I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions. I generally have a handful of goals that I’m aiming for on an ongoing basis, constantly evaluating and going forward on them and making plans to set the bar higher…so I didn’t really actively make a set of resolutions to begin on January 1 of this year.

I did, however, recently write up a list of things that I want to stop doing—the habits I want to break, the bad things I’m going to stop doing. So maybe this is my list for 2009— my non-Year’s Resolutions.

  • Being too nice with my space or my time. I will no longer allow things into my life that are neither beautiful, sentimental, nor useful. In addition, I’m not going to allow people into my life who are unsupportive, cruel, selfish,or sociopathic. (In the past this has been harder than it sounds for me. It’s not going to happen anymore.)
  • Consuming more than I need. This is a habit where I’m not alone. Even so, there’s no reason why I need to pick up a stack of five napkins at the bodega when I order a coffee, or why I should ever own more dresses than I can reasonably wear in a couple of laundry cycles—no matter how attractive they seem at the store, or how cheap they are, or how well they go with the direction that my fashion trajectory is trying to take. I’m becoming much more aware of the consequences of my consumption habits, even merely in my own personal sphere (read: if I pick up three forks and twenty napkins every day for lunch, I’m going to end up with a desk drawer full of wasted goods that I’ll likely never get to use, and if I have a closet full of unworn dresses, I’m really wasting the space that’s storing them, as well as the money that I spent on them). No more waste.
  • Waste time on things that aren’t important at all. I recently read a greatarticle about priorities and productivity, and I loved it that the author recommended being super-flaky about the things that don’t matter. I’m going to stop being reliable in the capacities that just plain don’t matter, and focus on what’s most important.
  • Ignore my cultural and artistic growth. Specifically, when I live in a city with one of the largest art presences in the world, I’m wondering why I’ve not yet made time this year to go to the Met. After all, it’s nearly free. I’m also wondering why I’ve not yet been to the library this year, and why my Japanese and French language tutorials haven’t been cracked in months. All of this stops now. I’m serious.
  • Become complacent. I will stop being good enough. Everyone can do this. But I can do better than good enough. And it’s time for me to do it.

Related posts:

  1. Fall Resolutions
  2. Today I’m Reading About: New Year’s Resolutions