I do not take New Year’s Resolutions very seriously; they seem to fade and are often too nebulous in that they relate to a person’s state of being rather than to actionable activities. Goals, on the other hand, tend to be much more concrete. Even if a goal is not accomplished in its entirety, the effort spent toward that goal often yields some tangible good. Ironically, sometimes the good that comes of the goal is the realization that the goal is not worth the effort of accomplishing it. In that case, you can discard that goal and it no longer distracts you from your other, real goals.
Last year I set down in writing a number of goals for me to accomplish throughout the year. I put those goals in the context of something that one of my high school teachers, Mr. Zimmerman, laid out for our eleventh grade English class at the beginning of the school year. His model for life was corny then and it remains corny to this day. It was, however, fun to reminisce about Mr. Zimmerman, one of the best teachers who ever tried to impart some amount of knowledge and wisdom to me. Thinking about my goals for this year, however, some do not fit neatly into Mr. Zimmerman’s PIESMC Model of a Life Well Lived, and so I am setting aside Mr. Zimmerman for this year.
Some of my goals for the year are resurrections of unmet prior year goals. That just means that those goals were worthy goals that need more of my attention and energy. Others are updates of goals that can persist from year to year, even if partially or wholly met. Some are new goals.
So here they are.
Run 500 miles. Last year the goals were to run 700 miles and maybe take up yoga. I did neither. 500 miles is much more attainable. I was a bit shy of that in 2020, but should be able to reach that this year. Given my schedule and responsibilities, 500 miles is something I can reach, but only with a good effort. Yoga moves to the back burner for this year.
At the outset of last year I remarked that staying focused was a major challenge for me, intellectually. I spent the rest of the year proving just that. I had intended to read a number of works by a range of people, but of the ones I intended to read, the only one I actually did read was Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, once I found a suitable translation. I followed that up with Aristotle’s Politics, particularly apropos of last year. I also read a number of other books, most of them very worthwhile. This year I will continue with the classics, although I have decided to put off Shakespeare for some other year.
One goal I have found renewed enthusiasm for is to master beginning Italian. Last year I proposed a vague “expanding upon the limited amount of Italian I learned in 2019” but that came to naught. Almost. What I did accomplish was devising a much more definite plan. I replaced my missing Learn Italian CD lessons, for one. I also obtained both an Italian and an English copy of Italo Calvino’s Se Una Notte D’Inverno Un Viaggiatore. Common Italian, written by and Italian, for Italians. What could be better. Bello! I have even started reading both.
Next on my list of goals is to buy a sailboat. A small one. Something that can be sailed locally.
Of course, the next goal is to learn to sail it.
I also intend to submit a book (novel) for publishing. I finished a rough draft on one manuscript a while back, but when I read it, that one just does not seem all that good. Not something someone would want to publish, in my opinion. And I am not being a perfectionist, here. It is more along the lines of it being the output of someone who is not yet good at his craft. I might try to re-work it some and send it off in hopes that someone will find it publishable. Additionally, though, I have already started on a second novel, which ought to be better. After that is in reasonable shape, I will send that one off. And then write another. Until I write good enough for others to read.
One last smaller, much more accomplishable goal I have is to bake a loaf of povitica for each of my siblings and give it to them for their birthdays. I have made a couple of loaves from a recipe I found and those two efforts turned out surprisingly not-so-bad. Since my older four siblings are part Croatian (as is my wife, Mary, and, hence, our two kids) it seems like a personal present from me to each of them. Hopefully, this pans out.
I did not achieve most of my goals which I set out for myself last year. I allowed a pandemic to take my eye off the target. The days became less distinct than they had in the past. Without the usual cadence of weeks to use as signposts, I let the year slip away. Because of that, my writing suffered neglect. To combat all that, I will take a daily reckoning and a weekly reckoning. I will use each of those to keep myself focused.
Now, since we are at the end of January, not the beginning, I have left myself with eleven months rather than twelve months to do the things I want to do. However, as Leonard Bernstein once said: “To achieve something really great, all you need is a good idea and not quite enough time.”
That means I need to start NOW.