So it’s 2011. I find this really odd, mostly because when someone mentions something from say, 1998, I still feel like this was just a handful of years ago. By handful, I mean like two or three years. Five, max. It’s weird to think that anything that occured during the 90’s is now over a decade in the past. I swear, with each year, those twelve months manage to pass by quicker and quicker.
Usually, at New Year’s, I make some ridiculous resolution, like “I will lose x pounds,” where x is some number that will land me at a weight I didn’t even possess in high school. So this year, I’m actually going to try to make a few resolutions that I think are possible to keep.
» Goals for 2011 and beyond…
- Ream more
I’d been getting exceedingly better at this over the last few months of 2010. I want to keep it up. More books, more often. Genres I love, genres I don’t usually read. Anything and everything. I used to read like a fiend. I want to get back there. Or at least to half-fiend status - Stay in touch
I am downright horrible at staying in touch with people. I never call. I never email. It’s not that I deliberately avoid people. I’d just much rather like to see them in person. But I also commute over two hours daily during the week. The way I see it, this is perfect phone-catch-up time. That or, more reading time, by way of audio books. - Get inspired
Do, see, and go to more things. Visit an art exhibit. Go to the movies. Buy new music. Put up new art. Take more walks. Climb more mountains. Take pictures. Browse blogs. Travel. Sing. Read (hey, goal #1!). Any and all of these will do nicely. - Keep positive
This is something I already do 90% of the time, and so, I’m just gonna keep on doing it. I think this will be an even more critical goal in 2011 seeing as I just started querying. Not all things that at first seem negative (a rejection, for example), actually are. Look for the bright side of everything, try to see things from another angle, stay positive. Learn from mistakes, adjust, and keep trucking. - Be there
Sometimes, amidst all the writing and editing and querying, I sort of forget to be present. I need to remember to balance things. Each and every moment only happens once, and sometimes it is more important to jot myself a note, and then abandon my laptop to say, go for a walk with my husband, or bake a pie, or redecorate a room, or watch a movie, or go for a run, or stargaze, or sleep, or breathe. Just sit there and breathe, without obsessing over my MS. Everything in moderation. Be there, be present. Take a break, enjoy the little moments, and then return to my writing.
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I like that these resolutions are not based on some concrete number, or doing them all within a twelve month time frame. I like that they are more of lifestyle resolutions. Things I can do for many, many years. Because if something is worth making into a resolution, why stop after the year is up?
So those are the goals, my 2011 resolutions, both in writing and in life. What are your goals for the new year?
