There are only two kinds of people when it comes to New Year's resolutions: Those that do and those that don't. I am definitely in the former category. I realize that, in the end, our imperfections always trump even the best of our intentions (my parents would be so proud - those weekly catechism classes and Bible classes at John Calvin's knee were not a complete waste after all). Despite the time constraints imposed by the first annual Hermit Crab Festival, I have produced a list, broken down by life category, major themes and specific aims.
In 2009, I will:
(1) ...exercise my brain. I will spend more time listening to classical music. I will read one real book a month. I will write one blog post per week.
(2) ...love my body. I will workout at the gym three times a week. I will go to yoga class once a week. I will get some form of aerobic exercise on the weekend. I will exercise my smiling muscles.
(3) ...become financially independent. I will keep household expenses under control. I will enlist my wife in this effort, as she needs to keep her spending under control. I will nix any unnecessary spending. I will reduce our debt (mortgage and auto loans) so that we are debt free in three years. I will increase contributions to my retirement plan.
(4) ...put MY science first. I will spend time in the lab - doing experiments and talking to people instead of holed up in my office doing paperwork. I will actually read journals before I toss them onto the discard pile. I will not over commit myself and I will follow up on commitments that I do make - sooner rather than later. I will keep a heavy finger on the delete button of my university email inbox. I will keep my office and lab organized to my liking.
(5) ...eliminate clutter at home. I will keep the house clean and organized. I will give the dogs a good walk in the morning. I will clean out the garage.
(6) ...be a father to my son. I will play with him every day. I will continue to provide an environment that is conducive to his physical growth, personal development and intellectual maturation. I will not lose my temper and, if I do, I will apologize immediately.
(7) ...determine if I should stay married. The unanswered status of this question has begun to impair other aspects of my life. Am I staying in this relationship because I am supposed to, because I am needed? Am I staying because this is what I really want to do? I will look for a competent therapist to help me answer this question.
OK - there you go. Check back next year to see how I did.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
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4 comments:
You're going to be verrrrrry busy if you manage to stay on top of all this!
I like my substitute-for-a-resolution better. :-)
That's an awesome list - I myself am still pondering the schedule, trying to decide which rides to attend...
Anais - ok, so my ADD is showing just a little bit. Actually, I am already doing many of those things - I just need to remind myself to continue to work at them. For example, I do play with my son quite a bit. But there are times when I catch myself putting him off. I have to watch myself there, to be sure that putting him off doesn't become a habit.
Val - going over the schedule is the fun part, isn't it!
In that case, all you really need is a system to remind yourself of your resolutions. I have my very annoying office calendar reminder system set to remind me, every single work day, to keep a particular balance in a particular relationship in mind (you probably know the one). You can probably think of ways to remind yourself of your resolutions in a similarly annoying, but effective, way.
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