My New Year’s Resolutions 2011

Well, I thought about it and realised that making new year’s resolutions is actually not that bad an idea. The new year is a symbol of change, renewal and a new start. So here they are:

1. Get fit and lose weight. I need to be able to run and fence and swim the way I was two years ago when I last got fit. This means going back to watching how much I eat (not really what I eat, since I eat very healthily and well). It also means regular swims, getting the weights going again and running. I weigh 174 lbs today and my body fat % is 23%. I want to weigh 150-155 lbs and have a body fat % of 15-18%. That’s where I was two years ago. I will get there again. I look forward to this.

2. Organise my time to get two books written. Again, you may be thinking – two books in one year! No way. But I have actually been thinking about these topics and writing notes down for years. The books feel ripe – I just need to find the time to write them.

3. Keep a clean driving record. No speeding tickets, no parking tickets, nothing. This is a matter of attention and caution, really.

4. Take an advanced driving course. I love driving. I love sports cars. I have been out on the track a few times and I love the feeling of safely driving sportily. I plan on investing in a sports car in the near future, so I might as well know how to drive it well. As my mother says… you work so incredibly hard and long, you deserve it.

5. Take at least one real vacation. I haven’t really had a vacation where I forget the cares and worries of work for years and years. I need to plan out my life so that I can actually clear out two weeks during the summer.

6. Enjoy nature. I love hikes. I find that I can lose myself in hikes in the same way that I can lose myself in the swimming pool. A few hours of physical exertion and blissful empty-mindedness.

7. Pray and meditate more. I find that when I spend time in prayer, meditation and contemplation – my life is better, my health is better and my work is more productive. Perhaps I will go on one of the silent retreats that my friends in the clergy are always trying to get me to participate in.

8. Make more time for art and culture. I love the Canadian Opera Company and I love the Art Gallery of Ontario. I need to get out to their shows more often for my own mental health.

9. Play the piano more. I find doing this as relaxing as swimming or prayer. I love, love it.

10. Take life a little less seriously. Focus more on people and less on process. Let anxiety and fear pass through me. Relax and laugh more. Just be.

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