Wednesday, January 10, 2007

The one about resolutions

My New Year's resolution a few years ago was to make the time to read at least one book per month. For someone who enjoys spending his time either online or in front of the TV it was quite a challenge, but I think I read 15 books that year. The trick for me was to make a habit out of reading a chapter or a set number of pages each night then, as I tried to fall asleep, to calculate in my head what percentage of the book I had read and compare it to the previous nights. Among my favorite books were scientific non-fiction, specifically quantum physics. I know it's not exactly light bedtime reading, but I got a lot of enjoyment out of trying to understand the universe. I also read a number of autobiographic memoirs from either astronauts or people directly involved in the spaceflight business, the business I happened to be in at the time. In the years since then my nighttime reading has slowly dwindled back to zero so I think part of my New Year's resolution for 2007 will be to get back to reading.

You may recall that my 2006 resolution was to take a step towards living the life about which I dream. (Interestingly, the weather is just as beautiful today this year as it was last.) At the time, I wasn't sure what that would be but I knew that I'd be able to identify it in hindsight. There are a couple of contenders for what step I should credit. Completing graduate school with new and improved (read: mad) skillz was a biggie. Dating again, although unsuccessfully at first and now unconventionally (to say the least), was a huge step in the right direction. Therapeutic professional counseling has been generally positive. Taking a vacation to investigate where I might want to live the life about which I dream was a great experience.

Contrary to what I said last year, that I'd be able to conclusively point to one thing that I accomplished last year, I think it's the sum of my experiences that move me forward. The good, the bad, and the ugly all contribute to my improvement. Therefore, in addition to the reading thing, my resolution for 2007 is to continue moving towards the life about which I dream.

6 Comments:

At 1:18 AM, Blogger Jammie J. said...

Sounds like a good resolution to me. Keeping it broad...

 
At 9:00 AM, Blogger Sass said...

amen.

 
At 9:34 AM, Blogger tinyhands said...

J- Yes, keeping a broad is included in the resolution, but she prefers to be called a woman.

Sass- For a second there I thought you were saying that your resolution was "a man" or perhaps several of them. Guess my mind is (back) in the gutter this morning.

 
At 9:42 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i love it. sounds like you are in a good place.

in your whole scientific non-fiction pursuit, did you come across the book "stiff"...i found it fascinating!

 
At 12:40 PM, Blogger tinyhands said...

Amanda- I had not, but I just read the description/reviews at Amazon. Interesting!

 
At 6:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, TH. May all your dreams come true.

 

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