Lucky 2013

It hardly seems like it was 13 years ago that people were freaking out about the world moving into the year 2000, but here we are in 2013. We survived 2000, just as we did the doom of the alleged Mayan calendar-predicted end of the world last month. And as of last check, I have yet to see zombies in my yard. I’m sure the doomsday preppers gave a healthy boost to the economy, though.

Now here we are in 2013. We have a whole new year, a whole new adventure. What will it bring? Who knows? What I do know is there are decisions we can make now that can help shape how the year goes. Of course, there will always be those unknowns that will affect our lives, but if we never made any decisions, never tried, our lives would be pathetic. I, for one, am deciding to not be pathetic.

I’ve never been one for making and adhering to New Year’s resolutions. Such have always seemed to be so black and white, so specific, and a fast-track to failure. For instance, a person resolves to lose 50 pounds by summer, but only loses 30. Despite the fact that the person is probably healthier, he/she has still failed at achieving the resolution.

So with that in mind, I have decided to develop resolutions that recognize achievement without being so absolute. Dealing with absolutes is like going through life with blinders on. There’s a whole big world of possibilities and if one goes through life without at least recognizing that there are other possibilities/options beyond one’s scope of knowledge, one stifles creativity and misses a great deal of life’s beauty and delight.

Here are my resolutions for 2013:

1. I will do my best to get in better shape. I sit in front of a computer much too much. I need to move more and make some better food choices.

2. I will read more and play online games less. Playing online games is a great way for me to relax. But I can relax and expand my mind by reading more.

3. I will do a better job of letting those who are important to me know just how important they are.

4. I will do my best to rid my life of unnecessary drama. There are those persons in my life who insist on creating drama, despite knowing that I detest unnecessary drama. Much of it is to get attention, as said persons constantly have to have attention, but some also is to create a situation in which those persons can then swoop in and save the day. Either way, I’ve had enough and am going to do my best to get that crap out of my life.

5. I will do my best to cut loose unhealthy, dysfunctional relationships. Enough said.

6. I will do my best to develop healthy, meaningful relationships.

7. I will do my best to remain open to the possibility of options becoming available in the future and not restricting myself to only the changes mentioned above.

I hope each of you who reads this has a wonderful 2013! I plan to do so. Happy New Year!