I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, mostly because I’m only average at keeping promises to myself the rest of the year.
Or, at least, I used to be average. In 2004 I graduated to “decent” when I made three very broad resolutions – to be aware of my money, my diet, and my time. They didn’t mean I had to pinch pennies every day, avoid eating junk, and be productive 24/7 – they just meant I had to be conscious about when I wasn’t doing those things.
Three years to the day and these general promises to self are still in place and thriving, and I’m a much happier person for the effort. Why? Because even if I went on a bender of money or time wasting, or food devouring, at least I knew it was just a bender. At least I knew where I was coming from, and where I would be where I wound up.
In 2006 I think I might have eeked up the scale from “decent” to almost “good,” because, in 2006 I finally figured out how to do stuff. I saved for a new guitar. I traveled. I performed. I got a new job. I look back on a year full of milestones and accomplishments rather than a lump of time that just passed me by.
Part of the way I did that is by taking my general resolutions and making them macro. I resolved to achieve things in tiny bursts – two months of hanging out with my friends more often, or a season of blogging more. The more specific the goal – like jogging three-to-five times a week – the more prone I was to miss it.
As such, I don’t have any big resolutions for 2007. I do have a few general goals. I hope you do to.
[…] I examined my role as a narrator in my own songs, comparing it to that of an inanimate object. Elise and I found a new favorite restaurant, where we’ve since become regulars. I documented my seemingly endless struggle with organizing my home office. I started documenting my visual life. I reflected on how far my 2004 resolutions have got me. […]