posted
Here we have it: A New Year's Resolutions thread!
My resolution: Avoid procrastination(underlined), try to run more, get other ppl to run with, read a lot, do well in school, stay in touch with my friends who don't live terribly close to me, go camping, keep my grades up, do my homework and everything(See avoid procrastination), get myself new clothes more than like once a year. And my annual one: Be better in every way than the year before. It's what I go for. It's not a definite goal, but it's a pretty respectable one.
Posts: 655 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
In no particular order: Start teaching my own dance class at least twice a month. Become more financially independent. Do more regular cleaning in the apartment to show affection for my roommates. Finish all the LDS Standard Works and Jesus the Christ. Apply to UCLA to finally finish my Bachelor's. Finish comic book for Oni. Write at least one short story I like enough to sell. Write at least one screenplay worth passing on. Lose 15. Do the splits right-ways. (Can only do left-ways.) Get headshots. Learn to krump.
Posts: 3936 | Registered: Jul 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I don't really make any resolutions. I've found that no matter what happens, I never keep to them. I mean, I know that's kinda the joke involved with them. It just doesn't make sense to me though. I make goals each day, even though sometimes they are as general as 'Try to be a better person'. Sometimes I do something one day that I really hate, and my newest goal is to not do that again.
So yeah..... when it's all said and done, my resolution for the new year is simply, do things better.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Oct 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Several years ago, I resolved to give up making New Year's resolutions. So far, I've remained steadfast in my adherence to that resolution.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Continue to lose weight (2007 was a good year for this), sell... hm, at least six short stories (why not?), finish the novel I've been working on. At work: work hard, do my best to help the people who work under my command to succeed.
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: Several years ago, I resolved to give up making New Year's resolutions. So far, I've remained steadfast in my adherence to that resolution.
Bravo, Tante! That's like the old joke about giving up Christianity for Lent.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
1) Walk half an hour a day. 2) Drink some tea with Christy and chat for at least fifteen minutes after the kids are asleep. 3) Work on fiscal solvency. 4) Be more mindful of everything.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I like Tante's resolution. I think I'll try that.
Okay, no really --
I need to focus more of my time on family. Let's see . . . in concrete terms, that means: leaving work at the office, and choose volunteer activities that we can do together as a family.
I also need to get real firm with myself about daily physical activity. I did better last year, but there's still room for improvement.
And work with husband on getting the house remodel finished so we all live under one roof. Oooh -- what a job.
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I resolve to try to enjoy and actually learn something significant in this my last year of undergraduate coursework.
I resolve to continue losing weight, I've done well this year (about 25 pounds) but I want to continue and lose the rest.
I resolve to finish a novel. I've been playing around at writing for years, and never completed a full-length project. This will be the year I do so. I've already started one, and have it completely plotted and outlined, so I have some ground work laid. I will finish it. Even if it never gets published, I want to know I set that goal and accomplished it.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
No lies! And I mean strictly zero lies, fabrications, lies of omission, white, harmless, or otherwise. Pretty difficult, when you think about it. Most people are reliant upon little lies here and there.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
The corollary to telling no lies is having a fine sense of when to speak and when to say nothing at all. Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Sure, that works for some people, but I have a thick, damage resistant head and can rely on that.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I didn't mean for it to be a resolution, but I didn't get to it a month ago when I thought of it.
Exercise and write for half an hour on alternating days.
On a side note, I went to the sporting goods place for a sports bra and couldn't find any that fit. Walmart, on the other hand, had one that was just right for a fourth of the price. Go fig.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've never made resolutions in January. (At least I don't think I have...) It's too cold, and mid school year I'm too tired. The goals I've been most successful at meeting--and most proud of achieving--(changing my teaching practice, starting to exercise regularly, becoming a National Board certified teacher) are all projects I've started in the summer, when I feel full of energy.
But I like what I've heard here, and in the spirit of improving myself, I hereby resolve to call my grandparents at least every other week.
Posts: 834 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
1) Write in my journal every day, even if it's only a few lines. 2) Write creatively at least every other day, at least two pages. 3) Eat less crap & more vegetables; exercise sometimes. 4) Return to my normal weight of 120 lbs.
posted
I want to finish my MBA, exercise more, and be more sociable. I think being sociable makes me a lot less likely to become depressed, and exercise always helps with mood.
posted
Have I ever told you, Pearce, how incredibly surreal it is to me to watch you getting a Masters degree?
