to lose importance to me when that really shouldn’t be the case. So, as today is the beginning of a new month, it seems like a good time to get myself back on track and renew my commitment to a few things that truly are significant to me.
So, effective immediately, I commit myself to the following:
Camera—I love taking pictures; it makes me happy. I’ve been participating in a daily photo challenge for a few months now, and I’ve really enjoyed it. But the past couple of weeks it hasn’t been the same. While I have been taking the pictures, I haven’t taken the time to really think about them or have fun with the daily prompt. And, I’ve been lackadaisical about doing any editing, or getting them posted anywhere. Really, it’s just sort of been going through the motions, and I don’t want to give up on something that I really do find fun. I hope to be able to stick with the challenge the rest of the year, but I don’t know how that will really go once my classes are in full swing. But at least for this month, I’m going to get back into using my camera every day and finding the joy. I will take the photos every day, and get the finished product posted to the appropriate pages.
Create—I want to continue my daily blogging. I’ve been doing it a while now, but having just finished last month’s blog challenge, I want to make sure I don’t backslide. I think it would be easy to do. (Heck, I’ve been thinking about this post all day, but here it is almost 10pm before I’m finally putting fingers to keyboard.) Anyway, again, once school begins, it’s possible a daily schedule will not be possible, but I hope that won’t be the case. But, just to be on the safe side, my commitment will be daily posting until the 19th. If it proves to be too hectic after that, I will ensure a minimum of four posts per week.
Also, I’ve been wanting to open an Etsy shop for some of my photos. I’m not sure what that plan looks like in its final stages, but before I begin school, I’d like to get at least a bare outline of things in place. So, by the 19th, I will print and mat a minimum of five photos and get them listed.
Closet—Seems silly, I know, but it’s a task I’ve set for myself. I’ve been saying for weeks and weeks that I needed to do a deep cleaning of my closet, but saying and doing have been a ways apart. Then, the other day, someone in UBC posted asking for a seven day habit of any sort, and I pledged seven days of carving out a minimum of 30 minutes daily to work on my closet. It’s been working so far, but I’m adding it to my commitment list as some added incentive. At half an hour a day, it shouldn’t take much more than a week to complete (I hope!), but, just in case, I’m committed to finishing no later than the 17th.
Care—This is the most important: getting back to my self-care routines. Both my diet and exercise routines have completely fallen by the wayside, and that cannot continue. Not only do I still have weight to lose to reach my final goal in that regard, but I can tell the difference in how I feel when I turn into a big slug. My health is important enough to me that I am willing to put in the effort to maintain it, though I know it will be hard to get back on the horse. But, there are things that I must do, and I publicly commit to them now: 1) Complete a minimum 30 minute workout at least three days per week—2 days of cardio work and 1 day of strength/resistance work; 2) Ride stationary bike minimum of 15 minutes every day; 3) Achieve minimum of eighteen thousand steps each day; 4) Log all food intake. These are the things that I know will help me with my fitness goals, and I must be diligent about working this plan. I have 25 pounds left to reach my final weight goal (sadly, that was 20 a little over a month ago), and I believe I can achieve that by year’s end, if I fulfill each of these commitments.
So, that’s it—the commitments I make to myself for the month of August and going forward. By laying it out like this, I hope to move past simple hopes and into concrete plans that will allow me to be successful. I also hope that by making these plans public, there will be an extra level of accountability, so I thank you all in advance for being part of my commitment plan.
What things have you been putting off that need a little extra commitment today?
