2014: Bring it!

Finishing that Freedom Tower is taking a long time but it still strikes me as a symbol of hope every time I see it

To many, a new year signifies a chance for a do over...a clean slate. Some people get that feeling with the change of season, a birthday or even the monthly turn of the calendar. I am not one of them.

I am not a resolution person. I have "fear of failure so why bother syndrome." Forbes.com says only 8% of people will achieve their New Year resolution goals. Wiki says most will have tired of the effort by the second week of January.

Regardless, I am making some goals for 2014. Here is what I plan to do.

Be adventurous

Do things. Try things. Go places.  Though exciting trips are not in the budget...maybe a new hobby, new recipes, museum visits.

Learn things

This can be little things like reading and listening or big things like taking classes and studying.

Organize and clean

Scary! I am allergic to cleaning and I am organizationally impaired.  Okay...I am not allergic to cleaning though I AM allergic to dust.  Sometimes it seems like leaving dust alone bothers me less than stirring it up and sneezing it across the room. But I am going to try to clean more and organize my stuff for a better quality of life in my little apartment.

Be charitable

More than just giving money, I want to donate time and things. Giving is something I do but this year I want to do it more often (maybe monthly) and not wait for the next natural disaster to kick my butt in gear.

I also want to be nicer, give people the benefit of the doubt, pass around some random acts of kindness.

This morning on my walk I was running this blog post through my head. As I thought the words "donate more" a tiny voice in the back of my head said this might be difficult since I'm currently unemployed. At that exact moment I focused on the street along the gutter where a twenty dollar bill was looking up at me! The first drop in my donation bucket!

So, here we go. A new year...and it's going to be good!

Happy New Year!

Morning temperature: 25 degrees
Morning steps: 5703