Trying To Make Goals

As many, if not all of you know, I am the proud owner of a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo! It's pretty exciting, albeit dirty from the snow melting... ugh! Since I was able to get the Jeep and had to actually sit down and work out my finances, it got me thinking that working out bills is something that I'm going to have to do for the rest of my life. This is the first real responsibility that I have and I'm pretty excited to officially be in the grown up world.

Over the past week or so, I've also been thinking about what a waste of money apartments are, considering the fact that I want to be able to buy my own house within the next 5-ish years, so I've also decided that I'm going to start saving where I can for a down payment on a house; when my car is paid off, that's going to be my next endeavor. I'm sure the market will rebound again by the time I'm ready to buy a car and housing prices are going to be through the roof, but if I find a decent house with reasonable payments, I don't see why there should be anything holding me back, barring any unexpected things that may arise. I think that I'll be able to do it and, sure, it's going to be a challenge, but I think I'm up for it!

I suppose I'll come to learn that there are things that I can live without, no matter how much I think I can't live without them right now. There are just some things that a person has to sacrifice in life to get what they want. By the way, for those of you thinking "I wonder if he realizes that buying a car and a house are two totally different things", yes, I'm fully aware of that. I just wanted to spare us from having that conversation down the road ;~).

What are you looking forward to?

As we get ready to close out what has been one heck of a year it's time to get out that pen and paper and write down your New Year's resolutions again. Most of us, after giving it a valiant try, don't stick with it for one reason or another or we just never get around to trying one of the things on the list at all. 

Not that this should be surprising or anything, but one of my goals for this new year is to actually stick to my diet. I started one last week that I seem to be doing fairly well on. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the reason why people don't stick to what they plan to do is because they feel that they can't start it until the new year and that builds up too much anticipation and worrying. Why not start early? I have something pushing me to keep going with my diet this year and I can't afford not to stick with it. 

Finally I ask, what are you looking forward to getting accomplished in 2009? Is there something that's going to push you to keep at it? What are you looking forward to?

Just be happy!

I've learned a lot in the past 20 years, there's no doubt about that. One of the things that I've learned that keeps coming back to me is that you can't please everyone. I'm sure there has been a point in every persons life where they've taken a step back and thought about the decision they were about to make and if it would make someone else happy, angry or even sad. 

Keeping in mind that you only get one to live, you can't constantly try and make everyone else happy. Happiness comes from within. If you're constantly trying to work around other people's emotions and push your own aside, can you ever make yourself happy? At the same time it's important to be a good friend but you can't put your feelings on the back burner. Sometimes you need to be able to decide if the problems your friends are coming to you with are really worth you pondering over and putting your life on hold to help them or whether you need to find some way out of helping them. If you're able to do that, which a lot of the time I'm not, some people might see that as you not caring and you're being a bad friend. What they need to realize is that you'll be able to be a better friend when you've got your ducks in a row and can think straight.

 

I think sometimes that we're too dependent on one another but then I really get to thinking about it and, at times that's what really keeps us going. Knowing that you have someone there for you is one of the most comforting things in the entire world. Granted, cheesecake at times is more appealing than dumping your problems on someone else but that heavenly dessert is only going to be there for a limited time; a good friend will be there forever. 

I am blessed to have the friends that I do. Some of my friends and I don't talk often, but I know that I can count on any one of them when I need something, anything.

In life I want each of us to find that one thing that makes us happy and hold on to it. Being happy is one of the most important aspects to truly living life. If you haven't yet found that "thing", strive to find it! Having something to look forward to can keep us all going. If at times it seems impossible all you have to do is look back on the times in your life when you thought something else seemed impossible and look at how you got through that. We're all faced with problems and obstacles, but we're meant to get through them. 

Things, especially now with the economy the way it is can seem bleak but there's always that silver lining or the light at the end of the tunnel; keep looking for it. 

Happiness. Live. Love. Strive...