As
someone who believes in public accountability here are my resolutions for the
year for the world (or at least the twenty people and / or robots who seem to
read my blog posts) to see.
1)
The Sincerity Project: I’ve already discussed this as
it is one of the main reasons for restarting the blog. In essence, my goal is
to change from being a cynical bastard to someone who is an actual caring human
being. To be honest this has been absolutely brutal to put into practice. I don’t
know if it is humanly possible to watch Brent Mussberger announce the BCS title
game and not be sarcastic but I am certainly trying. You’ll occasionally catch
me stopping myself from saying something and saying “sincerity check” instead.
Hopefully I’ll end up a better person for this at the end of the year.
2)
Complete the 13 week advanced
level of DDP Yoga:
I’ve mentioned it before but I am a huge fan of DDP Yoga. I firmly believe that
the best fitness programs are developed by former professional wrestlers as
they are clearly medical experts. I’m serious here, I’ve been doing DDP Yoga on
and off for the past nine months and the degree that my flexibility and fitness
have improved is amazing. I’m in the best shape I have ever been in and my
weight is now under 180 pounds, which is thirty pounds less than it was five
years ago. I really want to make it through the advanced level and see what the
results are.
3)
Keep the blog going all year: Huge challenge but I feel so much
better when I write that this is something I need to do. You may see more posts
like last night though where I hit a few points and then just end it. I can’t
spend an hour staring at a screen trying to figure out what to write any more.
Trust me, I really wish I had that much free time again.
4)
Read forty books: I’ve come close the past few
years but I typically end up falling short. This year I want to actually break
the forty book barrier. As always, my yearly goals of 1) read one classic
novel, 2) read something by a female author and 3) read a Shakespeare play
still hold and I can say that over the past decade the second point is no
longer a challenge. I had too many years where if it wasn’t for Harry Potter I
would never have achieved that goal.
5)
Travel someplace new this year: This is a nice way to say that
Kim and I need a vacation that is different than ones that we have taken
before. We are in a bit of a rut in terms of trips and just need to escape to
someplace fresh. Obviously we will still make our trip to New Orleans for the
Krewe of Barkus and all of the fun associated with our second home but I
particularly need to find myself in a new place.
6)
Reader’s Choice: I’ve done this before and it is
always interesting. Place your suggestion in the comments for what my
resolution should be and I promise to do it (legality permitting of course).
This is how I ended up doing yoga in the first place.
7)
Run a 5K: An easy fitness goal but one I
would like to do. After so many years of being scared of doing anything
physical due to fear of causing myself harm I want to go back to trying something
athletic. Plus, I will now be in the 40+ category so I might actually have a
decent chance at placing somewhere in the top 90%.
8)
Take at least five minutes each
day to just be: I
don’t think that I will ever believe just how lucky I am in life. I’ve achieved
so many of my dreams that I feel guilty about it. However, I’ve learned that
the man who gets everything that he has ever wanted finds himself pulled in a
thousand directions without time to appreciate or be grateful for any of it. If
there has been anything that I have lost over these past few years it is that
sense of appreciation of just what this world is. I’m hoping that by just
making myself to take five minutes in which I turn off everything, avoid the
digital noise that surrounds me and just let myself be and think I will be able
to improve myself in countless ways. That is the idea behind the Sincerity
Project. Modern life forces you to be tired, over-stimulated and cynical. I
want to be open, honest and thankful instead.
Wednesday Night Music Club: The best album of 2013 was easily
Jason Isbell’s “Southeastern.” It is a haunting and piercing collection of
songs that stay with you for days at a time. He is an amazing songwriter and
while this album can’t be considered uplifting (it deals with addiction and its
aftermath) you will not forget some of what he sings. This song, which closes
the album, ends with what might be one of my new mantras in life. “Here with
you there is always something to look forward to. My lonely heart beats
relatively easy.”
No comments:
Post a Comment