Resolution Check-In: Results for Last's Years' Promises

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

As I’ve mentioned on this board, my one New Year’s Resolution for 2017 was: I would become more positive.

And at the end of this year I have to report, I think I actually have become more positive. Not to the extent that I’ve cured my depression, but I believe I feel better about things in general. A little, at least.

I tried little exercises like writing down things I was grateful for. That only lasted through January. It got to be like homework I hated, so I stopped.

But I kept watch over myself, to catch my own mental abuse. I did not allow my inner voice to call me an idiot, even in jest. I think I managed that well. I still tend to think of all the bad things that could happen in life, and dwell on sad or angry memories. But I’m trying to remember, that even if the worst stuff happens, I would get past it, like I get past everything else.

And how many times does the worst happen anyway? Statistically speaking, it’s rarely, because it’s on the end of the spectrum of consequences. Whatever happens, the results of anything are likely to be somewhere in between the best outcome and the worst.

Yes, my mom became bedridden this year. But she’s still alive, and now she’s not falling down all the time like before. Yes, I have to be careful to keep her from getting bedsores, but her skin is in good shape so far. Yes, I have to help her with the commode, but there’s always the chance my cat Tippy will wrap up the poo in paper. And if I catch that on video, maybe I can put it on YouTube.

Yes, my job sucks, and it doesn’t make enough money. But it’s permanent with benefits. And they let me listen to the internet on my headphones as long as I get my work done. That’s never been the case at any job I’ve had before. Makes a big difference in making the time pass.

So, all in all, a qualified success. Still, I’m keeping this resolution for another year.
Along with a new one to write something creative everyday, no matter how short.
Maybe I’ll write me a novella of 365 sentences.

How about anyone else? How’d you do with your 2017 resolutions?

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What a wonderful idea for a thread. I’m glad to hear you have made progress - and it seems to have largely been in the area of self-acceptance and acceptance of circumstances beyond your control. That is huge.

Unfortunately, I can’t remember my New Year’s Resolutions, which should tell you where my head was at at the beginning of 2017. 2016 was so full of health problems I just wanted to retreat somewhere comfortable. I did make some good strides toward better living this year. Let go of a lot of my guilt and feelings of inadequacy, learned to accept the minor disaster that is owning two very different cats, and I let go of my need to have a perfect financial life… so I too, made strides toward acceptance. And I started working out, however inconsistently, I’m usually getting intense exercise at least twice a week.

I made progress on my book, but I had been hoping to finish by Summer of 2017 and I still have 5 chapters of revisions to go.

2017 was the year of getting soft, so comfortable and lazy that I became inert and unhappy. So this year’s resolution will be doing one thing outside of my comfort zone every day.

3

As has been my practice since about forever, I made exactly zero New Year’s Resolutions. And this past year, I’m pleased to say, I have upheld and succeeded at every single one! (And not for the first time, either!)

Yes, I think I’ve got this New Year’s Resolutions thing all figured out and well under control.

4

My resolution was a fun one: Try a new restaurant every week. And I couldn’t even do that!
I’m a mess. Lol.

5

Since I’ve failed at every health-based resolution so far, I decided to try something different. I told my wife my 2017 resolutions were to Drink More and Gain Weight. As expected, I failed at both. I’m drinking the same amount and have lost 10 pounds.

My more serious resolution was to withdraw from the hostile and partisan areas of US culture. I’ve succeeded there as well. With the exception of the hurricanes, I haven’t watched a minute of CNN, MSNBC, Fox, or any of the MSM national news this year. I do watch a small amount of DVR time-shifted local news in the mornings. I’ve also dropped all the comedy, talk, and most evening dramas as I’m tired of the constant insertion of politics into entertainment. Ditto for televised sports as well.

After a year, I don’t miss a damned bit of it. And I’ll probably never return.
As for what I did with the remaining time: I’ve spent it out in the woods, on the lake fishing or exploring with my underwater camera. I’m getting better with the drone and am using it for photography. We’ve been camping a lot, and traveled this year to see: Old Santa Fe, Monument Valley, some old ghost towns, the Gulf coast, ridden an old timey passenger train and eaten in the dining car, toured a hydro-electric dam, and haunted a variety of museums in the small towns in Texas and Arkansas. We’ve been upgrading and experimenting in our kitchen and it turns out we can match almost any restaurant meal, so we’ve only eaten out a few times this year.

Next year? More of the same. I’ve bought a larger, higher truck to get me and more gear further into the woods. I’ve put up larger fences and gated off my drive, and now the kids are calling the house my “Fortress of Solitude”. :wink:

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Like Senegoid, I kept every resolution I made.