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
1. I started flossing every day a couple of weeks ago. I intend to stick with this one.
2. Some time last year, or maybe towards the end of the year before (it was a gradual change), I decided to become more social, and more socially aware and adept. It's now a policy to accept every social invitation I receive unless I have a very good reason not to. Plus now I hold dinners and parties at my place semi-regularly.
3. I've been doing more handstands in random places, really concentrating on my form.
4. I talk to strangers far more than I used to, and I'd like to even further reduce my inhibitions in this area.
-----
A couple of observations: speaking for myself, of course, I need to try things out and see if they fit into my life/schedule/routine before I can commit to permanent changes. In the past on numerous occasions I've made resolutions that were impossible to keep for any number of reasons, and each time when I stopped keeping up I'd feel guilty about it. Not the healthiest pattern, and I suspect it's rather common.
Now I think of it as more of an experiment: I make a change and see what happens. For example, about the same time I started flossing regularly I decided to stretch every day after my shower (basic stuff, plus a minute in each of my three splits). I stopped after 11 days, not because I couldn't keep going, or even because I didn't want to, but because I decided that the benefits didn't outweigh the costs. Instead I now make an effort to be more consistent about stretching after working out. One, it's more effective, and two, it takes less of my time.
Some things I want to experiment with or accomplish at some point:
1. Write a dream journal 2. Lucid Dreaming 3. Play the piano 4. Play go regularly 5. Write short fiction 6. Learn hip hop and salsa 7. Get really freakin' good at table tennis 8. Be able to climb every route and boulder problem at Mission Cliffs 9. Choreograph a slick, stylish, and astounding juggling act 10. Climb chinese pole in Cirque du Soleil 11. Write a game that people will play 12. Learn about graphic design 13. Do half the DIY projects in Make Magazine
Thing is, I'll never be able to be a lucid-dreaming, piano-playing, 9-dan, table-tennis-tournament-winning published author who hits the clubs every Friday and Saturday night and performs 10 shows a week while coding and make-ing on the side. But I'm ok with that. I will be able to do most of these things to a greater or lesser extent, some simultaneously and some sequentially. This list will get longer before it gets shorter, and it won't drop to zero until I die. So there.
Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jan 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Resolved: To not forget my resolution entirely, and to keep working on it.
I resolved to quit complaining. The very first day I noticed that I complained about 15 times that day. It was bad! I had no idea that I griped so much! But even my feeble attempts to stop showed me a glimpse of this huge ocean of happiness that was being held back by my constant carping.
So then over the next few days I got gradually better. I think around day 5 or 6 I actually managed to go a whole day without complaining once, even thinking it.
But then I had to sort of define things better. It is okay to make suggestions for improvement, so long as they aren't just complaints being rephrased. It's not okay to think the complaint and not say it. It's an attitude. I want to let go of the whole idea of griping about stuff because I HAVE NOTHING AT ALL TO COMPLAIN ABOUT. I still haven't decided if saying "ouch" when something hurts counts as a complaint or if it's just a physiological reaction. What do you guys think?
<laughs> So I was all chuffed about my complaintless day but then it seems I've lapsed since then and forgotten. But I really really want to have that ocean of happiness that I glimpsed from afar. I really want to quit whining and bellyaching all the time.
How do I not forget to keep working on it?
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Tatiana, have you heard of the book A Complaint-Free World? It may look a little hokey, but I found it both fascinating and useful. I picked it up on a whim off the new books shelf at the local library. The author describes a 21-day challenge to avoid voicing complaints, and it has been extremely difficult for me. However, just paying attention to how much I have been complaining was much more importantly than the details. What an eye-opener.
---
Edited to add:
quote:How do I not forget to keep working on it?
He recommends a physical marker, specifically a purple bracelet that you move from arm to arm when you recognize that you have verbalized a complaint. I just used my watch. The physical element was helpful to me, and according to the book it has been helpful for many, but YMMV.
posted
This is by far the hardest resolution I've ever made.
