New Year's Resolutions

For a long time I would make New Year's Resolutions every year. In recent years, I would be horrible about keeping them. Then eventually I got to the point of not making any at all. What's in a resolution, after all. In a sense, most resolutions for most people are a declaration of what they don't like or hate about themselves. Some of the most common resolutions are to eat better, lose weight, manage money better, quit a vice like smoking or drinking. I suppose it is noble to admit your faults and to recognize where you can improve your life. But it a way it's also somewhat depressing, because your essentially listing all the things you're doing wrong in your life. Oh well. I suppose the best way to start a new year is with a positive attitude that you can fix whatever is bothering you or holding you back in life.

I'm giving resolutions another shot this year and my goal is to try to make them positive and hopefully these are things that will make my life this year better than what it was last year.

Resolution 1: Work Less. My name is "Tenth Muse" and I'm a workaholic. I don't need to explain why this is my number one resolution. My pathetic posts of the past are explanation enough. I declared this on New Year's Day. Since getting back to work, I have worked my 8-hour day and I haven't taken work home with me at night or over the weekends. I also haven't checked work e-mail while I'm "off the clock." So far, so good. And it has felt great. Do I feel like I should be catching up on or getting ahead on projects? Do I feel guilty? Not one damn bit.

Resolution 2: Cook More. I cook all the time. I suppose this resolution really means cook better, cook healthier, cook more interesting. When things get busy (see blog history and what's behind Resolution Number 1), I often feel too tired to cook when I get home from work. So I make an easy dinner or microwave some frozen dinner. It's not the healthiest thing to do every night. I really enjoy cooking and I love experimenting and trying new recipes. It has often been like a hobby for me. So one of my resolutions is to force myself to cook actual meals, real meals, that are good for me and that I enjoy preparing and eating.

Resolution 3: Read More. This one might be hard to pull off. Now that I'm in my ninth year working in publishing, a job where you're looking at text and reading for a living, I can't stand reading. I used to love reading. It was always such a joy to pick up a new book—or, as is the case for me, an old book—and lie on the couch or in the bed and just read it for an afternoon or evening. Being a book person, I should probably read them more often.

Resolution 4: Learn More. I could probably tie this into Resolution 3. I have an associate's degree, two bachelor's degrees, and a master's degree. Education and learning is in my blood. When I'm not learning something new, I feel like a lazy, ignorant slob. I don't like feeling like a lazy, ignorant slob. So my goal is to "study." So this "studying" might mean reading some books or watching some documentaries. Whatever the form, I just want to learn something. Maybe I'll pick up my Greek and Latin textbooks and get back to reading Greek and Latin. I've gotten so rusty in those languages over the years.

So those are my resolutions for the year. I've limited myself to four goals, and these seem like goals that I might actually be able to accomplish.