Without Fear

New Years resolutions are the best.

There are two kinds of people: those who scoff at the idea of resolutions because they are stupid because you shouldn’t need to change things on some arbitrary date, and there are those who can write their own destiny and actually change things in their world.

This year I vowed not to eat chocolate for the whole year and as I sit here on the 31st of December, I have managed this feat. I made the resolution partially as a health thing but mostly just to see if I could do it. I like chocolate chip cookies, and brownies, and chocolate milkshakes, so I knew this would be hard enough to be a test. And it was. I had to turn down offers pretty consistently but now that I’ve done it, holy cats do I feel good about it. I know that I control my world, I am the master of my desires. The fact I could do this has become this insane mental victory that you can’t pay for in this world anymore. I have bested temptation; come at me, bro.

Though I didn’t exactly go the ‘whole’ year without chocolate 😦 — at a work function I bit into what I thought was a blueberry muffin but upon first bite discovered it to be chocolate chipped. I didn’t want to look insane so I swallowed my small bite and then tossed the rest in the trash. I hope when I reach the pearly gates that St Pete doesn’t pull this on me and cast me down.

So, looking ahead for 2014, I had a big hole to fill. 2013 saw me master my fleshy temptations, what could I do for 2014 that would best this? In the end, I’m not being negative and redacting something from my world (I know I can do this now), so instead I’m going to value add. In no particular order, here are my 2014 resolution.

Read A Comic A Day – this should seem easy but some days get hectic and I don’t read anything and it bums me out. I’m busy and blah blah blah but if I’ve got time for someone’s facebook status/tweets, then I’ve got time to finally read the Jason Aaron GHOST RIDER omnibus I’ve ignored for far too long. This year, I read at least 365 comics.

Exercise 10 Minutes Every Day, 6 Days A Week – the usual standby resolution of ‘this year I’m going to get fit’ is dumb. It’s not clear what you’re going to do and so you’ll most likely fail. Because people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan, and ‘get fit’ isn’t the tightest term and once unloosely defined you’ll never rein it in and then you’ll find it unattainable. I’m beating that by making mine specific AND achievable. Hence, just 10 minutes a day. It can be walking, riding, stretching, bridging, sit ups, arm workouts, whatever. Considering I’m starting teaching at a new school that is closer and I plan to walk/ride most days, this will hopefully be a lock. But I’m hoping the 10 minutes becomes infectious and leaks out into more. I also think the break day every week is just smart planning. But for now, start small, achieve, and move on/up later.

List My Input – I’m going to keep lists on the comics/books/movies/tv I consume. I have a notepad all set out for this. Why am I doing it? Well, to help me keep on track with the aforementioned #365comics challenge, but also to just look at what I’m doing, see patterns, and have something that will replace my Swiss cheese memory.

Write Harder – I’m going to settle into tasks quicker, I’m going to go social media free while writing for a few nights a week, and I’m going to ensure I keep my productivity high. This one is a little loose, I will admit, but I feel happy with how I’ve been going in 2013 on this one (which is an every year event and constantly improving/evolving) but I always want to up my game so for 2014 the ‘net free nights is what will help me out. So will the deadlines on real gigs with real publishing schedules.

These are my resolutions. They will make me and 2014 better things in this world. I hope you have resolutions, I hope you crush them, and if I can help in any way just let me know.