Coping: New Year Resolutions Contest!

Just for Fun:  Elaine and I are sleeping in this morning, so rather than roll-out at the ugly hour (4:30 A) I thought it would be fun if we collected as many New Years Resolutions as possible this morning.

Go ahead….think of some good ones and post them as comments.

I’ll be checking several times during the day and approving them so load me up.  Fun?  Serious? Financial?  Spiritual?  What are the resolutions that matter and which ones are really going to be carried out?

64 thoughts on “Coping: New Year Resolutions Contest!”

  1. I would argue that the only ones that do matter are the ones that can be carried out, though it might be the best if a person did anything in a timely manner as soon whatever comes up.

    My current resolve is to ‘chill out’ over things that can’t be changed in my life. Better said than done, I fear.

  2. I also slept in. I do resolve to get my taxes done earlier this year. I am president of a board of directors at a Nature Center and we are looking for a new Director. I resolve with a lot of help from others to get a new Director very soon. I am getting the help and that is not just wishful thinking.

  3. Mine/ours are pretty practical.

    1. Finish getting out of debt. Doable this year if the World doesn’t actually end, excepting the house.

    2. Finish and publish my first of several planned books. Getting there, but I want them to be “right.”

    3. Put in motion the serious plan of getting further away from the city of Austin and it’s shenanigans. Timing based on Number 1 above.

    4. Tighten up my relationship with my wife and daughters. In this electronic world, everyone else tends to hide in the phone and/or Faceborg. Try and get them unplugged more too.

    5. Take on a new hobby or two to increase my personal skillsets. More emphasis on physical activities but mental as well.

    6. Develop alternate lines of income so I can slow down a bit in the rat race and maybe even leave the main track. Full-on self employment again is the goal, preferably where I can be located anywhere. Again, see number 1 and 2.

    7. Increase my readings to previous levels. I’ve fallen away from one of my best habits.

    8. Reduce daily stress. “The lion is not about to eat you.” Keep it all in check.

    9. “A time for everything, and everything in it’s time.” Means better personal organization and focus.

    10. That’s enough for this year. :)

  4. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, but I do set a reading goal and make a reading plan. This year 26 books. 3 I need to finish from last year (big books), and most of the others are already chosen. I leave a few spots open for recommendations from friends.

  5. I resolve to (immediately) open an onine trading account with one of the biggies. Even though I think The Bust (or a large correction) is coming, I believe I can make a buck, concentrating on “long,” by knowledge, intelligence, and following all reasonable sources carefully and thoughtfully. I plan to fund it by cashing in a couple of “Au” roundels I got a long time ago. They’ve grown nicely, and it’s time to light off the second stage, and “PRESS TO MECO.” 73.

  6. We have limited control of circumstances and others in our lives. We have the potential to control our state of being.

    Rather than reacting to people and circumstances, I now focus on responding (acting, or not, after reflection).

  7. Happy New Year.
    I’m resolved not to support the ‘entertainment’ (sic) industry anymore. No more netflix, no more music aside from perhaps classical (and there has even been a scandal in that field) and that made by my friends live. I’m also resolved to brew my own beverages (adult) and not eat processed, GMO-laden food.
    Hence I resolve to stop feeding the beast.
    Cheerio!

  8. Happy New year may you and yours have a wonderful day… Love urbansurvival. You always keep my mind thinking..

  9. My New Years Resolution:
    Try not to share my opinion as much. Like my wife always says.. your opinion is your opinion and no one likes your opinion like you do.. Or translation.. Who really gives a hoot what you think LOL LOL…
    It will be a hard one for me to stick to because I am an old opinionated guy..

  10. George,

    I will be 76 years old in 3 months. My health is good. I have a lot to be thankful for. I do realize however, my days on this planet are numbered.

    My New Year’s resolution is to try and be positive as much of my waking hours as I possibly can.

    I think the intense negative bashing I have seen and heard from mainstream and social media has taken me to the wall and out the other side.

    At the end of each day, I am going to ask myself if my words and actions have made life better or worse for the people I interacted with that day.

    Let me start with you.

