2013: Living A Healthier Life

Hey everyone! A little more than two weeks ago I posted 2012: Switching Things Up. I wrote it as a companion to this piece to express what it means to live a Happy and Healthy life in 2013. This is my creed for the new year, living a happy and healthy life that is. I think as I grow older these ideals just come so much easier. My perception of others and the situations around me are heightened. It's like as I grow older my eyes are open even wider to possibility. I think that there are several things I need to ensure to maintain my ideals of living a Happy and Healthy Life in 2013. I welcome everyone here to read up on what I think of as "healthy" and "not healthy". It might even help you out as much as it has helped me.

Being happy is an important part of life. I think it's just detrimental to survival. When I say "being happy" it doesn't mean I need constant happiness. I just need a way of life where I can look at where I am and just know that overall, I'm happy and that my life is going in the right direction. I think the bulk of 2012 I was unhappy. It wasn't because of the people around me or where I lived or how I dressed or looked. It was more so about where my life was going, what was I accomplishing? Was I doing everything in my power to bring about my own prosperity? I think that happiness can be found once I get to that point in life. I think 2013 will be a great year to make strides toward my truest desires.

• Change Jobs: I work at a restaurant and it has absolutely nothing to do with what I want to do in life. It's now just something in between and I'm not "happy" with it. I'd be much more happy doing something I love and am passionate about. I think once I find something I have a passion for, I can be happy about where I work.
• Get My Career Up and Running: I know I mentioned job. People don't realize that a job and career are two different things. My job is an in-between, something on the way to a fulfilling career. My career will be writing be it comic books, novels, content writing, etc. Writing is my career and in order for me to be happy about where my career is going, I've got to get it up and running. I think deep down I won't be happy in life until I know I'm making efforts to get my books sold and creating a brand for myself. That's one of my platforms for 2013.
  
• Participating: It's so easy for me to forget and ignore my friends. It's not about being heartless, but more so being self involved. I constantly put my tasks and duties ahead of the friendships that I wish greatly to preserve. I let time slip by. My biggest blunder is not participating and being a part of the group. I tend to be a recluse, but I've learned that it's not good for me. I need that camaraderie, I think. It keeps me sane when I have struggles that come up. Maintaining an overall happiness can be found by spending time with others.
• Embrace Friendships/Family/Loved Ones: I learned quite a bit about myself last year. I realized that I was unhappy because I chose to distance myself from others. This didn't extend to just friends, but to family, and other loved ones. When I was going through the motions I didn't even want to ask for help or seek advice. I wanted to be alone and deal with it all on my own, but I realized I could never be happy relying on just myself. I had to understand that people were there for me and I had to embrace them.
  

When I mean healthy, I mean mentally and physically and doing things that preserve a healthy life for me and the people around me. I think over 2012 I made a lot of decisions that were healthy and unhealthy. Of course the healthiest of those decisions I wrote about in a previous entry about the year 2012. My most unhealthy decisions did not help me in the long run at all, that hindered my personal growth and deterred me from future successes. I think I just have to swallow my pride. There are things I know I should stop doing this year.

• Stop Fixating: My mental health has been at risk for some time now. I don't mean that I'm going insane or anything, but I cause myself so much grief because I can't stop fixating on problems I have. I seem to really fixate on things that are so mundane, anyone else would have forgotten about it. I think it's just too easy for me to fixate on the bad things about me. I let myself go overboard and I worry until I'm completely exhausted of it all. I think in 2013 I've got to get over some things, start learning to ease my mind and focus on what's most important.
• Stop Refusing Help: My pride, I mentioned, needs to be swallowed. I mean this that I constantly attempt to do everything on my own without ever asking for help. Not only do I not ask for help, but I refuse help from the people who genuinely care about me. I think my fear is of taking advantage of people or being a burden. I frankly have to accept that in order to succeed in life I may have to rely on other people from time to time.
• Stop Making Unrealistic Goals: From time to time I push myself too hard. I set these goals and never meet them. That has to be the unhealthiest thing ever. It's not good for my mental health to constantly fail at things I wish to accomplish. I think I sincerely need to stop doing this. I need to not work myself so hard and set realistic goals. Pushing myself can't be healthy for me mentally or physically.
• Stop Worrying About Money: Every little penny I spend, I worry about it. It's not like a "I shouldn't be buying this", but "I shouldn't be spending money". It makes me so nervous and anxious that sometimes I rack my brain over it. I feel like I'm frugal for the most part and that I spend money only on the necessities, but sometimes I feel like I'm being irresponsible and that my money will vanish from under me and I'll look up and see myself broke. I really should stop worrying and start putting it in my mind that people spend their money on whatever they want to. I only need to give it a second thought when it becomes a bad habit and that my money isn't used wisely.

Making healthy choices and being healthy physically is so important in life and that's why I've made a vow to start doing certain things to help me prosper in this new year and many more to come. Being happy is important too and it goes hand in hand with being healthy. Without making healthy choices and being healthy physically, I can't possibly be happy. It just doesn't make sense. Now that I know what will make me happy and what I should stop doing, I now need to acknowledge the things I should start doing.

• Start Preparing For The Future: Preparing for the future means getting ready to be an adult. This includes, but not limited to, getting a career job, getting health insurance, finding a reliable car to drive long term, and assess possible paths for the future. I want to know where I'm going, or at least have some idea. I want to get off train "broad" and get on a more specific train and see where it might take me. I want to be level-headed about it all, at least come to some sort of commitment.
• Start Saving: I have no savings, long-term or otherwise. It kinda scares me because I have no emergency fund, no outside monies that can help me if I get in a bind. I think this is for a lot of young people my age. We're not ready to get serious and start thinking more on the long-term. it's kinda scary really. I'm going to be an adult. I shudder to think about it. At twenty-four, I kinda miss the carefree days.
• Start Trimming The Fat: As I grow older I realize that I have a lot of friends and unfortunately they won't all be there as the years go on. In fact some of them may not contribute to a happy and healthy life. They may distract or deter me from my goals. I have to come to realization that there are true friends and those are the ones who will walk the mile with me. If a person can't handle it, why am I their friend? Why hold on to something that won't inspire you or encourage you, or won't be mutually understanding and compassionate with you?
• Start Taking On New Adventures: A new adventure for me is trying on new clothes, wearing jewelry or cologne. I'm so stuck in my ways and last year I took the first step by Switching Things Up and doing things differently. I have to keep at it now. I have to continue to take on new adventures. I'm young and there are so many things I've never done and have never seen. I need to not be stuck and trying something new, no matter how frightening it may be. Mind you, I won't do anything life threatening.
• Start Paying Attention: I'm paying more attention to my own habits and figuring out what's best for me and how to stay happy and healthy in 2013 and all the years afterward. I'm paying more attention to the people around me, the people on the street, and the people who read my writing. I want to understand as much as possible. It may hurt me a bit, but with understanding things there is a price. Just have to take that chance, go out there and figure it all out. It may prove fruitful.