November Report Card

Sorry it's been so long since I posted, everybody! 

To sum up what's been going on lately, I had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends, and have been catching up on A LOT of homework (by a lot, I mean waking up at 7am on a Saturday). 

I think it's about time I gave a report card for November Resolutions, wouldn't you think so? To be honest, I'm not excited about sharing the results. Last month did not go very well goal-wise.

1. Drink at least 6 glasses of water everyday: F
Poor planning on my part. I shouldn't have expected to set such a high goal for myself and immediately develop the habit within the month. Studies show that it takes about 21 repetitions of the goal to form a habit. This would take up the entire month in and of itself. 

2. Practice 120 minutes a week: F
Same story here for the most part, with an addition of laziness.

3. Blog at least twice a week: A+
I did pretty well on this one. To post twice a week means 8 posts in a month, and I made 11, so I'm letting myself pass this one, even though there were times where I posted three times a week, and sometimes didn't post at all in a week, or only once.

4. Monastic Project: D-
I've been focusing on other subjects, and I need to have this all done by Wednesday. I think it's doable.

5. Catch up on Omnibus Reading before Thanksgiving: C
I'm not all caught up, but now I have a workable plan to be all caught up by the Semester reading due date. 

6. Finish the 30 Day Blog Challenge: B
I AM SO CLOSE!!!! Only 4 more posts and then you guys will never have to see the inconsistent "The 30 Day Blog Challenge" titles on Victorious Heroine ever again!!! Unless of course I do another 30 day blog challenge in the future... Could you guys tell me if you enjoy those?

7. Teach Youth Group: A+
All went well. I made a power point slide (at a youth group meeting, I know, but it worked!) and talked about what it means to have a true friendship with God. 

8. Schedule/Plan/Organize More Often: C
Ahem. No, not exactly. My dad just said the other day when my mom was pretty much making fun of me for not knowing where a certain location was, "You don't plan ahead very much, do you?" I shook my head so that he'd leave me alone, but I have tried very hard in the past to plan ahead, but when it comes down to the most important things like making sure I set my alarm before I go to bed, or charging my phone, or remembering where the car was parked in huge parking lots, or keeping my school binders up to date: I fail. A lot. On the other hand, I'm good at keeping things like my school notes organized (and I even came up with a better system for note-taking), and I even utilized Google Calendar a lot more than I ever have. So overall, I'm beating myself up a lot, but I need to. Because I know that if I don't beat myself up now, then I'll be even more beat up by my life years from now from not developing the habits I should have been developing now.

9. Cut YouTube time on Tuesdays and Sundays: F
There was maybe one Sunday where I was able to refrain from YouTube for the most part, but this was a goal that didn't take off.

10. Health: D-
I've been taking walks at school, but to be honest, I could be doing more exercises and walks more often. I've learned that "I don't have time to exercise" is a horrible excuse. It only takes 10 minutes to jog a mile, and it only takes 5 minutes to do a few strength training exercises with dumbbell weights. 

Overall Grade Average: C-

Frankly, I'm surprised I didn't get a lower average! The numbers seem to have granted me mercy somehow.

Important Life Lessons Learned in November:

• Lots of perseverance, lots of hard work, lots of repetition and help from the Lord create good habits.
• If you want something done, don't be lazy. Laziness is no excuse for an incomplete task.
• If you learn to love something about a task, it makes the task so much easier and fun to do.
• Timing is important. Always make a plan and stick to it, but don't procrastinate or take more time than you truly have to get a job done.
• Building a friendship (especially with God) takes a lot of constant practice. Any kind of relationships never take a holiday.
• Sometimes when it looks like you're about to drown in quicksand, you're only going to drown faster if you try to get yourself out on your own. Ask for help, and the problem will likely be resolved much faster and more efficiently.
• It's good to take breaks, as long as they're reasonable and aren't breaks from taking breaks. Breaks are for those who have actually broken a sweat and accomplished something truly worthwhile.
• Plans are so much better than spontaneity. Even if they're not as fun on the front end, they will always have better results in the end.
• Doing something small is better than not doing anything at all.

I hope this post is more encouraging and inspiring than it is disappointing. :)

Question for the Reader: How do you like the new blog layout for Christmas?

"For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity." --Proverbs 24:16