    I really appreciate your column if not for financial learning but for the humorous and mostly common sense spin you put on life. To paraphrase one of your readers yesterday.

    “Best 40 bucks I spent.”

    Have a great 2018.

  11. My New Years Resolution is to still be alive and healthy this time next year when I intend to renew this resolution.

  12. Saw this one in several places. Cartoon panel shows a guy saying, “My new years resolution? I’ll probably stick with 1280 x 1074.”

  13. I think I ought to be outdoors more this year, so my goal is to improve my health a bit by landscaping the acreage I live on. I also want to get started on my garden earlier since the greenhouse is actually set up and can be useful. Nothing give me a sense of ease like working in the dirt and making things pretty.

  14. To be Loving Kindness to whoever is within my universe at that moment. The rest just falls away if one can do that!

    • Since my GSB-100 is a phasing rig (as it my HT-37) let me know when you wanna hook up on 20 meters!

  15. As Bing Crosby advised Rosemary Clooney in “White Christmas”: to fall asleep counting my blessings.

  16. Finish the three books I have in the pipeline, and do a better job of promotion on all of them.
    Be here next year with three more to finish.
    Keep up the good work George!

  17. Here’s hoping to get at least 3 miles of fence work done this year.

    Opinions are one thing but Christ had His, too, and often people didn’t want to hear them to their own detriment. Inasmuch as we can trust the scriptures after Nicaea, and current revisionism, sticking to His opinions can’t do anyone harm.

  18. I walked 511 miles last year (goal was 500), so I plan to do the same thing this year. My ‘blood work’ DRAMATICALLY improved. Blood pressure too!
    I also plan to grow a better, more productive garden, and to hand-make at least 6 more knives this year (great hobby).

  19. Since I just turned 60:
    Read 300 books, walk 1200 miles
    Finish building & furnishing an underground Dome
    Food, water, energy, and health independence
    Home automation without WiFi/Internet
    Avoid Media, Religion, EMF, and Fiat Currencies
    Write one very important (research) book
    Get my Ham Radio Extra License
    Mentor more, especially Millennials
    Manifest abundance, which I’ll define as wisdom & health & freedom — for my family and friends

  20. Not really resolutions as they stay pretty much the same each New Year:

    Add more panels and L16s to my off grid solar setup.

    Do four, one week total solo overnight hikes collecting bloodroot for resale.

    Try to go more vegan (like the wife).

    Keep using Huperzine A and Vinpocetine through my 69th year.

    (Don’t know how you do it all George but we appreciate your efforts.)

  21. Easy resolutions for this year:

    1. Tighten up security on my property to exclude stray kids and animals. Add specific security features(classified) to deter bad guys.

    2. Clean out and clean up my house such that a “normal” woman would be comfortable here. Remove and dispose of all clutter and odd things.

    3. Fix the perimeter fencelines such that they look presentable from the street.

    4. Get a good unlocked and rooted android phone and learn to use it well for social and automation purposes. I’ve avoided this since I see the security problems as overwhelming.

    5. Learn to do social things optimistically and without making myself miserable. This is a big one.

    6. Learn how to be impulsive and think less. Learn to be low-inhibition! Consider an AFF skydiving course if I can keep my weight down. Maybe add bungee jumping and/or rock climbing.

    7. Learn Chinese to near fluency. Consider adding another language if useful.

    8. Learn to speak less and use small words. Learn to speak Millennial.

    Hard resolutions for this year:

    1. Find and connect with a desirable female companion that wants me for my body instead of just my mind. Someone that can actually live with me and enjoy it. Sleeping alone is corrosive to the soul.

    2. If #1 proves impossible within 9 or so months, plan to expatriate to a country where #1 is likely to succeed. This is a terrible choice since I’d be abandoning all else that I hold dear, including my kids. I’m a touch older than George, and I can’t delay this life goal much longer.

    There’s more, but ten is enough. Ten Commandments, Ten Amendments, and Ten Resolutions for this year.

    • Ouch! So ‘normal women’ can’t handle your lifestyle?

