New Year’s Resolution Check-In
We are in the third week of the New Year, how are your New Year’s Resolutions holding up? If you’re like most Americans, they’ve either come and gone or you’re still waiting to get started.
I decided not to do New Year’s Resolutions this year. I did however make five goals that I wanted to try to accomplish this year. Below is the list and how I’ve attempted to integrate them in my life:
1. Cultivate relationships with people I want to keep in my life.
Sometimes we let people go in our lives. Usually it’s not done on purpose. Although sometimes it’s blatantly obvious you need to cut them out of your life—like when they stole your change jar and crock-pot while you were out of town and they were supposed to be dog sitting.
But usually it’s less dramatic than that. Your friend will call and invite you to a party, but you already had other plans. Then you call several weeks later and invite them to a dinner you’re having with a group of friends that they don’t really know that well, but you invite them anyway because you’d like to see them. But they decline because they’ve got to take grandma to bingo…then several months pass by before you try again, but again they’re busy, then the next time you run into them, it been a few years. Next thing you know, they are asking about, “the old gang,” and your response is, “I see them on Facebook,” which is exactly the same boat you two are in now as well.
I noticed this happened to me with a few of my friends and I didn’t like it. So a few days after New Year’s Day, I picked up the phone and called them. I let them know I was thinking about them and they agreed we should hang out sometime soon. Well, it’s roughly three weeks later and I’ve only seen one of the four people I called. But hey, one’s better than none.
2. Be closer to 200 lbs. than 250 lbs. by the end of 2016.
My second goal is health related. I wanted to lose weight, but this time I broke it down to smaller goals like, “drink more water and eat healthier.” So I joined a “Biggest Loser,” contest at work and weighed in. I was surprised to see that I was slightly closer to being 300 lbs. than I was to 200 lbs. (250-something)
I then worked out twice right off the bat and lost 9 pounds in one week. After that, I immediately stopped working out, gained back 6 of the 9 pounds and the weigh in is in 2 days. This post is a wake-up call to myself.
3. Write at least one story, poem or blog post at least once a week.
I have written at least one story a week so far this year. I was given a writing prompt book called, “365 Days of Joy,” or something like that. Every time I see it lying on the table, it reminds me I need to pick it up and writing something. (I wrote most of this post while waiting to be helped over the phone with my web-hosting company. I was on hold 38 minutes, which brings me to my next goal…)
4. Get a side business going this year, preferably doing something fun.
I have been working with a lady over the last few months who is a creative career coach. I have gone through her training and am now licensed to use her material. The two types of people I will be working with are: People who know they want to start a business, but don’t know what kind. Or they know what kind of business they want to start, they just don’t know how to get going. I will mainly do this online or over the phone, which is why I was on hold for 38 minutes trying to get my website going. More on that later in upcoming posts, which leads me to my last goal…
5. Be a better guitar/ukulele player by the end of 2016 than I was at the beginning of 2016.
My last goal of the year has been my most successful so far. I have played the guitar everyday this year so far. (It’s only January 18th.) I’ve also watched dozens of guitar tutorial videos on YouTube. It’s amazing what you can learn on YouTube.
I’ve been teaching other players some techniques that I’ve learned and if I didn’t already have two blogs, I would start a third called, “The evolution of a guitar player.” If I had the time, I’d spend the year showing my progress.
I’m not doing that though because I don’t need another project. I have bitten off more than I can chew many times over my lifetime. I now realize that in order for me to be successful, I need to set small goals and do something to achieve them on a consistent basis. Writing a post helps me keep on track. I hope that reading this will help keep you on track as well.
On a different note, Today is Martin Luther King Jr. day. Lately I’ve felt like we are taking a giant step backwards in race relationships. Here is a post I wrote 4 years ago on Martin Luther King Day. It seems like things have gotten worse than they were when I originally wrote this: Click here
Here’s the link if you’re getting this through email.
https://douglasthomaswallace.com/happy-james-earl-ray-day-everybody