2015 Real World Resolutions

sunflower — my real resolution is to try and make it to summer.

I know, I know. The horse world is real too. Care to come up with a better name? Here are some of my non-horse-related goals for the coming year:

Stop biting my nails. This is the dumbest habit ever. I’m an idiot. End of resolution.
Start a blog. Oh wait. Done-skies.
Make my apartment feel more cozy and homey, not just a functional place to sleep.
Bring my lunch to work at least 4 days out of 5. Save those dolla billz.
Read at least a little bit every day, no matter how busy. ‘Cause it makes me happy.
Learn how to use my beautiful amazing DSLR properly.

“But Olivia, those are just tasks! What about some real soul-searching-self-improvement resolutions???” you query, and I will deliver. Rather than goals, these are ways I’d like to improve as a person this year:

Show more patience. As my dear father has told me time and time again, your mood should not dictate your manners. Or maybe I saw that on Pinterest. Or maybe both. Either way, I want to slow down and really listen before reacting.
Listen more. This ties into the whole “patience” thing- I’m in the bad habit of listening to respond, and I’d like to get in the habit of listening to understand. Take the focus off of me, and put it on the person I’m talking to.
Help others more. I don’t necessarily mean official volunteer work, though I’d love to get involved in that too. What I mean is being less selfish with my time, and giving others help when they need it. Anything from being a listening ear, someone to babysit in a crunch, or to help out on moving day, I want to be there for the people around me.

I’m a big believer in constant self-improvement, so these are definitely going to be year-round commitments. I’ll have to check in and see how I’m doing every so often! Maybe I’ll post a picture of my nails painted all pretty when they’re grown out as incentive to quit chomping on them.

Any other ideas for sticking with your resolutions?