Welcome to a New Year New You

I don't buy it.

I am absolutely certain that a new year will NOT automatically turn me into a new person. There's no magic spell or fantastical event that will change me from the person that I was at 11:59 PM on the 31st of December to a brand new person on 12:00 AM on the 1st of January.

The new year is not only a metaphorical change, but a social marker signifying that a change has happened. Gym and dieting ads are constantly popping about keeping up with your New Year's Resolution.

Instant change doesn't happen - no matter how much I sometimes wish it would.

Though I do think I've changed since the 1st of January 2018. The amount of things that can happen in 365 days is astounding and each event impacts my life in different ways. Whether that change has been for the better or worse is yet to be known (though typically upon reflection I'm more inclined to be annoyed with my younger self).

Change requires commitment and a plan of action. Resolutions are one way people try to establish that things will be different in the upcoming year. I've tried making New Year Resolutions in the past and I've stuck to them or remembered them by the time February rolls around.

Instead of making a resolution, I've desiccated that I'm doing trying a different tactic, one I am less likely to forget. I'm setting goals. Why am I setting goals rather than making resolution?

To put it bluntly, there isn't as much as a perceived pressure on me with setting goals as there is with making a resolution. A resolution bares a connotation that it is going to happen, a goal is more like an idealized destination that requires some sort of journey to get there. I don't necessarily have to meet these goals, but I'm going to have fun trying to meet them.

I have three main, somewhat easy, goals:

1. Read as much as I can - I've always been an avid reader, but lately I've been wanting to branch out into new genres and authors. 
2. Explore New York - I live near one of the greatest cities in the world. I haven't even scratched the surface of all the cool and unusual things I can do. My first adventure - seeing Wicked 
3. Live in the present - this one is going to be a lot harder than it sounds. I have this compulsion to plan things out. I'm always planning on what's going to happen in the future and it can cause me to miss things in the present. That's why I want to focus on mindfulness and being present in my day-to-day activities

Some of the books I plan on reading this year. One I've already finished.

Finally, I have set a reach goal for myself. It's not anything special, nor do I feel any pressure to attain it.

• Reach Goal - Have an adventure worth reading about

What do I mean by that?

I don't know yet, but I hope it's fun.

For many years I have lived under the assumption that I am the author of my life. However, I'm beginning to rethink this idea. 

An author/writer has complete control of the narrative. They are the gods of their creations. They can decide anything and everything from how a character reacts to bad news to the weather on a particular day. The only things I can control are how I react to the situation I am currently in. Ergo, I am not the author of my life at all, just another character on a fantastical journey who doesn't know how, when, or where the story will end.

Which is why if I'm going to have adventures, they might as well be worth reading about.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season and are ready for 2019.

Until next week.

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