I just wrote a lengthy blurb on why New Year's Eve sucks so bad. And it does. But upon rereading the blurb, it came across pretty self-absorbed, so I deleted it. It had to do with resolutions and how you must be weak and fragile to initiate life-altering change on January 1st just because you hung up your new 2024 Garfield calendar.
It touched upon how I, Matt Todd, must be superior to you because I don't focus on drastic change and shallow hope when a new year begins. But while showering during a break from contemplating and typing, I thought to myself something different. As much as I'd like to admit that I am focussed on maintaining my current lifestyle and frame of mind, as opposed to immediate change, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about what I'd do differently this year. Maybe it's all the television and social media hype centering around New Year's resolutions and the like, being shoved down your throat like cheap champagne in a matter of hours. Maybe it's because my birthday is only a week after the year changes, and that doubles my thoughts of what to do better. Goals aren't a bad thing. And I think we all need to start looking at "resolutions" as just "goals". And they don't need to fucking start on January 1st. If you need this arbitrary date to give you a kick in the ass, then so be it. But goals should be strived for year round, into the next, growing and changing. Goals should not be "one and done", meaning that they should evolve into a more precise goal, or have different steps or tiers. Let's start with the obvious "Exercise More/Eat Better/Lose Weight" combo platter that every schmuck in the universe thinks about on this day. Let's say that I decide suddenly that I'm going to hit the gym every day and lose 20lbs and be in excellent shape at age 50. Nothing wrong with that, and who knows, I might. If I feel like it. But what happens after you lose that 20lbs? Do you go say "mission accomplished" go back to your old habits, regain everything, and recycle the same "resolution" the next year? No, man. If you want to lose weight, lose it. That's your goal. Then set another like-minded one. Like hiking a 14er or running a half marathon. Then, perhaps, start incorporating these tendencies and habits into your everyday lifestyle. Learn to cook. Learn to cook well. Learn to cook healthy, real foods. Or you know, something along those lines. A calendar shouldn't tell you how and when to start doing these things. Just fucking do them. That's super easy for me to say. But I also understand that it's easy to get caught up in the everyday complacentness and a wake-up call on December 31 might come in handy. We all want to be better. Even me, Matt Todd, who is comfortable with maintaining the status quo. But what if the status quo can be even better than it is now? Wow, that's something I might be interested in listening to. Things are awesome now. But you're telling me that they can potentially be even awesomer? Awesomer always gets me jazzed. I currently have a goal. And it's not to lose weight. It's to procure some land in the Rocky Mountains. I didn't make that goal on December 31, 2022, I made it on some random Tuesday over the summer when I realized that is what I want for myself, my family, and my friends. That goal will stay steady until achieved. Then that goal will morph into solidifying some sort of shelter on that land, be it a camper, bunk house, or yurt. When that's settled, then I'm sure the focus will be more long term, as in a cabin with an actual foundation. This goal of mine has different tiers, and I'm approaching it as such. No cart before the horse. And I'm trying my hardest to be realistic about things, because "goals" and "dreams" aren't always the same thing. I've got another goal, and it's to barbecue more. Again, I didn't create this resolution while watching Ryan Seacrest host a Rockin' New Year full of terrible music and bullshit. I thought about it while concentrating on my new career in Education. I purposely scaled back barbecuing so I could focus on teaching kids how to read. Now that I feel comfortable in that, I would like to start mixing in more barbecue, like we did three or four years ago. So I'm going to, and it has nothing to do with NYE. Or does it? (I probably wouldn't be writing this if it weren't December 31...) So yes, things are good. Can't complain. But if I get closer to, or actually achieve one of my goals, then things would be better. Awesomer > Awesome. This is stupid, and I'm a bit embarrassed to share, but I kind of look at life as one of those "curvy roads ahead" road signs. And you can look at each year this way, too. There are always going to be some twists and turns, but eventually you straighten back out. Yeah, that's dumb, but I like visuals. I dig my life. But I also don't want to be complacent. I want to fine-tune it and tweak it so it can be a little better and a little better. When you do that, you're going succeed and you're going to fail. And I hesitate to call it a fail when you're in the middle of doing something that requires trial and error, because that term seems to discount the fact that you are learning something paramount in the process. Starting to dig a little too deep here. But you get my drift. Moral of the story: Goals, not resolutions. Create them year round, not just on NYE (although NYE is a reasonable time to be reminded to do so). Maintain. No drastic, unrealistic crap. Stay within your wheelhouse and keep on truckin'. And remember, New Year's Eve sucks.
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AuthorI am Earl. Archives
May 2024
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