      (But then I’m not ‘normal’ either – 2000 books will do that to you – I handled mostly information in our family and hubby handled mostly ‘stuff’. (Ex-machinist))

      You are making your life ‘boring’, sir! And possibly women won’t want to be with you . . .

      • Ditto MDS
        More specific criteria than ‘normal’ would be helpful to pinpoint.
        Reading between the resolutions I’d suggest dealing with Resolutions 1, 2 and 3 first under the theory that ‘If you clean it they will come.’ The rest will follow. Good luck in 2018!

      • @MDS, My lifestyle has been messy and overbooked since I’m rebuilding my entire house pretty much at once, so it looks like I live in a construction site. I don’t see the mess, only the progress. I’m trying to do the job and lifestyle of a couple, and it’s only me. That, and maintaining other properties, studying Chinese and many other things make for a very sloppy lifestyle. I literally work constantly when I’m awake. Socializing alone is painful. I’d be glad to change, but every woman wants a different thing and I can’t anticipate that. The important things take twice as long when working alone.

        I don’t put out any vibe(according to two good female friends), and they feel I’m “creepy” for no reason that I understand. I don’t enjoy art at all, though science/tech is always interesting. A lifetime of research has only given a couple of clues, none of which are (legally)actionable. All girls want me for a friend, but not as a boyfriend. Go figure.

        @_0_, Thanks for the support! If we’re ever in the same geographic area, I’m sure we have lots to talk about.

  22. Most I agree with “Anonymous” as I am on his bumper and hitting the breaks.

    So, I will not make any resolutions as I mostly don’t keep them or fall short.

    But, I believe that if each of us did one kind thing each day, without through of reward or thanks, then it would spread and in a short eons of years we would have Peace On Earth. Sort of like tossing a pebble in the pond and watching the ripples go out an affect every place it touches.

    Have a very Health New Year and cut down on the meds, if you can.

  23. I have already achieved all my goals for 2018 .
    My goal was to live one minute pass 2017.

    May all beings be lovingly fulfilled, so be it

  24. Resolutions! Why! Nobody keeps them and those that try feel guilty.Instead, do the best that you can for as long as you can. Our world isn’t too different from GOT!

  25. As long as I’ve lived I have never made any “New Year’s Eve Resolution,” because I still wrestle with the concept of free will. If one believes in the ‘big bang theory,’ then everything was set into motion at that instant (w/o free will), guided by the laws of physics. If, on the other hand, we are part of the Devine (with free will) then the decisions we make leaves much in question; Hence, I live one day at the time. Are we really free to choose?? No certain answers, INHO of course!

  26. Well I practiced being good, Did not work so will be evil for the next year, Started kicking the dog already, got bit sigh.

  27. Works for some, not for others. Imagine the guilt trip you laid on numbers of us who are “non-resolvers.” Anyway, mine is self-improvement – less time wasted on frivolous non-essentials using the late King of Rock ‘n Roll’s philosophy: TCB (which being translated is) “taking care of business.” Do the hard stuff first, then enjoy yourself. Elvis even handed out pins to his guys bearing the letters: TCB. In 2018, let’s resolve to “take care of business.”

  28. Ok I want to do a lot of things. Saw my friend drop of a heart attack he finally came out of a coma to live another day. I need to put together a medical history notebook with bank/phone/computer passwords. Plus a spare house key and put it where it would be found with will, power of attorney and directive to physician. Also get a Ham and gun license. Move and sell house. Meet someone nice in 2018. Have fun, read more, less tv, move more. Be around people who are positive, funny, smart and AWAKE.

    • Also, see the Peoplenomics subscriber section on having a “Dead Letter” for your loved ones. All the accounts, all the passwords, all the past tax filings….yada, yada…

  29. New years res
    Create an Atmospheric Water Extractor that self waters the area around it when full so that arid land can be converted to viable pasture land without human presence. All run using wind power.

  30. I spend an awful lot of time with people I don’t really like who leave me feeling drained. I’ve decided to pay more attention to my social life and to invite people I like out to eat or to other events.

