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New Year's Resolutions


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No, I'm not going to share a long list of mine. Most of them have no relevance to anyone else here. I was just thinking about them in general.

 

For most people, it is a rather strange time of year. Most workplaces close, so most people are in a state of enforced idleness. Years ago, I would fill these otherwise wasted days by fishing. These days I will sungaze during the day and be out under the stars, etc at night if not with my immediate family. Not out of any great religious conviction, it has always been a time of year for most where there is time to think. I guess this is where new year's resolutions come in for most.

 

A common cliché is that most fail by February. One thing I've learn the hard way is NOT to start any sort of diet or abstinence during the winter. It can get <expletive> cold and (at least in my experience) the enforced idleness does not return me back to work with energy. Trying to reduce calories or caffeine is best left until spring when keeping warm is no longer a problem.

 

Many other resolutions are either unachievable, such as landing on the Moon, whereas others like earning more money are outside of your control. I could make more money by working on Sundays but if work dries up on weekdays, my income will go down. People in regular 5 day week jobs with regular start/finish times can only get a pay rise if it is given. Working harder, smarter or BOTH might increase your chances of a pay rise but not guarantee it.

 

In my experience, I might resolve to be a nicer person in 2018 but how do I know how nice I am in 2017? Even if I get everyone I know to fill in a form, I (or anyone else) would get few truthful answers. Many of these types of resolution sound good but can only ever refer to a general declaration of intent and cannot be verified. On the other hand, I had a good resolution about 30 years ago. My plan was to give up taking sugar in tea and coffee. I knew I couldn't do it by cold turkey but I gradually reduced the amounts over a 6-week period, so my mid-February I had achieved by goal. I have also done similar things by using pedometers to ensure that I maintained a daily average of walking.

 

I'm not suggesting, for one minute, that I am the ultimate setter and keeper of resolutions, far from it, but I'm sure that if you set achievable goals that you can easily measure and monitor, you will do better with resolution.

 

The only one I'm going to share is a general declaration of intent which I felt I met quite well in 2017 but could not measure it directly. I feel I still post too many photos on social media that aren't particularly good, even though I cleaned up a bit last year. My aim is "less is more" and that taking and posting 60+ images a month is plain stupid. Now if I could post 100 quality images a month it would be different but I know it won't happen. I think a dozen good ones is 12 times better than 60 bad ones and if I can only get 2 or 3 then it's not a great deal really.

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  • 1 month later...

On the last one I've done quite well and resisted the temptation to post "fillers", as I only posted two astronomy photos last month. I come on here a bit but when work gets busy, I just check a few key sites.

 

Owing to the chaotic hours I work I haven't been taking my medicine properly. This also affects my diet.

 

I haven't stopped to "smell the roses" often enough but am making the effort when I can.  

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