I, personally, like to take the opportunity to express aspirations: not just trying to stop doing things I feel are harmful, but also to try new things or practice positive things more. A couple from me:
- Avoid sarcasm when dealing with people, especially strangers, it does not go over well when they don’t get the joke
- Do something positive, helpful, and non-criminal to counter the right wing political trend. (granted, this one needs more detail)
How about you?
To only focus on what I can impact locally and build out more mutual aid.
Slow down, live in the present, and enjoy who and what I already have in my life. That includes being more forgiving to myself and others, worrying less about all of the possible things I could be doing (personally and professionally) and instead choosing one thing at a time to focus my energy on, and being more aware of my own thoughts and feelings, then expressing them in a healthy way.
To either finish projects or cancel them and move on. No more lingering crap.
That has been mine a few years ago inspired by the cult of done manifesto and I found it very compelling! Maybe you’ll find this helpful
That’s great! Odd to start it with a flex about sleeping with Kio Stark, but totally good thoughts. I was inspired by this rant video about perfectionism and not finishing being the “Great Filter” of projects. It reminded me of my old theatre days, when we always got everything done no matter what. We can get stuck in midstream if we treat what we’re making as a production-ready masterpiece instead of a prototype like it should be. I’ve adopted “the show must go on” as my motto for personal projects.
Someone I knew told me that instead of making resolutions, they used the new year to review the last year, and then maybe adjust their ongoing goals in response. Seems way more useful to me. I’ve done it a bit, and it gives more of a sense of direction/velocity, and less opportunity for guilty failure.
I plan to cause more chaos.
Hail Chaos!
Drink even less alcohol than last year (and I cut way back last year, too)
I wanna touch more unique turtles this year than I did last year, and last year I touched seven turtles.
It’s okay if I pet the same turtles again though, new year, new goal.
🐢
(That said, I much prefer an actionable and enjoyable goal like “go touch some turtles” to something nebulous and frustrating and intangible.)
How does one go about touching more turtles? We have plenty of snapping turtles in the area but I think trying to touch them would be risky.
Zoos, pet stores, mascots. Always with express permission, always wash hands after. Never touch wild turtles, always touch captive turtles very gently on the shell.
My resolution is fuck it
All of it?
(Seriously, that’s actually a good resolution if you have anxiety)
Maybe, we’ll see.
Kill the Batman
My goal has been for ages to lose weight. Biking to work was not feasible for time efficiency reasons. I gave up Coke (for something better). Now the food season is upon us and despite some progress I’m back where I was last year. So now I got a stationary bike for in front of the TV. It costs as much as a year of gym, but I can do it anytime. At least that’s the theory.
Also I’m probably going to pay for a dating app now. My request for friends and family to take pictures of me has largely gone unfulfilled, though.
To remember to make resolutions next year
Same as last year and the year before.
I want to be more mindful of the things I buy. I want to support local business first even if that means taking an hour or two to find something I like, instead of a few minutes.
It has a second benefit of filtering what I really need instead of what I want.
It is another small step to reduce my carbon footprint.
Get a car. I’ve never actually needed one but I’m staying in Thailand this year and the rainy season will be tough in 2025 so some shelter would be nice. It’s a big learning experience and the 2nd hand market here is really scammy so it’s not that easy to find something without investing a big chunk of time.
I don’t really do resolutions, but I’m looking forward to 2025 being a (hopefully) better year. I’ve already started a few things but I have a lot on my sort of to-dos.
- Find a new place to live
- Finalize divorce
- Focus on healthier foods, better habits
- Take my dog to a wide open beach and let him run
- Take back my independence
- Hope and pray the new political administration is more incompetent than they want to be
- Focus on my friends and found family, be a good person
The future holds so much right now and while I’m still struggling to feel optimistic, I do get the small tingles of hope now and again.
None of these have Jan 1 as the start date, but…
- I’m getting laid off, so getting a new job is top priority.
- Continue improving my physical fitness by being more consistent in my running and strength training. I cancelled my gym membership a little over a year ago, and have been struggling with consistency ever since.
Running outside is so much more enjoyable than running on a treadmill, but I struggle to get myself moving when it’s too cold/wet/dark/hot/sunny outside. - I deleted Windows and installed Linux Mint on my “primary” laptop, and it’s good enough for my basic needs, but I want to spend some time getting more comfortable with more complicated things, as I’ve already run into a few tasks that I had to either give up on or switch to a different device for.
