A New Year: Looking Back and Looking Ahead

I'm a bit late on this, but it's a new year, which means time for reflection on my goals for the previous year, and planning for the year ahead.

I'm not typically one to make resolutions, as that seems to be a sure-fire way to guarantee that you won't accomplish anything. Everyone gives up on their new year resolution by February, and since I'm only just now accepting that there's a new year, I'm already behind the curve on that. That being said, I do try to come up with goals for the year, and make them nebulous enough where I can accomplish them without much thought on my part.

Here was my list for 2014:

1. Go someplace I haven't been before
2. Use vacation time to actually take a vacation
3. Eat at 5 restaurants I haven't been to before
4. Eat/drink 5 things I haven't tried before
5. Browse 5 stores I haven't been to before
6. Read 10 books I haven't read before
7. Watch a movie I'd ordinarily pass on
8. Do/try 5 things I haven't done/tried before
9. Have people over to my house for dinner
10. Go on a date

As for how I did...

1. Go someplace I haven't been before - I did hang out at some new friends' house this past year, so I'd say that counts, if only barely.
2. Use vacation time to actually take a vacation - I went to Nekocon this year in Virginia, using some of my vacation time in the process, so I'd say that was a vacation.
3. Eat at 5 restaurants I haven't been to before - I think I actually managed to accomplish this one.
4. Eat/drink 5 things I haven't tried before - I definitely managed to accomplish this one.
5. Browse 5 stores I haven't been to before - I failed on this one.
6. Read 10 books I haven't read before - I accomplished this one.
7. Watch a movie I'd ordinarily pass on - I actually saw several movies this past year that I'd ordinarily pass on.
8. Do/try 5 things I haven't done/tried before - This one was too vague. If I count food and drink, then definitely accomplished. But those were both mentioned above, so I'm thinking that doesn't count. That being said, I'd be willing to accept that I have had at least five new life experiences this year, so I'd say that counts.
9. Have people over to my house for dinner - I'm happy to say that I accomplished this one. I had a few house guests throughout the year, and all of them happily let me cook for them (whether they'd happily let me do it again remains to be seen...)
10. Go on a date - Moving on.

So, yeah, miserable love life and lack of window shopping aside (and with a healthy dose of loophole abuse), I think I did a fairly good job accomplishing my goals for 2014. A solid 8 out of 10.

As for 2015...

I think this year, rather than create some sort of laundry list of things to do or try, I want to take a different approach to this year. So, instead of a list of things to try, I only have a single goal this year, though it involves multiple steps to achieve.

• Be a better person

I realize that seems vague. That's actually kind of the point. What exactly is a good person? How exactly can one person be better than a former version of themselves? I hope to discover that this year.

My plan is to focus on different aspects of my life and make improvements on them:

• Be better physically. Be more active. Make positive changes to my diet. Exercise more.
• Be better financially. Establish a budget. Work on paying off my debts. Live within my means.
• Be better spiritually. Live my life with a clear conscience.
• Be better mentally. Don't dwell on my shortcomings or mistakes.
• Be better socially. Learn to communicate with people and not just the handful I'm comfortable with.
• Be better emotionally. Learn to love myself.

I'm still figuring out how to approach all these aspects and in what ways I can improve upon them, even if only slightly. So, it will be a journey this year. I'll offer progress periodically, so that I can remind and encourage myself to press on and continue.

Here's hoping everyone's year is off to a good start.