The Best Pintentions: 2013

Here we are, it's January 1, 2013! Once again, I've turned to my Pinterest account to help artistically illustrate the four areas of my life that I want to work on this year. While there might be some overlap from last year's list, I am excited to focus in on this stuff in the next 365 days:

#1: Be kind. I find that it is very easy for me to be very kind, polite, and considerate to strangers and new people that I meet. Yet when it comes to my friends, family, and students that I see on a regular basis, I give them a second-rate version of myself. Why is that? That's not fair. I want to be kind even when I don't feel like it. 

#2: Be Hopeful. Let me tell you, it is easy for me to lose sight of the goodness and possibilities of what could happen during a school week. Just because a lot of things are broken doesn't mean that a lot of great things can't still happen. This means for my kids, for my school, for my own life, and for this crazy world. There is a lot of crap going on these days! But that just means there needs to be more hopeful people rolling up their sleeves and getting to work; there needs to be people out there who believe that things can really change. 

#3. Run, Forrest, Run. I feel better when I run. That's a simple fact. Plus I think I look better too. So this year will have more moments like my November 15k in it. This year I want to do at least 2 organized running events. So stay tuned! I'm eyeing up the Shamrock Shuffle, maybe a Color Run, and maybe a half marathon? Aieee! 

#4: Stop talking, start praying. In case you can't tell, I'm a talker. This can be a strength, but when it comes to actually solving problems or overcoming struggles, it's a definite weakness. Talking about it can quickly digress into complaining about it. This is not only unproductive, but starts to hamper that hopeful spirit (see #3) that I am seeking to cultivate. I want to start using my words to make something happen, not further dig myself into the mud. This resolution is going to take the most work and daily commitment out of myself, but I think it's also the most important.

All right! So there you have it: the things I'm focusing on this year. I'd love to talk about your ideas too. Let's make 2013 fab-u-lous.