I know. I know. Resolutions are lame. Everyone has them and few of us follow through with them for more than a few weeks or months at best. But for some reason, I think about this every year. I have great intentions of following through. Then one excuse or another evolves and I inevitably go back to same the old routines and habits when one of my inner beer gulping, curse word breathing, fatty food devouring, lazy ass Sunday lounging demons rears it's not-so-ugly head.
I hear some people say you should write them out. What for? I don't know about you, but I can guiltlessly toss a piece of paper with the best of them; my old grade school teachers can attest to this. Others say you should tell your friends. Only problem with that is that my friends will be doing the things I may be trying to give up or minimize in my life and even more so, we bust each others proverbial balls so often that some elbowing about some resolutions would go by unnoticed.
No. I thought this year, I would commit it to the grand and glorious Internet.
So without further ado, here are my 2013 resolutions (in no particular order):
1. Be More Patient - With everyone. I've always had a short fuse. I'm always in a rush. I always want my kids to be jumping ahead of other kids in their classes/play groups (developmentally, of course; we don't raise line cutters here). A little preplanning and a little patience would do me wonders. Furthermore, I read somewhere that comparison is the thief of joy. In which case, I have thieved a lot of joy out of my life. It's time to sit back and let it all happen and only intervene when absolutely necessary.
2. Find Some Balance and Lose A Little of Me - I've always been a little selfish, maybe even a smidgen more than a little. I talk a good talk, but when it comes to walking the walk I look more like an orangutan. As a stay-at-home dad, I have done a fair bit of "poor me". I want to go running, get in a workout at the box, work on my blog, take pictures, enjoy some beers with friends and eat amazing food all of the time. I've had a hard time letting go of that "me" concept and to start truly focusing on my kids. After all, they are my responsibility and I need to be more responsible. However, I still need to find time outside of the boys time to work on those other things. They won't all get done everyday, and there will surely be some really early mornings and some late nights...but there has to be a balance.
3. Watch What I Eat - Notice I didn't say "diet". Diets are awful, trendy and vastly failure ridden. Do people fail because of the diets? Of course not. They fail because diets are often too restrictive and certainly not permanent. We go on vacation. We go to parties. We have cravings. I just need to keep those cravings in check, and stop cleaning my kids plates. I was talking with a good friend the other night who has gone vegetarian (sort of) after watching Forks Over Knives (I have yet to watch it). His philosophy is unless that plate of meat is going to be amazing, then he doesn't need to eat it. I love my meat, but I think I can get on board with this to some degree. I could happily eat meat 7 nights a weak, but maybe 1 or 2 is better. I just have to get the boys on board...hot dogs everyday may be coming to a close.
4. De-Booze - I know what you're saying: "Say it ain't so!" Now hold your horses. I love a good beer or cocktail as much as a good burger or steak. But I don't need one or two every night of the week. I need to get back to the good ol'H20. Just like my food intake, not every beer or cocktail is going to be amazing, so are they all worth it? Definitely not.
5. Start A New Creative Project - I have had ideas for photography, tattoos, books and scripts I have been saying I was going to start for years now. 2013 is going to be the year I get it started. I'm not saying I am going to get it finished, but, at the very least, the ball will be rolling along.
And that's about it. Nothing too crazy or outlandish. Some real attainable goals, in my opinion. And if I should trip up at any point, and I will, I don't plan on beating myself up for it. We'll see how long this lasts.
So what are your resolutions? Are you keeping the list short this year or do you have a laundry list?
Let me know, I'd love to hear.
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