Resolutions '23

[tedwords]

"This year's book, at midnight turns to footnote in the next." Terri Guillemets

I really do believe in the power of making resolutions at the start of a new year. I'd better, I've only been writing about it professionally for the past nine years. 

And it's true: if you set a goal for yourself at the start of the year, at the very least, you're thinking about where you want to go and maybe setting at least rough plans in motion for how to get there. Studies have shown, too, people who make resolutions tend to feel at the end of the year better about the direction they ended up in, and more positive about their future. 

With that said, here are my personal resolutions for the year ahead. You don't need to read it, I just want to post it so I have it out there. That's always a good thing, too. And it doesn't mean I will beat myself up if I don't get there by the end of the year, and it also means I have put in some (what I call) hedonistic goals for the year ahead. The term just makes me smile. I like hedonism.

FINANCIAL
a. Support Corb's business so it continues to grow. In 2022 he did a great job, doubling his space and now he is set to double it again. This has been a lot of fun in the past year and I want to continue my Thursday night walks as he continues to light up the world.
b. Help support Kay's wedding! Happy to say that on Christmas eve, Dan popped the question, and they are getting hitched in October '23. I want to support that to make her wedding something she can remember for the rest of her life.
c. Make Green Victoria even more beautiful! We are so close to finishing our terra forming project, but there are so many other areas after that needing attention.

ARTISTIC
a) Commit to a longer-term creative project to get involved with, focused on writing. This one I didn’t do as well as I wanted to in 2022, but life kind of got in the way with the new job taking center stage. That will continue to happen for the next year or so, but perhaps there is a way to find some time, because I do have a few ideas in mind. And at least I have narrowed things down.
b) One personal journal entry a week. I did better than I thought I would in 2022, averaging at least two a month (and much more on travel months), but still can do better. (Actually, I just checked and I wrote 37 entries in 2022, up from 17 in 2021. So, doubling is good...I would like to do even better.)
c) Last year I put down read more, which I amply fulfilled in 2022. I want to continue that in the year ahead.

HEALTH
a) Lose weight. Last year I went from 210 to 192 and I know I can do even more.
b) Continue to eat healthier. I haven’t had red meat since June nor eaten anything fried, and I want to keep that up. Still, I would like to work in a French restaurant into the mix at some point. I miss that. Moderation is key.
c) DRIVE! It hasn’t made much sense (especially financially) for me to get a car in the world we have been living in, but I will need to be going in a bit more in the year ahead. Might be time to juggle car payments along with everything else.
d) THRIVE! No more adventures like the one we had in 2022. Sorry, I am looking long term here.
e.) Give back. I was given a gift in 2022. I need to use it to do good.

HEDONISM
a) TRAVEL: Go on two more cruises in April and July. Barbados and Bermuda bound!
b) DINING: One new restaurant to experience a month. One new martini each week.
c) ADVENTURE: New places to see, at least one a month. Including different theater experiences.
d) MORE SHITTY MUSICAL MADNESS: Corb may not exactly love them, but we get so many people telling me how much they enjoy our Friday night torture fests, which is always so gratifying to hear. And I kind of have a whole series of themes already mapped out for the year ahead. Who knows, this may end up turning into a book someday. (Note: this is not something I share on Live Journal, although I kind of wish I could.)
e) GET BY WITH THE HELP OF YOUR FRIENDS: Last year I adopted the slogan, “You deserve better than transactional friendships,” and it was an eye opener. But it doesn’t have to be an antagonistic creed, I think. I want to continue to work on what really matters in the year ahead. I truly do believe (and this year has proven it to me) that certain people are put in your life for a reason and our entire life is spent orbiting around these souls, finding interactions and connection points, and attempting to strengthen or improve these bonds (not to get too deep, some of which span the centuries). Some interactions aren’t meant to be like that, and that’s okay. Separate and use your energy for what you were meant to use it on.

That's all, I think. 2023, be warned!