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?
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.
I refuse to form any resolution on command. That’s just avoiding issues all year long. Stop lying to yourself is my advice here.
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.
Kill the Batman
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.
I resolve to give up New Year’s resolutions. It’s too god damn much pressure.
Unfortunately now that I’ve made my resolution, I can’t figure out - did I succeed or fail at keeping my resolution?🤔
To only focus on what I can impact locally and build out more mutual aid.
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.
Drink even less alcohol than last year (and I cut way back last year, too)
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.
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.
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.
Try to be able to comfortably run a half marathon. This time last year I set the same goal but for 10k and I’ve definitely hit that goal, but want to go further.
Get more blowjobs
My biggest goal is to get a new band together. After moving across the country in 2021, I have desperately missed writing, recording, and most of all, performing.
