Six months have passed since I made my original list of New Year’s resolutions. I last checked in on January 29; midway through the year seems like a good time to look at the list again.
Finish the novel. Status: Poor. Reason: I actually don’t feel all that bad about this one, since I have been writing quite a few short stories. However, there’s nothing stopping me from writing this as well, so I need to get on it.
Get published. Status: Achieved. Reason: Well, I kind of cheated on this one by self-publishing a story on Amazon.com. But it’s better than last year.
Eat less frozen food. Status: Good. Reason: Caroline puts a lot of stuff in the freezer. I really only have room for a bag of chicken tenders and some ice cream, the latter of which must be kept in the freezer.
Give more, take less. Status: Not sure. Reason: I haven’t really been paying attention to this lately. I’ll get on it.
Be a better listener. Status: Decent. Reason: I’ve made more of an effort to eliminate distractions while listening. I still have much room for improvement in this department.
Less gesticulating on the phone. Status: Poor. Reason: I think this hasn’t gotten worse. I not at all conscious of what my hands are doing when I’m on the phone.
Less critical of people. Status: Good. Reason: Other people are doing their best with what they have. This mentality is a work in progress.
Giving parents full attention. Status: Good. Reason: See “be a better listener,” above.
Fart 20% less. Status: Poor. Reason: I was doing awesome at this until increasing bean consumption recently (we have a lot of canned beans in our pantry…I’ve been eating them instead of frozen food). I actually had to roll down my car window today—with only me in the car—because the smell was so offensive.
Write something every day. Status: Great. Reason: I love to write.
Watch TV only while eating/multitasking. Status: Good. Reason: Too busy writing. Although, I did get on a “How I Met Your Mother” kick recently, during which I was pretty much only watching that show.
Vote. Status: N/A. However, I did attend a political rally. That’s five times more political than anything I’ve ever done before.
Write shorter blogs. Status: Fair. Reason: Today notwithstanding, I’m getting better at using fewer words to say more. I read that people often just read a few sentences/paragraphs of a blog…odds are, you’re not even reading this right now.
Touch my hair less. Status: Poor. Reason: I’m generally pretty interested in what’s going on up there.
Don’t speak about others behind their back. Status: Poor. Reason: I’m not a gossip, but sometimes I just need to vent about people. Give a brother a break.
Learn what words mean and how to pronounce them. Status: Fair. Reason: Caroline knows a lot of words. She’s like a walking dictionary. And she always makes fun of me when I misuse a word, so I know I made a mistake. I should take ESL.
Not bad, not bad. Keeping this list and checking it twice has really helped me focus on advancing and improving myself. I’d highly recommend it.
FYI, in case you’re not already doing this, you should really be washing and draining those canned beans vigorously before eating them. The sodium content can be quite high in canned goods.
Just a friendly note from your neighborhood sodium watchdog.