It is that time of the year again.
We as a species love numbers. Tons of superstitions are based on them like
lucky numbers (mine is 6) or unlucky ones like 13. Dates were fun for the past dozen years as we
went from 01/01/01 to 12/12/12 and everything from weddings and parties to the
end of the world were tossed out there based on all sorts of numerology. My favorites were the people inducing or
halting labor so their children wouldn’t be burdened with the birthdate of
06/06/06.
Real or imagined the start of a new year, a new calendar, a
new month even a new week or day always fills us sense of hope. This hope is epitomized in the creation of
resolutions where we lay out our hopes for making our lives better in the New
Year. Cynics, like me, will say that
resolutions are wishes and wishes are dreams which mean they aren’t real. I don’t like the structure of that sentence
and I’ve softened on that notion too.
Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t flipped entirely to the
resolutions are okay bandwagon. I still
say that goals are the key to improving your life because they are plans and
steps and actions. Goals are blueprints
you can follow to achieve the things you resolve to do or dream to have.
My resolutions (and goals where acceptable) for 2013 are as
follows:
I resolve to drink
more tea and less coffee.
Simple right? Easy
resolution and really don’t need to attach a goal list and action plan. I am just substituting black coffee with
green tea at every opportunity. Maybe
Chia tea, that sounds fancy. Mostly I am
falling for the marketing hype of the benefits of tea over coffee.
I resolve to travel
more.
Now that is a fun resolution, but here you need to set up
goals for it to be more than a dream of when I have time or money or an idea of
where to go then I will vacation. So
here’s the goal
-I will travel at least once a month in 2013.
Measurable, time based and personal so a legit goal I
think. I want at least one west coast
trip and one international trip so sub-goals.
I will get my passport in January of 2013 or at least get
through the process of getting a passport in January because I do not control
the mail. This is a key action step for
international travel.
I will save $5,000 for a trip to England, Ireland or Italy
by September 2013. A specific amount but
not a specific location mostly because I’d like to go to any or all of those
places and really I just need one to reach the goal.
I will save a $1,000 for a trip to San Francisco in July of
2013. That’s the west coast location,
though I may change it to Seattle, see it’s the waffling that ruins good
intentions. I’d like to plan it loosely
around a trip to a baseball game that’s why either city works plus both
intrigue me for cultural reasons.
I’m always planning a trip to Minnesota for the State Fair
in August and those costs are mitigated with a bed at my mother’s house and
meals partially covered too. Plus it
counts as a visit to family, a resolution that I have had since moving out of
my parents’ house to keep in contact with my family. Bam! Three months and three trips down.
Savannah in January, New Orleans in February, Austin in
March, New York in April, Destin in May, Nashville in June, Toronto in October,
Starkville in November and somewhere in December. Off the top of my head these are places I’d
like to go, maybe Myrtle Beach, Chicago or Santa Fe. Some of those are easier than others and if
the budget is $500 a trip that’s $4,500.00.
Ummm…that’s $11,500.00 and let’s call it $12,000.00 for
incidentals and that is the entirety of my savings in a year. Hell of a budget.
Maybe a trip a month is excessive, so the new goal for
travel.
-I will travel at least once a quarter in 2013.
Baby steps, so keeping MN and one to Europe that gives me a
West Coast and New Orleans for the goal.
I can always pepper in more, the goal has the cheat “at least” built
right in so two in a quarter still satisfies the goal and now the budget is
closer to $7,000 altogether.
I resolve to be a
better person.
Hopeful, lofty and gross.
Resolutions like that give the whole process a bad name, plus I’ll break
this one on the way into work on 01/02/2013.
-I will give at least $1,000.00 to charity in 2013.
Make me a better person?
Probably not but if the measure is helping others than hopefully this
goes a small way toward that.
Now it’s going to get hazy, I am not wildly optimistic by
nature and I haven’t done nearly enough research to make real goals here.0
-I will engage with other humans socially more frequently in
2013 and attend a cultural event once a month.
Usually I don’t do these things because I am alone and
buying one ticket for something feels sad to me. Also I live in the social void that is
Newnan, GA. The phrase “a great place to
raise a family” means there is nothing to do but attend soccer games for six
year olds. This dovetails into the next
goal.
-I will move to a home that I own (with a bank underwriting
it presumably) by the summer of 2013.
I’ve decided the time is nigh for homeownership and it will
be telling. If I get a place in Newnan I
am picking a safe and familiar place where my social life is null. If I move to a place in or near the city
(Atlanta in case that was confusing and why are you reading this if you didn’t
know that?) then I am picking uncertainty and a shorter commute to work for the
chance at a wide slate of activities to engage in regularly.
-I will continue to work on my diet and exercise program
because I feel better about myself when I fit in chairs and can climb stair.
Not to mention lower health care costs and a better personal
appearance does wonders for self-confidence.
Sub parts of this goal
I will exercise every day.
Now the minimum requirement is the morning exercise routine, leg and arm
movements with basic free weight exercises and jumping jacks. You’d be surprised how hard jumping jacks are
after the age of forty.
Skip eating out and avoiding carbs (sugar and flour). Breakfast shakes for protein, salads for
lunch and baked fish or chicken with steamed vegetables for dinner. Trying to keep the meals small and chew more
diligently. All the small things add up
to big things.
-I will schedule a doctor’s appointment for a full checkup
in 2013.
It’s been three years or so, it’s about time.
I’m going to stop there for now but never stop trying to
improve every day. Life is a combination
of several parts of ourselves and new time I’ll go over some work goals, spiritual
goals and maybe some family goals.
Later.
