2021 Resolutions

First, let’s just acknowledge that no one was able to stick to his or her resolutions in 2020, and consequently agree to not judge one another. Second, I’m going to share my resolutions as I always do, more from a sense of obligation/tradition rather than the belief that doing so will make me more successful. I’m also acknowledging that I will not beat myself up if another world changing event develops and derails all my plans for this year. #apocalypseclause

First the review. Last year’s resolutions and a brief summary of how I failed at each one:

1. Say the rosary daily. – For the record, I am REALLY good at this when I’m constantly driving places. However, when I’m at home all the time, I tend to struggle with when to say one. I was saying one in the morning for a bit, but I’ve been out of the habit now for a couple months and it really does make a difference. I wouldn’t feel so awful if I was making time for some, or ANY, other spiritual stuff but, especially since school started, I’m not doing so great.
2. Work on lowering my blood pressure through diet.  – I was eating pretty good and then COVID hit and I was trying to not go to the store that often, and meal planning became eating whatever was in our freezer or pantry and I just fell into old meal planning/ eating habits. I did mange to give up caffeine and now only drink decaf coffee, and that has helped.
3. Reduce outside commitments. – Obviously, most outside commitments were reduced for me this year. I did take on one writing project I immediately regretted, but I was proud of the finished project so I guess it was worth it. Would I have succeeded at this resolution had there not been a lockdown? It’s debatable.
4. Focus on growing the Accepting the Gift apostolate. – After finishing my manuscript revision in February I really expected to use all the daytime hours the boys were at school on writing, promoting, and doing more for my new online ministry, but of course, the boys wound up not being in school all that much and all my blogging and online plans changed.

My beast of the year was a Siren. I kept a picture of a Siren on my desktop all year, and she helped remind me to say no to the sweet Siren call, usually. I purposely didn’t pick a word or saint of the year and that worked out fine for me. I stand by that decision and it was the one thing from my last resolution post I 100% succeeded at! Go me!

My resolutions for 2021 are as follows:

• Eat healthy as a family. – I’ve given this more thought than previous years, and I’m setting monthly goals, rather than trying to do it all right out of the gate. The older kids are all on board with eating better to help them with their own activities, so hopefully we can all encourage each other rather than the kids snacks/pleas derailing my efforts.
• Commit to a daily prayer time. – I’m not sure if picking the same time everyday will work, or if I’m going to make a better effort to plan out my day each morning at which point I will schedule a prayer time.
• Continue to grow Accepting the Gift.
• Read more books.
• Engage with my followers in a balanced way to ensure a successful book release, while not tying myself to social media. – The plan is for my book to come out in fall 2021. As much as I don’t want to devote a ton of time to social media, I know that I need to promote and market myself and my ministry so my book can reach the largest group of people. The trick is making sure it doesn’t spill too much into my family time. I’d dropped off most social media earlier this year and loved it, but after my book release was delayed, I became more concerned that without a huge, active online following my release wouldn’t be as successful as it could be, and that it could possibly be delayed again (though that’s strictly my fear rather than anything my publisher has ever implied or said to me.)
• Catch up on all my own medical appointments. – I was already behind before there was a pandemic.

For my beast, I’m going with the Sphinx. Strong, silent, mysterious, but also deadly, and ready to drop a riddle at a moments notice.

If you want your own beast to take you into the new year, take a spin on my BEAST OF THE YEAR GENERATOR!!! And who says it needs to be random? If you don’t like the beast you’re given, choose a new one. Don’t let chance give you a centaur when you’re pretty damn sure you want a cockatrice by your side. Share your beast with me in the comments below, or tag me @kellymantoan on Instagram or Facebook to let me know.

For the record my previous beasts have been:

• 2013 – Triple Headed Monster Lady
• 2014 – Jabberwocky
• 2015 – Manticore
• 2016 – Pinchy the Lobster
• 2017 – The Jersey Devil
• 2018 – Unicorn
• 2019 – Hydra
• 2020 – Siren

What are your resolutions? Write them down then link them up below. Be sure to include a link back to this post so all your readers can come and choose a random beast. I look forward to reading your posts!