Resolved, for 2020…

My history with “New Year’s Resolutions” is spotty, at best.

I know I’m not alone in that. Libraries could be filled with stories of resolutions made that fade away, or worse, crash in tears and ruin. Three years ago, I made a list of resolutions. It was an awesome challenge, eight or nine objectives for the new year. As noted once in a job review, I have a penchant for expecting too much from myself.

So in 2020, I’m going for simplicity. I will be working on things like getting in better shape and losing weight. But those are day-to-day necessities for a man of “late middle age” who is dealing with Type 2 Diabetes. That’s not a project, it’s a lifestyle. Since I like threes and nines (and since we’ve proved that nine isn’t a useful number in this case), my resolves for 2020 are these:

I Shall Not Live Into My Fears–Fears of letting people down, fears of failing, fears of not being good enough. I shall aim at being the best me that I can be. I will not let those doubts control my life.

I Shall Do Something Creative Every Week–My first impulse was “EVERY DAY!”, but again, that’s expecting a lot from a busy life. More than one a week would be lovely, but let’s hit that once a week goal. I’m at my best when I’m doing something creative. Lots of options here.

Finally, I Will Expand The Scope of My Reading–In one of those thoughts that appear from nowhere, it occurred to me that the majority of my reading was white male authors. It’s not that I never read writers outside my own “clan” as it were, but they are in the minority. One collection from the Year of the Short Story in 2018 pointed me towards what I was missing. So this year will focus on adding female and non-white/Western European writers to my list. I have several female authors lined up to start the year, plus an award-winning science fiction title by a Chinese author. I’ve had some great suggestions made by fellow readers already. My goal is to make my reading list a 50/50 proposition this year and see where that leads.

So, that’s the plan for this year. Stay focused on a few important concepts. I believe they will result in profound, positive changes in the year to come.

Peace.