My New Year’s Resolution: It’s not what you think

by | Jan 16, 2020 | Blog, Educational Programs | 0 comments

By Evelyn Morris, Nutrition Program Coordinator, AmeriCorps Member.

What’s your New Year’s Resolution?

It seems like this question is everywhere these first few weeks of January, maybe even more so since this is the start of a brand new decade. If you’re at all like me, I panic slightly every time someone asks me this question.

Am I doing enough? Too much? Can I really keep this going for the next 364 days?

Instead of really reflecting on the purpose of a resolution, I find myself choosing resolutions based on how they compare to the people around me, and how they will sound to others when I answer the question. It is easy to get caught up in the phenomenon of a resolution without really doing the work to reflect on what you could do to make yourself happier in the year ahead and what you want to accomplish.

A few weeks ago Frankie and I taught a lesson on whole grains to ten curious and energetic first and second graders at Cedar Park Elementary. We laid out a spread of whole- grain pita bread, marinara sauce, cheese, and a rainbow of fresh vegetables for them to assemble their own pita pizzas. Some of the kids dove in eagerly, topping their pizzas with mountains of spinach and bell peppers. Others were not so enthused by the toppings offered and blanketed their pizzas with cheese.

Evelyn at IDEA time in Cedar Park Elementary School

One of the kids brought her pizza dotted sparsely with tomato, bell pepper, and zucchini over to my post at the toaster oven and told me proudly, “I’m not so sure if I want the vegetable toppings, but I wanted to try them anyways because I might end up actually liking them!”

This comment made in passing has stuck with me into these first few weeks of 2020, and her attitude towards pizza with vegetables has gotten me thinking about my own mentality for not only the upcoming year, but also the decade.

Personally, I am not one to stick to my resolutions. Perhaps it is the fact that they are time limited and I know that I will have a chance to try again the next year. Knowing that my track record for maintaining my resolutions is mediocre at best, I decided to skip it altogether. Instead, I am going to set an intention for this upcoming decade, inspired by vegetable pizza. This decade, I will attempt to reframe uncertainty as opportunity, and try things that I would have previously written off without a second thought, because who knows? I might end up actually liking them!

A decade seems like the right amount of time for me to practice living by this intention, and I hope that it will turn into a lifelong mentality instead of something I do for 365 days before moving on to the next task. If setting an intention for your decade sounds intriguing, I invite you to join me. Whatever your intention or resolution might be, I hope this next decade brings you joy, good health, tasty food, and many more happy memories at HIP.

Written by hungerintervention

January 16, 2020

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