Every year, people ask “what’s your New Year’s Resolutions?” as if it was the secret sauce to make the year great. Well. I’ve been very good at keeping the one I’ve set many many years ago. I don’t make any.
What?
Yes. No new resolutions on the first of the year or any 24 hour period around that date. That doesn’t mean I don’t have goals and don’t have ambitions.
In fact, what I’ve learned is that without these, I do better. Let’s just dive a little into what I mean.
No New Resolutions, Thanks
I do not start the year with a quick line of what I want to achieve. Those get forgotten as soon as you return back to work. Even the ones you really try to hold on to. Those fade before February has time to roll around. Just ask all the gym operators who sign up way more people than their facilities can hold but rarely ever max out attendance the whole of the year.
What I’ve been doing lately is working on continuing the progress that is important to me. Sometimes it’s a multiple year goal, sometimes it’s just something for a few months. I don’t use the start of the year as the trigger to get going.
In fact, the blogging goal that I had set for myself started well before this blog took birth over four years ago. 2017 is when it finally took off in the direction I wanted. Granted nowhere near the success one fantasizes of having lol. The logical approach says that in 2018, I am to continue working on this big picture goal of mine. That doesn’t require a New Year’s resolution at all.
In fact, this blog post is not written in 2018. It’s being put together well before that (as in a week and a half). No need for any proclamation of a resolution to continue the work that has already begun. I’m all about increasing my momentum year to year.
So… what’s the outlook for 2018?
Good thing you asked. Sure, more blogging… of course. But better quality blogging. One that allows me to feel more alive, more engaged, less tired. Ideally, easier to read, more enjoyable to read.
All the while, taking my writing to a new level that should include the publication of a book by the close of the year. (the over-achiever in me says 4 books but the realist in me understands that it’s asking too much of me in one given year).
While I will be expanding the photo section of the blog and learning a lot more about how to build up the project area of the site… there are many other behind the scenes things I have to learn in order to make my dream of owning an online business a reality in 2018.
All these lessons will allow me to revisit another dream goal of mine… the active return to photography. This time from a more professional angle than before. Sure, still a lot of creative visual storytelling… but the work, life, creative, entrepreneur, human balance has to get more sophisticated first to make that happen.
While many don’t understand how serious my introversion is, I do want to break out of that shell a bit more. Network more. Actually meet some of my online friends. It would be very nice to understand what they like about my creative body of work… so I can better create new things for them to enjoy in the future.
There is always that standard health goal everyone makes. Mine is actually to accelerate the ongoing progress I’ve been working on for the past few years. What was working when I was without child is not working now. I need to tweak things so that I can get the pre-children results I was enjoying without neglecting my time with my kids.
A co-worker asked me… recently… how do I manage to write so much on so many platforms… with so many kids at home. It’s tricky. It’s more a fierce determination to make all minutes count. The increased use of tech will play a role here. Blogging from my laptop, my tablet, my phone, and worse case scenario, my email… if I must… so that I can do what I enjoy.
That means there will be some posts that are filled with images and links. There will some posts that are short, sweet, cute, image-free. Then, there will be hybrids of both. Will that translate to more posts in a given week? No idea yet.
In the end, I am still doing this primarily for me… my learning… my motivation… my entertainment… my growth. However, now the focus is shifting a bit to help my reader feel empowered, motivated, and inspired to do more for themselves in the creative pursuits they have. 2018 will be another epic journey and I hope my reader have an epic year of progress as well.
Conclusion
Most of the things that I want for this year that could easily be classified as new resolutions… aren’t new at all. They’re more like the logical continuation… or experimentation… or plot twist of life. I want more. More of everything. But I’m working smarter each year to get there.
Many of the things that will appear in this year have been in the works and planning stages for the past three to four months. So, if there was a time for “new resolutions”… it happened in the Fall of 2017.
What I will say, to those who do make New Year’s Resolutions, don’t just say them. Map out a plan. Figure a strategy. Apply yourself daily to make it become a new habit. That way, come March 31, you’re still working towards the goals you’ve set and seeing the results that will motivate you forward.
Keep in mind, this is not a sprint. Might not even be a marathon. However, it is a lifestyle. One that you can control, adjust, and improve. Until you find it to fit your needs, keep at it until you get the balance you’re looking for.
Cheers to the new year. Cheers to your success. Cheers to your goals. For those brave enough to share their ambitions for the new year in the comments below… I will endeavor to write something special for you along the way to keep you motivated in your pursuit of happiness.
Through One Lens 