I begin this new calendar year with thoughts swirling, and I remind myself to get out of the mind. There is so much that I want to accomplish in the arenas of health, music and freedom. {Breathe.}. I’ve decided to return to blogging, and make writing a daily practice as a way to unpack the day, and also as a tool to shed the emotions I know are coming as new habits take hold. 

I step into 2017 with cautious steps in awareness of how much I’m taking on. Some may say too much. But if my habits decide my future, and I commit to a few key ones, I believe I can improve my life. So here they are. The habits:

1. 1 gallon of water per day.
2. A diet of only raw fruits and vegetables 
3. Daily exercise 
4. Daily self care 
5. Daily music practice 
6. Daily performance 
7. Product creation 
8. Daily social media sharing

Right now, I don’t do any of these things. I just think about them 24/7. I know, from previous starts and stops, that regardless of whether its new years or a new week or new anything, every day comes with whatever I bring to it. 

I’ve come up with two reasons why I think I haven’t reached my goals in the past. Why I haven’t acted consistently. One is that I often feel overwhelmed by how far I have to go. I know intellectually that baby steps add up, and small increments can lead to big gains. The other, somewhat connected reason is that I feel like everything I do sucks. That the me I see in my mind doesn’t match the real me that has avoided doing things for so many years.  I think I am going to have to just let it suck. I’ll have to “enjoy the process instead of the outcome.” And hopefully, with persistence, over time the things I’m doing will suck less. I want to enjoy what I’m doing, even if the result isn’t the greatest, because it’s fun and because I can see that I’m better than I was yesterday.

So I’ll be using my phone alot to blog, because I’m experimenting with it as a way to release emotions surrounding food. Some posts may sound like whining and griping. I’ll mark them so they can be avoided by the reader;  I imagine it wouldn’t benefit anyone to read those, not at this point in my journey at least. Maybe one day if I become a superfit musician, someone might be amused by my humble beginnings. 

On this day, Sunday, January 1st, 2017, I, Angie Phipps commit to this blog, to the people who one day may gain inspiration from my journey, and to myself.