Planet New Year

There's something about the impending New Year that totally alivens (don't question my English) me - I think about all the possibilities and it fills me to the brim with inspiration. It's like this whole new slate - so enticing and full of promise but so overwhelming and intimidating at the same time. Like I'll get to the other side of 2009 and think, 'so what did I achieve this year? What groundbreaking, enriching experiences did I have?' and the only thing I'll come up with will be something like, 'well I saw this show that said if you always fill your car up to the nearest $0.07, you'll always get 2 cents worth of petrol for free..I must have saved like at LEAST 18 bucks."

That's why I don't get why people make these shitty, token New Year's resolutions that really don't resonate them at all. Like, if you're really that uninterested in improving yourself, why bother making a resolution at all?
Lose weight. That's so original. Even though the person has no intention of eating fresh food or getting off the couch.
Stop smoking. Despite the fact the person isn't worried about cancer or looking like a boot at all. That's totally meaningful.

There is so much you can do with a new year - I try to take it as a chance to reinvent myself a teensy bit at a time. But not by means of telling everyone I'm going to stop eating McCain's Frozen Dinners every night whilst my fingers are crossed behind my back.

I have a pretty revolting affinity for checklists - some would say it's manic, but I think I have it all under control. Anyway, you might have heard of this website called 43 Things. It is basically a way for people to document all the things they want to achieve, make notes along the way, and remove it from their list of 'things' once they make it. There are 43 things, as you probably gathered, which, to me, is just a nice round number - so every year I make a list called "43 Things for 200_". Instead of making one ridiculously unattainable goal at the start of the year, "Maybe I'll just like, buy 5 houses and rent them all out to people", I write down 43 pretty small things that would make me way happier with my life. I write the number in a heart bullet point, and once I've reached a goal, I colour in the heart next to it. I add to it all year, until I've improved my life and myself in 43 ways.

So here are the things I have so far for next year:
1. Go overseas
2. See snow
3. Start playing the flute again
4. Join a choir
5. Go to acrobatics classes
6. Go to dancing every week
7. Go to yoga once a week
8. Buy myself a piano
9. Eat fresh food - no processed shit!
10. Buy a cuckoo clock
11. Write 100 articles on my blog
12. Write 1 complete song
13. Find a sweet fruit & veg shop/deli to ♥ 4eva!
14. Buy Nigella Express, cook awesome meals, and enjoy eatings!
15. Cook with lots of herbs and spices
16. Sell my car

Some of them are kind of silly things that I just really want to try, while others are a bit more momentous. And when you get to the end of the year and you've coloured in the last heart or star or spaceship, you totally get this sense of satisfaction, like you pushed yourself and you rose to the challenge.

So don't make some weiner little resolution just for the hell of it - if you really want to be better, think about what will get you there, and then do it!