2014 A New Year and a New Bear

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I decided to take a bit of a different tactic with my goals in 2014 than the past two years.  This year I am making my goals a little more obscure, they will not be as specific as those outlined in the past.  The reason I decided to be a bit vague is because I believe it will make my goals seem less intimidating.  I was not intimidated by every goal I have set the past two years, but there are some personal ones like weight loss that when I put a specific number on things I feel like I've failed.  The last two years I have lost weight but not as much as I had wanted to, and rather than feel good about moving in the right direction, I felt a bit embarrassed for not meeting my stated goal. 

The danger in being more vague is the potential to fit things I do not really have as goals into the framework of the less specific statements this year in order to make it seem like I met a goal when in fact I did not.  Our readers will have to trust me that I will not do that.  I hope that my past assessments of my yearly goals have been enough of an honest account of what I did that I can be trusted not to stretch the truth. 

Something that is very important for me in 2014 is to lose weight, but not just to lose weight, but to do so in the right way.  That means that I really want to eat healthier and exercise more this year.  If I do not lose quite as much weight as I would like to, but know that I am living a healthier lifestyle, than I think I will still have met my stated goal.  I do not eat a bunch of fast food as is, but I could eat less and order fewer pizzas this year while eating more greens and having some kind of regular exercise routine (something I have not really had for a few years now).  Regular means weekly in my world, so if I can stick to a weekly routine I would be pretty proud of that. 

Another big goal for me this year is to be more adventurous.  To me that means I need to take more chances on things in 2014.  I need to test my comfort zone in a good way and that does not just mean travel, but it could also mean looking for a new job (something that has been a past goal I have given a half hearted effort to) or going on more dates/ or joining a dating service and going on dates (my dates the last few years have been quite limited).  Do I need to do all those things?  No, even though it would be nice if I could do all those things and more too.  I at least need to do a few and give them an honest effort to feel like I have been more adventurous. 

I want to be a nicer and a more considerate person in 2014.  I have found that as I have gotten older that I have lost a lot of patience I once had with other people and have lost a lot of the trust and faith I have in others.  I think that some of that is getting over the naivete of youth, but on the whole when I am feeling better about others, I am feeling better about my self.  I think I can be be better with the people I work with.  Instead of just thinking they are lazy or don't want to take the initiative on anything I can tell them the things they can do to be helpful and thank them when they do those things.  I can not roll my eyes behind the office door when the third person in a row comes to the door JUST after I went into the back room to do back office work.  They don't see when I do that, but I tend to be shorter with the customer and not quite as friendly.  I need to appreciate that I still have enough time in my day to do what I need to do and take the time to give the same consideration and friendly service to that person as I do for someone when I have already completed all my other work. 

I want to read more again this year.  I love reading but I am a horribly streaky reader.   I've had years where I can read maybe 3 or 4 books all year and years where I've read between 40-50 books.  Here I've often put numbers on how many books I should read.  I don't want to do that this year, but I know that I can read more than I did last year when I read about 8 or so books all year.  I intended to read a lot more than that, but did not.  Reading also helps me to relax.  It helps my waking hours and my dreams.  I think it probably contributes to my mood and will help with my goal of being a better person.  That said, I have to allow myself to drop a book when I'm not enjoying it.  I get stuck in a reading rut often times when I start reading a book and can't get into it.  I feel an obligation to finish it before I start something else.  Either I muddle through and slow my reading pace down, sometimes I finally get into the book, and other times I will just go a couple of months without picking up any book.  I have to convince myself that it's okay to move on from a book I'm just not enjoying. 

The final thing I am setting for myself this year is to enjoy my sports teams without having to live and die with them as I have for years now.  This is going to be extremely tough to change.  I've gone over 27 years now without any of the three professional sports teams I dearly love winning a title.  In fact, in the the 30 years I have been a San Diego Chargers, New York Mets and New York Islanders fan, my teams have won a grand total of 1 championship (my 1986 Mets).  The Chargers are currently in the second round of the NFL playoffs.  Win or Lose I want to be able to enjoy them and the effort they put forth this season and every year going forward.  My teams failures often times turn into personal failures because they depress me, make me question my religious faith at times (which is ridiculous), make me question my own worth (as if who I am personally has any affect on whether or not my team wins or loses) and put me in a sour mood, making me sulk, sit around and generally be a bum.  That kind of behaviour needs to stop.  I actually think I've gotten a bit better with it this past year.  I want to continue that.  There are so many things that I intend to do and leave undone when I get depressed after my teams lose and when they win it can bring a temporary high that might cause me to lose focus on things that need to get done and responsibilities I have to myself or friends or family.  I don't have to revel in the victories.  I can enjoy them, appreciate them in the moment, then move on from them, and if I'm lucky take a little time at the end of the year to reflect and revel a bit in them if they reached that illusive pinnacle. 

Those are my goals for 2014.  I love New Years.  They seem to come faster and faster the older I get.  Hopefully I can slow this one down and enjoy it even more than 2013 and 2012 and 2011, etc, etc...  I think that if I can achieve my goals this year that come 2015 I'll be able to look back on a very good year.  I hope that Carlyn and all who read our blog will have a fun, healthy and successful 2014! =)