52% intelligent. 9% modest. More monkey than bear.

Monday, January 02, 2006

To start anew all over more enlightened

I've never really been much into New Year's Resolutions, so as usual, I staggered blindly from 2005 into 2006 with no firm commitment to do more or less anything at all.

Sure, I've got vague notions that this will be the year when I do something about my job, when I start to write more, when I will finally get round to reading some Dickens...grow my hair...buy every UK number one single.... whatever.... but I've made no firm statements of intent and have no definite plans.

As many people have no doubt already discovered by now, New Year's Resolutions are easily broken. At least this way I won't feel any extra guilt as I drift into 2007 without having achieved anything much.

Do you know what though?

Screw that. This year I'm not going to be that apathetic about my life. I'm going to make some firm statements on here about things I want to do in 2006; about things that I want to achieve. I've got to think about this, so you'll need to give me a few days, but I will put my manifesto up here for everyone to see.

In the meantime, if you have any helpful suggestions.....

posted by swisslet @ 23:01  

12 Comments:

  • At 12:09 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    See, I just went for 5 fairly vague ones (see Blog) that I'll kinda wind up doing anyway. So far I'm on track for 3 of them. But the year is 2 days and 9 minutes old...

     

  • At 12:25 am, Blogger bytheseashore said…

    As you've seen from my blog, I reckon that metaphors are the new resolutions. New Year's Day is nothing more than one of the few good U2 songs, in my opinion.

    Firstly (and I'm applying this to myself too), keep doing what you enjoy and what you're good at. Hopefully the two coincide. After that, work out what you *really* want to do and where it fits in (which is the difficult bit).

    Umm... hope that helps. Oh, and don't, whatever you do, support Nottingham Forest. That way lies despair...

     

  • At 1:55 am, Blogger Alecya G said…

    Right. Mine is long, so I'll not bore you (again). All Ican suggest is you 1) make yourself happy 2) love unreservedly and 3) don't read Dickens. Its a waste of dendrites. I promise. As much as I love classics, and as much as I like reading, please. Just don't you'll be glad you didn't I promise. And while you're at it, avoid Steinback too. Not worth the effort.

    Otherwise - make promises you can keep to yourself. Do them because you want to, and it will make you happy to achieve it. Never resolve to improve yourself for somoen or somthing else. Everyone ends up disappointed that way.

    xxx-
    AG

     

  • At 2:30 am, Blogger HistoryGeek said…

    I would just be a bundle of unhelpful suggestions tonight. I have to admit to feeling like you have a lot of good ideas about what you are hoping to accomplish anyway.

    Me - I'm not big on resolutions...they're too much like lists, those things I write then find a month later with nothing on them done.

     

  • At 4:37 am, Blogger Michael said…

    For a long time, I was not big on making new years resolutions. I'd always seen people make these huge lists, or just do the "I'm going to quit smoking when I wake up tomorrow." and see that last all of 5 minutes.

    I did start making vague resolutions for myself. Such as: be more assertive, try to work on my long term planning, be more spontanious, start a blog to learn a little html and help me learn how to write...

    Non-absolutes would be a way to put it. Just small problems with me, my personality type, etc that I could try to change a bit to better myself.

    Since they are all non-absolute, and long term, its been much easier to do, and keep up with. When its an absolute, and you slip up once, there is a feeling of overall failure and giving up, instead of an "I'll do better from now on."

    at least that is what has worked for me.

     

  • At 8:27 am, Blogger LB said…

    I'm not making any resolutions either. I agree with Michael - small intangible improvements are the way forward...

    oh. but do something about your job. and don't grow your hair, it's just a pathway to ridicule and misery.

     

  • At 3:51 pm, Blogger John McClure said…

    Read Dickens. And read Steinbeck. Read Proust in the original (or at least carry a copy with you for effect). Read Salinger. Read Dostoevsky. Read Tolstoy. Read Eliot, Hardy, Lawrence, Austen and Bronte (times three).Read Nabokov, Faulkner, Camus, Gide and Blazac (prozac optional). Read Joyce. Read Hemmingway. Read Kafka. Hell, read J.K. bloody Rowling if you really must, but definitely read Dickens.

    How on earth does Rugby justify the fees if you can slip through the system Dickens-less?

     

  • At 4:02 pm, Blogger Ali said…

    Do what you like, and I'll do the same.

    *cheers*

     

  • At 7:09 pm, Blogger The Num Num said…

    Bill Bailey has this nice sketch about swimming with dolphins...seen it? quite apt for what you are suggesting...

     

  • At 8:22 pm, Blogger Alecya G said…

    Right, okay, read dickens, read steinback..I agree, its important to read them...but its awful. *gags* so many better. Like Dostoyevsky....thats a good one. I'll loan you the borthers K

     

  • At 9:09 pm, Blogger swisslet said…

    I'm not a total ingenue - I've read most of "Our Mutual Friend". I don't think I did it justice though and want to try again.

    As for Steinbeck - I really, really enjoyed "The Grapes of Wrath" and fully intend to read more. But as I've said before, more than once, some 'classics' you'll love, some you'll hate. They're not all the same, and nobody will read them in the same way as anyone else!

    Jane Austen is overrated though, I'll tell you that much.

    ST

     

  • At 3:19 pm, Blogger John McClure said…

    Some potential inspiration:

    http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/culturevulture/archives/2006/01/03/reading_resolutions.html

     

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