Posts Tagged ‘resolutions’

• Another year, another list

  Date: 2010.12.22 | Category: reflection | Response: View Comments

  It’s that time of year.  Resolutions!  Hardly a year of my life has gone by without a resolution list to look at for a few weeks and then toss out. 

  A little accountability this year . . .

  I’m kidding about tossing out resolutions, obviously.  I actually keep my resolutions in my Google documents so that I never lose them (even if I don’t keep them).  I title them “2010 Goals”* so that they are easy to find, and throughout the year I check in and see how I’m doing.  I don’t really do that systematically, just whenever the mood strikes (or I feel bored enough).  However, posting them here for all to see changes the game a little bit–oh hai, accountability.  (One way to increase resolution adherence is to have a system of accountability.)

  * I use goal and resolution interchangeably.  Anyone that says they are, in fact, different needs to look up the definition of semantics.

  Resolutions say a lot about you

  I think we can all acknowledge that change is hard.  Habits are hard to break.  Looking back at resolutions over the years, I can see a pattern – resolutions provide an insight to not only your bad habits, but also the habits that you perceive to be bad.  For example, I am putting “Declutter house” on my resolutions list.  However, there are many people in this world who do not see excessive possessions as a problem, and therefore would never think to put such a resolution on a list.  (Watch the show American Pickers, and you’ll know what I mean.)  I also have habits others might perceive to be negative, like loading the dishwasher improperly (right, Mark?), but I am not putting it on this year’s goal list (sorry, Mark).  Anyway, it’s interesting to look back at resolutions and their patterns.

  But Resolutions Aren’t Cool

  Some people don’t make resolutions.  I guess having resolutions is perceived as nerdy or uncool.  I’m too old to care if I’m not cool.  Also, perhaps it’s cooler to embrace unbridled self-acceptance.   Acting as though you care about anything is anti-cool.  The great thing about resolutions is that I get to be my own arbiter of cool.  And you know what, I think having goals, caring about them, and achieving them is really cool.  I think success is cool.

  Sticking to it

  With a mind towards sticking to my resolutions, I reviewed The Happiness Project’s advice on how to stick to resolutions.  And you should, too!  People say not to make resolutions because they often fail, but how about we just make resolutions and try to acheive them?  I’m sure we know what Thomas Edison (with his prodigious list of failures) would have said about that. 

  And here are mine

  1. Fitness related: get fitter.  Specifically, lose weight.  I’m in a healthy range, but I’m still definitely over where I would like to be. In 2011, I’d really like to be fitter and healthier.  I’ll be turning 30, which is kind of terrifying. (p.s. The last few weeks, I have really been working on this and making some progress!)
  2. Work out in the morning.  This has been an ongoing goal for some time but I think it’s essential for making sure I get a workout in before I get consumed by work or some other activity.
  3. Budget money better.  Pay more debt off.
  4. Improve communication with my husband.
  5. Career:
     • continue to work on blog and photography with my blog
     • figure out what I’m doing with articles I’m writing on the side and whether to continue it
     • get and read books related to IT work that I do
     • figure out what to do with my law license (go inactive this year or not)
  6. Improve home
     1. donate or sell extra stuff (possibly go through one room a month?)
     2. work on home to-do list to get it in better (selling) condition
  7. Stand up for myself and my values more.  This sounds vague, but it means something more specific to me.  I often feel that I am face-to-face with instances of bigotry but in the past have either not confronted it at all or not confronted it in a meaningful way.  I want to work on positive confrontation of bigotry, and things or people that attack me personally.

  I really enjoy reading other people’s resolutions, so I hope you enjoyed reading mine.  Does anyone else have similar resolutions?