No New Years Resolutions here...

If you’re looking for New Years Resolutions…

You won’t find them here.

I don’t know who came up with the idea of New Year’s Resolutions, and I have never known anyone personally who has made such resolutions and kept them ALL. Maybe one or two, but now, ALL.

What I hear more of is “Oh, I made some New Year’s Resolutions, but I messed up right around early February.”

So I choose not to make resolutions.

Instead I set a few small goals for myself. I think of them as things I strive for...They may look like resolutions, but they are not. They are things which I can hopefully attain, and then overshoot if need be…

Some are short-term goals, lasting only for a few months, whereas others are long term and ongoing, lasting years or the rest of my life. I’ve only listed a few, but I have a little over 20, some of which I chose not to post. These are the major ones, though.

So here are my list of goals for 2006…

Read my Bible and Pray for at least 20 minutes a day. I’m sure that I can spare twenty minutes of my precious day to spend a little time reading and praying. Some may think that’s a little sparse, but of course, I’m free to overshoot that time, which I usually do. Sometimes, I look up from getting caught up in reading something interesting and an hour has past. Just remember a mere 20 minutes a day adds up to a little over 2 hours per week, 10 hours per month, and over 120 hours per year…. Time adds up.



Stop putting my job first. What I mean by that is stop being so concerned about it. It is a place where I trade my time and skills for money and I need to just leave it at that. My place of employment has pretty much become a pretty bad soap opera or terrible B-movie. Tired of watching, and of reluctantly being caught up in, such a bad environment with such crazy negativity.

Last year, I made a few changes, like not slaving away for 10 hours a day, or taking time off and going to a Church function that took place during the workday.

This year, I’m not going to worry about being behind in my work or scrambling to catch up. That has been a personal problem for me for the past three months. I am simply sincerely going to try and do my very best, and don't beat myself up about certain things… That in itself is the ultimate goal. As long as I’m being sincere and work hard, well, that’s going to have to do for now.

I haven’t had a soda or carbonated beverage since September of 2004, and I think that I’ll just keep that up. My lil’ sister drinks Coke like it’s water, and it doesn’t bother me one bit to just push those big 2 liter bottles to the side and grab a bottle of water. So I decided that this will be something that's ongoing with me.

I will work on my manuscript at least one hour per day, 4 out of 5 weekdays, and one and a half hours per day on the weekend. When I am consistent with this, I get A LOT done, sometimes over 600 words per day. I’m currently working on Chapter 25 of my manuscript, and I should be finish by late March if I stick to the writing schedule. (My two bootleg “work-for-free” editors are going to have a field day when they read this!! I can feel the harassment kick up a notch already!)

I just bought a new house back in October 2005, and my goal is to have it fully decorated just the way I like it by December 31, 2006. That’s kind of hard for a tomboy like me who HATES to shop or decorate. (Yikes!) My best friend, Lady Tee, is a consummate shopaholic, and carries my bathroom tiles around with her, and she alerts me to deals, etc… so it gets me a tad bit excited to see her so excited about helping me. But my goal is to get a few items per pay period. I started off this weekend by buying a huge plant for my mantelpiece. I’m sure over a year’s time, I will definitely make a lot of progress!

I haven’t had a drink (liquor) in five years. I think that I’ll continue that this year. (Hey, that’s a goal I’m sure to accomplish!)

I will fast one day per week for the rest of the year. This is a goal that I tried last year. Wednesday was my weekly fast day. I did well for 6 months. I fell off the boat (I know what to avoid now :). I’m going to try for a little longer than that this time.

I’m going vegetarian for the month of January. I’m moreso doing this in support of my sister, who is going vegetarian for 2 months. (I might continue with her if I’m not going crazy by the beginning of February). We’re at day 6 right now, and I feel… okay. LOL. I told her I’ll give her $25 each time I messed up (you should have seen the $$ in her eyes). But one of my dreams is to go completely vegetarian… Now that’s a big step!!

Read 40 books this year. That is down from my usual 50 books a year. I just have more on my plate these days. At least 20% of those books have to be spiritual. I had to bring my reading frenzy down a notch.

Increase my giving. I’ve been doing this for the past five years, and this is a goal I’ve always been able to meet. When I say increase my giving, I mean give more of my time and resources to Church and various worthy causes. I joined a book club last year that is very active in the city of Atlanta when it comes to charitable causes.

A lot of these goals are ongoing...

Hopefully, they'll bring changes for the best in me!