In deciding upon this year’s New Year’s resolution, several were discarded for a variety of reasons. Among them were the following:
Lower my total cholesterol to under 200.
My current total cholesterol is 203, which is 3 points higher than the desirable level. My LDL (the bad cholesterol) is 113, which places me in the “near ideal” range, and my HDL (the good cholesterol) is 73, which is outstanding. Overall I lowered my total cholesterol by about 12 points in 2011 and would like to bring my total cholesterol and LDL levels into the ideal range in 2012.
I did not make this a New Year’s resolution, however, because I have no simple way to measure my progress. I will have another physical with my doctor at the end of 2012, at which time my cholesterol will be measured again, but I will be flying blind during the twelve months between physicals, thus making it impossible to track my progress.
I intend on lowering my cholesterol in 2012, but it did not qualify as a formal resolution.
Write and perform a 5-10 minute standup comedy set in 2012.
I would like to attempt standup comedy someday, but with the amount of writing already on the docket in 2012 (too much in my wife’s estimation, especially with the arrival of Baby #2 in June), in addition to the storytelling that I intend on doing via The Moth and other unexpected opportunities, I thought that this goal would only hinder me from completing others.
Perhaps 2013 will be the year of comedy.
Launch a proposed business venture with a close friend.
A friend and I have a possible business idea on the drawing board that we hope to launch in 2012, but there is great uncertainty in terms of the viability of the business, so it was not a resolution to which I was willing to formally commit in 2012. I suspect that if the business proves to be viable, it will launch this year, but it’s equally likely that we will deem the opportunity not worth our effort and time.
Read a specific number of books in 2012.
Several people suggested this resolution to me. Two years ago I established the goal of reading a dozen books published within the calendar year (and achieved the goal fairly easily), but that goal was set in order to force me to read more current material.
My attitude towards overall reading has always remained the same:
Read as often as possible in 2012. The number of books doesn’t matter if I am reading as much as I can. Therefore no resolution is needed.
Spend X amount of time with Clara and Baby #2.
Several people suggested resolutions pertaining to time spent with Clara or equity of time and attention in terms of the coming baby. My attitude towards my daughter (and my future child) is similar to my attitude in regards to reading:
Spend as much time as possible with my daughter, and starting in June, with both children. Setting a goal would imply that I am failing to spend enough quality time with Clara already, and this simply is not the case.
Therefore no resolution is required.
In terms of resolutions from the previous year, the following were eliminated from the list in 2012:
Drink at least four glasses of water per day.
I accomplished this goal in 2011, and while I will likely continue to drink more water than in previous years as a result of this resolution, the medical benefits of drinking four (or in some cases, eight) glasses of water were proven to be nonexistent.
Naturally, that research was not released until after I had begun filling up on water every day.
Make one mortgage payment from poker profits.
With the amount of writing that I expect to do in 2012, combined with the arrival of Baby #2, I do not anticipate having the time required to attempt this resolution again.
One caveat: Online gambling, including poker, was legalized in the United States at the end of 2011. If this opens the door to more legitimate online poker websites with cleaner, faster interfaces and more trustworthy business models, I may be able to take on this goal once again.
Replace the twelve ancient windows on the first and second floor of the house with more energy efficient ones.
I failed to achieve this goal in 2011, and while I would still like to see this work done, Elysha and I may move in a year or two, making the investment significantly less important.
Elysha will also be staying home from work for the majority of 2012, which will undoubtedly make money tight. This is therefore no longer the priority that it once was.
