A Fresh Start...

Well, it’s that time of year again.  The time for starting over, the time for new beginnings, and the time of year where people generally like to make proclamations on resolutions that they would like to accomplish throughout the upcoming year.  Well, for me, I want to try to get back into the habit of blogging a little more often, especially since my last blog post was back in April 2013, so I have come to the conclusion that what better time to start on this than now?

Now, since we are on the topic of resolutions, I think that will be the topic for today’s schpiel.  You see, I am just like everyone else when it comes to proclaiming New Year’s Resolutions.  I take days, sometimes even weeks, thinking of the things that I plan on doing different, or the things that I plan on changing about myself, and then I make sure to let everyone know about them, hoping that I can find someway to help keep myself accountable so I will be successful in completing my resolutions.  And, almost every single year, it does not take long before I fail in one or more of my resolutions, claim defeat, and totally throw that resolution out the window.  Now, you may be thinking, “That sounds crazy?  Why, after one failure, would he totally abandon ship on a resolution early on into the year?  There is still tons of time to redeem yourself?”  

Well, if you do find yourself saying that, or something similar to that, you would be correct.  That does not just sound crazy, it is, in fact, crazy.  But, here is my line of reasoning.  It’s not good reasoning, but hey, that is just how my brain works.  Every year, when I decide on resolutions for myself, they are usually time specific, or date specific, and if I miss a date, time, or something else very minor, it totally throws me all off.  Call it a slight touch of OCD, which I think might be the best way to describe it, but that is just how my brain operates.

So, this year I decided to do things a little bit differently.  Instead of giving myself a deadline, or making my resolutions super specific, I am going to go a little more generalized and broad, and see if I am more successful.  I have a feeling that I will be, and that is mostly because I want to be.  There are a lot of things that I want to start doing differently, and there are a lot of things that I want to start doing better.  I feel that, with me now being thirty years old, I need to finally have a come to Jesus meeting with myself, and accomplish these things that I want to do.  I need to start taking life a lot more seriously.  I have a lot of things left that I would like to accomplish, and if I don’t start doing them, they are never going to get done.  So, without any further adieu, here are a list of a few of the things that I want to accomplish not only in 2015, but possibly even beyond that.

1. Be a better husband and father (not that I am doing a bad job, but there is always room to get better)
2. Try and eliminate the negative from my life (life’s too short to spend it being negative and surrounding yourself with negativity)
3. Try and surround myself with more positivity (hey, you can never have too much of that)
4. Spend more time reading, either for my own enjoyment or reading to my daughter (I used to read a lot, but I have slipped the last few years.  I really need to get back into that habit)
5. Do something writing related every single day. (Whether it be writing, editing, or writing research, it doesn’t matter.  As long as something writing related gets done.  Besides, ACW is not going to write itself!!!)
6. Spend more time with friends.  (I have three people, other than my wife, that I consider my absolute best friends on this planet as of this writing, and we do not spend nearly as much time together as I think we should.  I need to look into fixing that.  One of them lives too far away, but I think I can still make that work)
7. Work on my health (Even though this is kind of far down the list, this one is really important.  I have recently hit rock bottom healthwise, and I really need to start getting serious and do something about that.  I usually am putting others before myself.  While this is something that I am not going to stop doing, I just need to make sure that I consider myself as equally important)
8. Strive to spend as much time doing as I do thinking (I am constantly brainstorming ideas for projects, and that is about where it stays, as a brainstorm.  I need to try and make more of these thoughts become realities. **cough cough** Nerdsweek **cough cough**)
9. Take time for myself (This will entail still making sure that I take the time to continue doing my favorite past time, consuming mass amounts of digital media.  I love listening to podcasts, getting caught up on old tv shows and movies, and of course, playing video games.  I need to remember that no matter how busy I get, I still take the time to do these things as well)

While I am sure that I could probably go on for days, I think that this is a good start.  There are a few of you that I already look to as a daily source of inspiration to get that shot of positivity that gets me through the day.  You don’t know it, but want to thank you for being there, and for maintaining your positive outlooks on life, because I know that it is definitely making a world of difference in changing my outlook, and I really truly do appreciate it.  Well, I think after two pages, that is enough of me being sappy and preachy for now.  But hey, this is my first post in almost two years, I can be a little wordy!  A lot of things have happened since the last time I posted….