Steely Resolve

Another Thursday post from Boyfriend!


I think it is better to set some yearly goals for yourself before Christmas rather then the standard New Years resolution. The Holidays are stressful creating new habits or getting rid of bad ones can be too much. If you begin the changes before the Holiday pressure ramps up the chance of actually succeeding.


This past year has seen some goals realized and some unrealized. I gave up smoking last year. I’m really happy that I have not smoked in almost an entire year. I have not gotten down to 165 lbs. My job is not soul crushing. I don’t make even close to six figures. I guess you win some and you lose some.

What do I resolve to do in the next 365 days? Here are my goals for a little bit of 2011 and most of 2012.

I am going to work harder at listening. By listening I mean both physically listening as well as actually paying attention. I think I have some hearing loss, so I have a really hard time hearing what people are saying especially if there is background noise. This is not so bad except that I also have some really bad ADD - so as soon as I stop hearing I also stop listening. I know I can actually hear most everything people say if I really try. I’m going to start trying.

I am going to make sure I do things that are on my to-do list. While I was unemployed over the summer I started really using a to-do list with a daily calender. I really felt good about this. It was everything people had told me about all these years. As I got back into the grind of the 60 hour work week my to-do list has fallen by the wayside and I’m starting to not get stuff done. To-do list you are back! Deal with it.

I am going to finish what I started out to do when I moved to New York. I am going to make significant progress towards launching an amazing coffee company. I’m inching closer to this as I write my business plan.

I want to put a ring on it. On our second date our MatchGirl said rather bluntly “look we are both not in our early 30’s so if you want to date me you better know I want to get married and have babies.” I was not too taken aback as I knew the score going into it. Needless to say I’m not the type to jump into a life commitment when all the pieces aren’t in place. This year I need to put them in place. (Yeah I called my shot there, as the Unicorn said “So What”)

I hope all of these things happen in 2012. I feel like I’ve come up with a plan of interrelated things that when the come together will lead us down the path to a better life. What better way to start a new year. What are your resolutions for the new year?