I thought I could do it easily because I was so close to honesty anyway and the only things I did that were lies were those little lies that we do everyday just as a matter of 'course' like if you really don't want to go to a party and the guy who is hosting it asks you why and you want to tell him 'oh i just had, uh, something else planned' but it's totally not true and now you have to tell him the truth aarg
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Samprimary, I do count it a lie if it saves *me* embarrassment, discomfort, whatever, and it counts as a courtesy if it saves *other people* from unnecessary hurt or discomfort. I totally enjoy the company, though, of people who bluntly tell the honest truth. I have a few friends who do that, and I find it refreshing most of the time. One thing for sure is that if they happen to say anything nice, you know it's sincere and not just politeness.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
CT that book sounds interesting. I seriously had no idea how often I complained until I started trying to stop. Today I did it twice. I count the times I think it, too. Not just voicing it. But learning to just let it go and remembering how lucky I am instead is seriously making me deliriously happy! Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Okay, does waking up grumpy count as a complaint? Or is it just a physiological phenomenon? I know at least one person who wakes up cheerful and pleasant, though I consider that a strange (if lovely) anomaly. Could it possibly be just a choice? I had no idea what deep waters I was going into with this decision to stop complaining. But I definitely see the benefits and I want to reap them now. I crave them. <laughs> So I don't want to give myself any easy outs. What is the conclusion about waking up grumpy? Is there a way to choose not to do that? Could I count it as not complaining as long as I don't actually groan or whine or weep tears and gnash my teeth? Would silent acceptance, even with eyes still slitted, and body barely moving count as not complaining?
Also, when your foot hurts badly, is it okay to limp? Or is that a form of visual complaint? And again, is saying ouch when you stub your toe or something considered complaining?
Someone else rule for me. I just don't know the answers.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I would venture that saying ouch is the reaction, complaining is when you tell everyone that your toe hurts today followed by a diatribe on the composition and location of certain office furniture. So im thinkin the motivation is the issue.
Also who is this person that's cheerful in the morning. That is not allowed. Polite I can do, (usually) but cheerful waits 'till after noon.
Posts: 686 | Registered: Sep 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
If someone asks you how you're doing, is saying "I have a runny nose, but otherwise I'm fine" a complaint or a statement of fact?
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Carrie, yes I'm wondering that too! I count it as a statement of fact. I have to not use a whiny tone of voice, and preferably state it in a positive way like "my foot feels better today" if it does, or "other than my foot injury, I feel fine".
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
calaban, it's mine and Grisha's friend BunnV who posts here sometimes. Grisha can confirm that BunnV is cheerful even if you wake him from a dead sleep after only 4 hours when he hasn't slept in the previous 36 hours before that. It's uncanny. I would love to learn how to do that, if it's something that can be learned. I expect it's genetic, though, or something that can't be chosen.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Now I've expanded the scope of my earlier goals and made the hardest and probably the most important resolution of my life... to be the sort of person I'd like to see Sasha grow up to become.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Do all homework this semester and not miss any classes. Usually my NY Resolutions involve a commitment to going to the gym, but I've been going regularly since August, so I'm finally free of that one.
I guess generally my resolutions are to eat healthier, continue the good work I did last semester in school, and to try and be more on time for things.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote: Exercise and write for half an hour on alternating days.
The exercise I've been off and on with (just starting back up again, so I'm only doing 10 minute routines in the morning), but the writing I was pretty decent about. My goal at the moment is at least 100 words a day, every day. I'm 13,000 words along, so I'm pretty pleased with that.
I'm hoping to step both goals up slowly. I'd like to get up to 30 minutes of exercise in the mornings and writing at least 500 words a day. I think I can do that by next year.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Mine is the same as always- lose weight. This year I lost about 15 pounds and I would like to do better next year. My ultimate goal is 40 pounds less then I am now- which would put me at perfect weight, not just healthy. I am doing this by living on a diet (I have been doing that since October).
I would LOVE to graduate. Unfortunately, I don't really feel like I control when that happens. I am doing everything in my power to have that happen next year though. Hopefully in about a month I will have an answer on that question .I need to isolate a specific mutant and once I do, I have 6 months until I graduate. So, the soonest I would have one isolated would be February. I am also working on writing up what I already have so that when I get this batch of experiments done, I will just have to write them up and add them to the rest.
Not exactly a me resolution, but I want my husband to get a job, so I am helping him turn in applications and find potential places.
If I can do the above, then I would like to start trying to have a second baby. For the weight loss one, I am only requiring myself to lose ten pounds before I get pregnant again. That would put me at my weight before I had Bin, which is just barely healthy range.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
It's what I go for. It's not a definite goal, but it's a pretty respectable one.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
