No resolutions here

The start of the new year generally brings about people making resolutions about things they’re going to do or change in their lives. Well, I’m not making any resolutions this year. I never end up keeping them anyways. So why take the time to say “I resolve to …” when I know I won’t. Instead, I’m making life change goals. There are aspects of my life that I know that I need to change. If I “resolve” to change them, it won’t happen. But if I make goals and work up to them … then maybe there is hope.

What do I need to change? Well, here’s my list (thus far), in no particular order.

Be more social.
I’ve never really been a social person. I’ve never really had a lot of friends … not real friends anyways. I’ve always tended to be a bit of a loner. It didn’t help that in high school I was CONSTANTLY picked on. Than kinda kept me out of social situations. My shyness doesn’t help matters either. I really need to change that. I’m never gonna meet a guy if I’m sitting on my couch in my apartment.

The place where I work now has lots of great people. Even though I’m only there for 3 months (the length of my contract unless it gets extended or they hire me on permanently), I’d like to get to know them … hang out with them. It would be good for me to hang out with people like me. And by “people like me” I mean techie people. They won’t look at me weird if I feel the need to tweet something because they’re probably tweeting something themselves.

Another thing that I need to get over is my fear of asking guys to dance when I’m at the bar. I used to ask them to dance. I guess you could say I have a fear of rejection. So I stopped asking them to dance because I just assumed they’d say no. But I don’t know that for sure. They might actually want to dance with me. I need to swallow my pride and ask. The worst that can happen is that they’d say “no”. Since I’m already expecting them to, it shouldn’t bother me. And who knows … I might actually find someone who wants to dance and hang out and who knows what after that (get your mind out of the gutter … I’m not talking about that).

Eat healthier.
This goes hand in hand with the next one. I need to improve my health … starting with what I eat and drink. I drink waaaaaaaay too much pop. I’ve tried cutting down in the past, but I always fall off the wagon. And there’s free pop at work. So there’s that temptation, especially in the morning when I’m feeling tired or when 3pm rolls around and I’m losing energy. But there’s water too. I need to drink that instead. Hell, I’ve got a TON of those drink mixes that you poor into a bottle of water. So I can drink water and still have some flavor.

I need a more well-rounded diet too. I need to eat more red meat and veggies … fresh ones too not just frozen. It’s harder in the winter, but the store still has some fresh veggies. I took a step toward that today. I bought a bag of baby spinach. I’ve never eaten it before. I don’t know why. But I will eat it again. That stuff’s pretty good. I put it in a salad with some romaine lettuce and some other veggies. I plan on taking salads to work for lunch this next week, until I run out of lettuce or spinach that is. I need to stop snacking when I’m at home too.

Exercise more.
In June 2007 I bought an elliptical. When I first got it, I actually used it quite a bit. Then that fall I started slacking off. I did start using it again at the beginning of last year, but yet again, I got lazy. I need to get into a routine that includes working out on that thing for at least 10 minutes a day, if not longer. I mean, I did spend money for it (even tho I got a really good deal). I also need to work in doing crunches. My biggest issue is my belly flab. I want to get rid of that before this summer so I’ll actually wear a swimsuit without wearing a tshirt over the top of it to try to hide. I think that getting into shape and losing weight would help out my confidence level too.

Be confident in my professional life.
This is a biggie. But it’s no surprise that I’m not all that self-confident in my work considering I’m not self-confident in any other aspect of my life. I think part of it stems from the fact that I have absolutely no training or education in web development/programming. Everything that I know I’ve taught myself. But that’s something for me to be proud of. I’ve been working in the field since June 2004. That’s pretty damn good considering I’m completely self-taught. I need to learn to use that to my advantage in my current position and when I’m looking again after this contract is up (unless they extend or ask me to stay on … I’m hoping :crossfingers: ). Sure, there’s lots of stuff I don’t know (like .NET or more advanced javascript), but I pick stuff up quick just by doing. I’ve proven that in the past. I need to allow myself to believe that I’m good at what I do. That will definitely take me places.

I think that’s a pretty good start at a list. And everything on that list is doable as well. I just need to get motivated. To start, I need to have people riding my ass about things so that I actually do them. Once I’m in a routine, it will be easier to keep going. And once I see results, I’ll want to keep going. I’ll post updates on my progress every now and then. I’m sure I’ll tweet about it a lot more than I’ll blog about it. If you don’t see anything here or on Twitter about me making progress, PLEASE ride my ass about it.