In 2013, I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions at all and that worked out fairly well.  You keep them when they aren’t there to begin with!  But with the dawning of 2014, the Year of the Horse, I find myself with a number of things I would like to improve upon in my life. Last year, I dedicated myself to helping others even more than I had before but feel I can do much more.

Of course, with any promises one makes to oneself it is virtually impossible to maintain such resolutions over any length of time.  I’m actually surprised that I couldn’t find an specific Android app for tracking New Year’s resolutions.  I’ve decided that the best way to keep my goals is to let others know about them.  The more people who know what I’m trying to do, the less likely I am to give up (I hope!).  And, hopefully, they will offer support when I start to drift away from the resolution.

I’m only making two New Year’s Resolutions for 2014:

1.  Eat healthier.
This doesn’t mean I am going to focus on losing weight — for now.  While I would love to lose a few pounds, I believe if I shift away from some of my less healthy snacks the weight will follow.  Instead of munching on potato chips and caramel popcorn while I read, I can load up on slices of apple and watermelon.  I’ve already started replacing the fast food I usually have for lunch or dinner when working with salads and want to continue with that.  The Thai foods that I love the most are the heavier ones; it would be very easy to switch back to the lighter dishes, perhaps eating more of the vegetarian meals than the ones with meat.

2.  Stop complaining.
I made a conscious decision last year to only post positive comments, status updates, and news links to my Facebook page.  I was successful in that for at least the first nine or ten months.  I also tried not to say anything at work unless it was supportive.  Again, that lasted for almost the entire year.  It’s only been towards the end of the year that I’ve reverted back to whining about every little thing that bothers me — little things as well as life-changing events.  I’m sick of the complaining and I’m sure my colleagues are as well, although most of the times I comment on the less-than-nice aspects of daily life in Thailand I do try to put a humorous spin on things.  I’ve had friends tell me that they love how I tell these stories and they look forward to them.  But it’s still complaining and I just don’t want to do it any longer.  So, no rants about anything.  I’ll just keep those thoughts to myself or, better yet, just let them go off into the wind.

With just these two resolutions, which certainly aren’t insignificant, I believe I can become the better person I strive to be.  They are also easy to track:  What is on my plate?  What am I saying or writing?

In addition to these “formal” resolutions, I also have a number of goals which are simply extensions to what I’m already doing in my life.

These include plans for this blog and plans for my various hobbies:

1.  Writing
I have more than a few ideas for Asian Meanderings; the problem is often that I don’t always have the time to research and write about them. I really enjoyed my “12 Days of Christmas Stamps” series in that I simply found designs I liked and kept the text minimal. So, look for more of that sort of thing. Perhaps I’ll find an appropriate favorite stamp to post an image of for various holidays and other events throughout the year. Also, look for more postcard-related articles. I’d also like to add the occasional book review to the blog, something I’ve always lacked despite my love for the written word.

While articles about Thailand in general and Phuket specifically have been sorely lacking in recent months, I have plans for a series that should be of great interest.  The hard part is starting but once I lay the background, I have a wealth of material that will follow.  Coming soon, as they say.

I also plan to re-instate a series I had on a much earlier blog:  Things You (Probably) Don’t Know About Me.  It’s one of the things I really missed having out there after the server crashed on my old domain.

As far as non-blog writing is concerned, I have a few projects in the works and I also want to return to writing in my journal more regularly (only wrote two entries in since October!).

2.  Reading

Reading has been a big part of my life for many years and that shows no signs of slowing.  Indeed, I have finished 25 MORE books in 2013 than in 2012 and there are still two full days left!  My goal for 2014 is to finish at least one hundred books, something I did in both 2010 and 2011.

Well, those are my major plans for 2014.  There are a few others such as continuing with my resumption of stamp collecting.  I’ll try to report regularly on the progress I’m making.

Happy New Year!