Resolutions for 2010: How Did I Do?

By Jonathan Timar
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It might seem a bit odd to be publishing a post about new years resolutions when we are already well in May. But I have a confession to make: this is not a new post.

I have been busy doing some behind the scene housekeeping here on In The Limelight, and one of the things I have been doing is going through all of the old posts I have written and determining if they are still worthy to be on this blog (in a later post I am going to explain my reasons for this in-depth).

Anyway, this post was heading for the chopping block because it was frankly of low quality, not necessarily on topic, and frankly I think I must have written it when I was really stuck for ideas.

But right after I clicked “trash” it occurred to me that it might be worth revisiting this post instead. How did I do with those silly resolutions? Did I keep any of them?

Let’s find out.

(Note: I have edited the original text, and any new text is italicized.)

Well 2009 is gone, and 2010 is upon us. By all accounts 2009 was a tumultuous year. The economy tanked (though I can’t say I personally noticed any difference), Barack Obama rose to power in the US and inherited a massive mess created by his predecessor. Stephen Harper played the piano and sang The Beatles and made people like him, even women. Michael Ignatieff showed the nation that he is just as much a buffoon as Stephane Dion before him, and just this morning I tore my toenail resulting in a fair amount of pain.

Well well, never mind the resolutions, I already have something to update. As it turns out, Ignatieff was actually an even bigger buffoon than Stephane Dion, given that he manged to lead the Liberal to their most crushing defeat in history. Good job, Mikey!.

  • I will finish writing my screenplay. I started writing a screenplay several years ago. I had grand plans, and I made steady progress for several weeks, getting maybe 30-40% of it finished. Then, well I went back to school, and got into a relationship, and then another relationship. And then I just wasn’t inspired for a while. So let this be the year that all of that changes and I get the damn thing done. Then maybe I will write another one.

Sad to say it was a complete fail on this one. I didn’t even work on it. I don’t feel bad about that fact, I simply had other things to do, and it became less important to me than I thought. Life is about choices, and I made the choice not to work on the screenplay after all. No big deal.

  • Continue to work out several times a week. Is it really a resolution if you are already doing it? Well, why not. This past year I have stuck to my workout plan like never before, and I have seen the results. I like what I see, and I want to keep improving.

I am not sure hot to determine my success with this one. In 2010 I actually did continue to work out, and I stayed quite fit right up until early 2011, when I did fall off the wagon, so to speak.

So I guess I pass for 2010, but fail for 2011.

  • Cook. I really like cooking, and I have a real knack for it. I rarely use recipes, I just make it up as I go along. The problem is I don’t usually like to cook for just me. But I cooked a prime rib dinner this Christmas for my family and it reminded me of how much I do enjoy cooking for others, so I resolve to find as many opportunities as possible to share my food skills with other people.

I did do some cooking, but really had limited opportunities to do so. So I am gonna call this one a draw.

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    • Take at least one holiday. I find it so easy to make excuses not to go on vacation, this year I vow to find any excuse possible to do the opposite.

    I did not manage to go on holiday in 2010, however I did take two holidays in 2011 thus far, one trip to Ucluelet, and another to the Domincan Republic. And in July I will be heading the Hawaii, so I am making up for no vacations in 2010 by taking them in 2011. Still, officially, I did fail to keep this resolution.

    • Buy a new camera. I love taking pictures, and life is too short to record it with a crappy camera. I must not be afraid to reward myself with life’s little luxuries so long as I am not going into debt for them.

    I did this one! I purchased a Panasonic GH1, and I must say it was something I will not regret. Resolution kept!

    • Begin acting again. Acting is truly my passion in life. I love movies, I love theatre, and music, and I get a little thrill when I think about it, or walk by a film set. It really is where I belong.

    I did audition for a few project last year, but I found that the enthusiasm I expected to have just wasn’t there. This is an area of my life that requires more introspection. I think my passions may have shifted towards other creative avenues.

    • Forgive. I want to forgive those who have wronged me, and forgive myself for my own mistakes.

    I have in fact made peace with a lot of people who have hurt me, or who I have perceived to have hurt me. I do believe I am a more forgiving person, and also dramatically more accepting of the faults and imperfections of the people around me.

    • Love.

    Yes.

    • Ride my bike. I have a pretty decent bike. This year I vow that instead of lusting over better bikes I cannot justify buying, I will ride the one I have as much as possible.

    Sadly I cannot say I achieved this one at all. The bike spent the better part of the year in storage, and as type this is it sitting outside my front door with a couple of flat tires.

    • Finally, I will write articles and post pictures on The Limelight as much as a possibly can!

    This one I most certainly achieved, though there is no doubt in my mind I could still have done much better. There were many slow periods over the year, where I didn’t post anything at all.

    So how did I do?

    Overall I did okay. I did accomplish two of the more significant resolutions. I began loving, and in a big way. I mean a seriously, honest to Dog, life changing way. And I really did become much better at forgiveness and acceptance, two things that I believe are absolutely key to happiness. On the mundane and materialistic side, I did buy that new camera.

    I still think resolutions are silly. Making a goal for an entire year is far to long-term to be useful. The fact that I accomplished anything on this list at all is pure coincidence, I didn’t even remember I made the list or what was on it until I started fishing through my old blog posts.

    Still, I did accomplish some of the, so perhaps there is a subconscious effect of resolutions.

    What do you think?