Saturday Night Social: Resolutions
It’s been over a week after New Years. I guess maybe I should make some resolutions. I have done them before and never really kept up with them. I saw on Facebook that resolutions stop after January 19th…I haven’t really started New Years Resolutions but maybe it’s not too late.
This year I thought that maybe I will do some things a little differently. I read articles on making resolutions and keeping them. One article said that I should change the verbiage of my goals. I shouldn't say "Oh, I want to lose weight," what I should say is "I want to be healthier." Okay...I see that. My goals are supposed to be specific. Like I should say "I am going to read fifty books this year." Now you will see my commitment issues when I say that I shouldn't be too specific because that could lead to unrealistic expectations and if I don't achieve them, I may think of myself as a failure. Some articles say that I shouldn't even do resolutions because so what if it's a new year, I'm probably gonna be the same fat lazy ass person I was before. That's really not encouraging. I'm not going to let those articles get me down.
I am going to make some resolutions- not a lot and I am going to try make them manageable. I know I am going to make a few health based ones and then a few personal self development ones because why not.
I’m going to make a list of ten which may seem to be a bit of an overkill or being overzealous but for some reason the number ten is what I think is appropriate. Maybe it has something to do the with movie I saw in my American Studies class called “Powers of Ten.” (I should really watch that again. My professor showed us the movie once in the original form and then playing two Beatles songs “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Within You Without You.” It was quite trippy.)
Okay so here is the list:
I am going to be healthier. I am going to make the time to exercise. I am going to get back into running. I may not be able to run the races I used to but I am going to get back into the habit of running again.
I am going to work on getting stronger. I want to be able to do a pull-up. Seriously, I've been wanting to do one since I was kid. I could always do chin-ups but never a pull up.
I also want to go back to a plant based diet. I don't think in my present circumstance I will be able to completely do this but I think I could limit the amount of meat that I do eat.
I am going to put myself out there. I want to try to publish something more than just a blog with limited readers. I am going to just submit writings and see what happens. I will probably get quite a few rejections but I think it would be good for me.
I am going to write everyday. It won’t always be products for public reading like stories or blogs but it will just be something to get me into the habit of writing.
I am not going to be a workaholic. Right now I have the ability to make my own schedule and I am working more than I really need to. I need to find the balance of what works for me. I need to remember that the work will be there and unless it has a deadline, it can wait.
I am going to focus on school and not get all bummed that I am being forced to read books by people who I would never read. You know, dead white men. But I will remind myself that this is necessary for getting my Masters.
I am going to read fifty-two books this year. That’s about one book per week. (I may have made the mistake of starting with a difficult one to finish…Stephen King’s The Stand. That book is hella long.)
Take more photos. I may not have my cameras with me but I need to carry my iPhone and just take a moment to take pictures.
I am going to choose to by happy. A friend of mine who has had the shittiest of luck in life never lets it get her down. I mean anyone would be bitter and pissed if they went through the things she went through but she is really one of the happiest people I know. She told me that when she wakes up in the morning, she chooses to be happy. I am going to start doing that.
So there you have it my ten resolutions/goals for the year. I will checkin around March 15. We shall see where I am at.