Things worth leaving behind and things worth going back to find

It has been a long time since my last post, and so many things have happened since then. Some good, some not as good, but each a part of the lessons I continue to learn in this great thing I call life!
In 2 days, I will be ending the 39th year and beginning the 40th. I can't believe I am turning 39. The last few months have been full of ups and downs, and in an effort to not let the downs pull me far and let the ups continue to lift me, I have been thinking about what is important daily, and what isn't.
So here goes...
Things worth leaving behind:

1. Trying to do everything for everyone
2. Changing me to try and make others happy
3. Not speaking up for myself
4. Constant fear of forgotten memories
5. Conditional relationships

Things worth going back to find:

1. Church activity - Sunday attendance, scripture study, Family Home Evening, Tithing.  God promises us so many blessings, but he can't bless me for covenants not kept (a great friend reminded me of that today). God isn't judging me harshly for my mistakes, I am. He is just waiting patiently for me to return to him
2. Healthy Eating - Enough said :) 
3. Continued exercise - I realized a couple of months ago that I wasn't going to get back on track unless I was accountable to someone. I am extremely grateful to my friend Megan who agreed to run the Nashville Women's Half Marathon with me, therefore requiring that I get my runs in every week.
4. Journaling - I have to keep track of the good days, not just the bad. I have a habit of journaling when I am upset and not when I am happy. My kids need to be able to look back one day and read about the wonderful days that I experience as well as the tough ones.
5. Spending time with good friends - I am still suffering with social anxiety, but I feel so much better after I have spent time visiting with good friends, I need to do it more often.

I have done somethings better than others, don't we all? So my goal is to make a real effort this year to prioritize my day. There are some things that have to be done, some things that can wait, and somethings that are just more important than others. I want to know that at the end of the day, I at least got done what was important to me. I do a pretty good job of getting done everything that is important to my husband and children, but I am pretty crappy at doing what is important to me. So I am going to create a little checklist for myself and look at it each evening to see how well I did. I am curious to see how my mood will correlate with my checklist success. I am guessing that the results will not surprise me.  Feel free to join me on this exciting adventure, because something I am going back to find is my blogging voice!