It’s January 3rd, 2016 and my Facebook and Instagram are still full of people saying what they didn’t accomplish in 2015, what they are going to do differently, and how they are starting over. This is a constant, yearly thing. We make our resolutions and then whine and moan that we didn’t do them at all or as well as we had wanted.
It’s sad that at the end of the year, without fail, we think of all the things we want to do next year and don’t take the time to reflect on all of the good.
Last year Kevin started “the good jar” for us to open it on Jan 1, 2016 and reflect on all of the good that happened to us instead of the bad. It’s so easy to get lost in the negativity and since our previous couple of years had been so rough we wanted to remember all of the good that actually did happen.
So, on January 1, 2016 we emptied out our jar and went through it all. What was even more fun was after we took turns reading them all we thought of all of the things that we forgot to put in our jar and wished we had!
2015 was a wonderful year! In short, Kevin and I grew up. We got a dog, put a lot of money into savings, bought a family car, had a healthy baby girl and spent a lot of time with family.
So, we’ve made this our new yearly tradition. The Good Jar has changed my perspective on the New Year’s Resolutions concept. I’m very critical of myself so I usually end the year going, “I’m still fat. I didn’t lose enough weight.” or “I didn’t reach my new pace goal so I clearly didn’t exercise enough.” I end the year frustrated with myself. Adding “good” to the jar will really help me keep things in perspective. Instead of reflecting on all the things I didn’t accomplish I’ll be reflecting on all the things I did. I also don’t want Brooke growing up and seeing me be hard on myself. I want her to have fierce confidence, and since kids (especially little girls) model after their own mothers; I will find my Fattitude again this year.
This years jar will surely be a year of firsts, as it’s Brooke’s first year of life! I think it’ll be really neat when Brooke (and someday maybe one day sibling) can add to the jar themselves. We’ll be able to see what they viewed as “good” throughout their year and what was important to them.
I’m excited for 2016 and all that it’ll bring for our little family. I’m excited for my body to finish healing and feel good so I can get cleared for exercise. I’m anxious to set new mom PRs, because I’m viewing anytime with a stroller as a new PR for me. I’m excited to actually cook and try new recipes now that the thought of cooking doesn’t repulse me.
Mostly, I’m excited that I finally feel like I’m living again.
Brooke (inside of wrap) and me wishing you a Happy New Year!
Damn girl, that's a lot of fattitude 
The good jar is a really good idea. Think I might do something similar myself this year. Thank you! Alex – fitforcourt.wordpress.com
Love the good jar! Congrats to you on the birth of your child! Remember there is good with bad. The perceived bad might just be life’s lesson to benefit you overall. After your idea, I’m thinking of maybe doing a good with the bad in a jar and see how my perspective changes after time. That bad thing, might just be a challenge for me to change things for the better. And to accept things as they are and not beat yourself up about I think is the key to being at peace 🙂
I love this idea!
I’m so proud of and inspired by you! I love the good jar idea, and I would love to try it. How do you insure that you remember to “jar it” when something good happens? This is a major concern for me because I have a terrible memory
“Did not get indicted for murder I did not commit.”
-2015 highlight
Sorry it took me a minute to respond! We keep the jar in plain sight (in the kitchen) so it’s something we see every single day. That makes it pretty easy.
I always remember the bad. It’s something we tend to do. It’s so easy to forget the good and not appreciate it like we should.
No worries! We’ll say you were just waiting to remind me when I was likely to have forgotten. I don’t know if you saw, but I mentioned this–and your credited your post–in one of my posts, so now I really need to be on top of it or I’ll feel foolish!
HA! Perfect! 🙂 Awe shucks – thanks! Trust me, it’s totally worth it come the new year to read them all!