  31. My resolution this year is the same as last year. Work on helping in my sphere of influence to put a positive spin on everything when possible. Particularly health issues. Please remember the quote from the philisopher Alfred E Newman “WHAT ME WORRY”

  32. What I need to do for 2018 is a microcosm of what this world – the macrocosm – needs to do. And it is a very, very tough thing to do.

    I need to rebuild my life in line with what I want, rather than constantly meeting a holographic echo of my past.

    I was emotionally/psychologically abused by a crazy mother and a narcissistic father.

    It took me years to realize that the patterns formed with my parents were playing out in my jobs. And I had no clue how to stop it. I was an enthusiastic model employee, as I had been an enthusiastic top achieving student. And yet I found myself under abusive management over and over.

    You code a bad pattern, you mess with harmonics, and you get a bad picture and a lousy tune.

    Debugging/defragging the human hard drive, and retuning the human instrument, while actively living with no time for time out, AND, you don’t know what you are doing, is damned hard.

    Years ago an acquaintance said to me, “Oh Honey, can’t you just not think about it!? (meaning my childhood).

    By the time she said that to me I actually had trained myself to ‘not think about it.’ I had even managed to forgive my parents for the abuse they dished out. Mentally and emotionally I was in a good place. However my physical life did not match up to the inner balance and calm I had achieved. I was still attracting crap jobs and having difficulty supporting myself and in poor health. (Mother had constantly threatened to throw me out of the house for imagined sins, and Dad actively stood in my way of higher education). The patterns of fear, and blocking by gatekeepers, kept replaying my childhood, and I tried scores of techniques and seminars to stop it.

    I have developed great compassion for the human race because of my experiences this lifetime. I have expended enormous effort to break the patterns of the past and live life on my own terms, and so far failed. I’ll be 66 in a few weeks.

    The next thing I’m trying for 2018 will be an extensive array of audios and videos that literally ‘rewire the brain’, and freelance work on the Internet, where there are hopefully fewer gatekeepers blocking my way.

    Note: for those of you wanting to include a valuable self-help book to your 2018 reading list, add: “Life Unlocked – 7 Revolutionary Lessons to Overcome Fear,” by Srinivasan S. Pillay, MD.

      • Thank you for the appreciation and recognition. Some of the best knowledge I have to share with anyone is how to heal a broken life.

    • NameoftheGame
      I suggest you read George’s post on Where Can Women Take Shop (not to suggest you are a woman) but he touches on empowerment through manifested creativity. This, more than all the passive approaches, I think might help you. All the best in 2018
      Alienor

      • Yes Alienor, I am a woman, and I am the one that sparked George’s article, “Where Can Women ‘Take Shop’?”

        You are possibly more right than you know about “empowerment through manifested creativity”. I have just this past month acquired material from a long-time mindpower researcher who now lives in the South Pacific, that addresses this very topic.

        Now about the interior-looking practices I have used to heal my damaged life responses being ‘passive’. NOT!

        Looking deeply within and understanding how generational patterns transfer both genetically and experientially, and how one’s responses to stressors exacerbate or ameliorate a ‘bad’ situation, is some of the very hardest work one can do. To look the pain in the face and stay present. To balance between the intensity of taking it all deeply personally because it hurts so damn bad, and yet keep reaching for some objectivity to not get swallowed into a black hole of despair.

        Friend — this is not a passive path at all.

        It has not yielded all the results I hoped for. It has not healed long-standing health issues. (I continue research on those). It has not healed some repeating negative patterns in my life. (Some of those have larger societal inputs).

        What have the benefits been then?

        — Compassion, forgiveness, and unconditional love for others, and for myself.

        — Mental-emotional flexibility

        — The ability to ‘walk a mile in someone else’s shoes’

        — A quiet mind and the enjoyment of my own company

        I don’t have a youthful, sparkly, Instagrammable life I could build a website around and promote for profit. But at the end of the day, I don’t feel like a fraud, I did not hurt anyone intentionally or by ‘loose cannon emotions’, and I like myself.

  33. I’ve changed the word HAVE to GET. I.e., I HAVE to feed the dog, changed to, I GET to feed the dog. Seems to take weight off my shoulders. Feels better.

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