Resolutions and Goals

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.