What I'm Resolving in 2019

Another year over, and a new one just begun. 

Wouldn't it be nice if all of life could be perfectly captured with a succinct sound bite, a catchy lyric or two? I love Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," b/c it's a song that makes me feel happy and sad at the same time. It's rare a song can evoke such opposite feelings, and I love the ones that do it to me like that.

A new year just beginning is the perfect time for reflection and improvement. Resolutions seem to have gotten a bad rep, more and more people choosing to forgo them in lieu of the mindfuck they inevitably bring; quitting something cold turkey (or rather, starting something with wild enthusiasm), crushing it for about three weeks, then crashing hard when you realize it's impossible to sustain that initial momentum. I understand the naysayers who are all, "I don't need January 1st to tell me to live a better life;" the research is there, proving that most of us will indeed fail at our resolutions in some way. But why should we scoff at people who are trying to improve themselves? We're all just trying to be better people than we were yesterday (most of the time). 

I'm a sucker for a "fresh start" and a "clean slate" and all that "new year, new me" shit, even if I know I won't live up to my lofty January goals. I'm constantly trying to up my game in various areas of my life, but this year I'm looking differently at the whole concept of New Year's Resolutions. My resolution results for 2017 was such a mixed bag that I need to focus on two or three things that I'm serious about and forget the arbitrary rest of it.   

Honestly, I didn't even remember some of my resolutions until I reread my post from last year. I already knew I had failed at my resolution to blog twice a week, and looking back, I'm surprised I gave myself such a random goal. Blog twice a week for what? I enjoy writing, but I'm not going to force myself just to meet a self-imposed goal; I'm not going to feel guilty for not meeting said self-imposed goal. My blog isn't my brand, it doesn't make money, it isn't necessary for my job or my lifestyle; it's simply an outlet, a way I can connect with people, a diary I enjoy looking back on to see where I was in life. 

Another reason I'm skipping the self-imposed numbers goals is because it's just setting myself up for failure. One of my 2017 resolutions was to read 75 books. When I tallied up the number on my Goodreads account, I counted 97 books. Ninety-seven books. That's an awesome number for me, blowing past my goal by 22 books. But because it was just shy of 100, my initial reaction was, "wtf Brig? You couldn't have read three more books?"

In 2019, I want to keep this momentum going with my books/audiobooks. I want to spend some time with my sugar addiction and see if there's a way to alleviate some of the massive guilt I feel all of the time around food. I want to focus on the things that make me happy in life and be a more positive person. These aren't the resolutions I'm used to writing, and research says they will more than likely fail; they're much too general with no way to measure success. I'm a work in progress, as are my goals for the year. But I'm confident that when I reread this post next January, I'm closer to the person I want to be than I am right now. 

That's probably the bone broth talking, since I had a cup for lunch after reading about how amazing it is. Boosting immunity and reducing inflammation are some of the top benefits, right up there with being a smug bastard.