the one with a year of intentions

“It’s just that I’m sick of being a victim of this Dick Clark holiday. I say this year, no dates. We make a pact. Just the six of us – dinner.” – Chandler Bing
“Yeah, okay. Alright.” – All
“Y’know, I was hoping for a little more enthusiasm.” – Chandler Bing
“Woooo!! Yeah!” – All

This year, I kind of rejected the whole “New Year” thing. I don’t know that I really did it intentionally, it just kind of happened. I didn’t post a 2017 recap on any social media, I didn’t make all these ridiculous resolutions that I’ll never stick to, and I didn’t really count down the hours until a new beginning started.

Now, just over a week into the new year, I’m thinking of what my goals are and what I want this year to look like. I was recently talking to a coworker about setting “intentions” rather than resolutions. I believe resolutions set you up for failure rather than success. But, if I set intentions, there’s not really a measure of success or failure attached. It’s, instead, just putting down in words what I want to do moving forward. Steps towards milestones or goals in my life. Little things that will make me a better person or have more experiences… you get the idea.

So, with that being said, I’m going to mark my intentions here. More as a way to make myself accountable and make them real. Call them goals, call them resolutions, call them what you want. But to me, these are intentions.

Pay Down Debt
This isn’t going to happen overnight. Hell, it won’t even happen by December 2018. But I am making a conscious effort this year to pay down my debt instead of add to it.

Commit to my Passion
My sister got me an amazing DSLR for Christmas so this year I want to make the effort to hone in on my craft and improve my abilities. If a goal of mine is to one day have my own freelance production company, then I actually need to do something about that, rather than just keep saying it as a pipe dream.

Lead a Healthier Lifestyle
No, I’m not going to try all these crazy diets that I’ll never actually stick to. No, I’m not going to cleanse for a week and then go back to binging on In N Out. This intention is just a way of me committing to making better choices. Does this mean I’m never gonna dominate a whole sleeve of oreos again? Never going to indulge in movie theater popcorn slathered in butter? Of course not. But I’m sick of feeling like crap and it’s only going to get worse as I get older. So it’s time to just think about what I’m putting in my body.

Be More Consistent
This covers a lot of topics. Posting more on this blog, working out more consistently, cleaning every week, what have you.

Explore
I live in a pretty amazing city. I want to explore more of it instead of taking it for granted. I want to take advantage of being so close to so many great areas. Of course, a lot of this has to do with money, but there are still plenty of things that I can do for free or cheap!

That’s it! They are broad, but applicable to my life. They set the stage for me to live my best life in 2018. I don’t know what this year holds, but I’m excited for the journey!