Real Texas Resolutions

Make 2012 the best year ever

A New Year’s resolution is a commitment that you as an individual make to one or more lasting personal goals, projects, or the reforming of a habit. It’s a common thing at this time of year whether it is made public or kept private. This lifestyle change is generally interpreted as being something good or advantageous. A New Year’s Resolution is generally a goal someone sets out to accomplish in the coming year. Some examples include resolutions to be a better person, live a healthy lifestyle, or to become more fiscally responsible. A key element to a New Year’s Resolution that sets it apart from other resolutions is that it is made in anticipation of the New Year, and new beginnings.

I would suggest you give some thought to resolutions. Thoreau said, An unexamined life is not worth living.” I take that to mean you should have a curiosity and sense of adventure. Examine more closely that what interests you….whatever that may be.

So, I have some New Year’s resolutions of my own this year in anticipation of new beginnings.

1. I intend to live in a state of gratitude. Now that sounds strange coming from a hardened old former editor, but I truly am grateful that I live in The Great State, that I live out in Real Texas, and that I have good health, a good wife/life partner, a healthy and talented son, and a good dog.

What more could you want?   Being grateful will keep me in a positive state of mind where even more good things will come to me.  Of that, I am convinced.

2. I will choose to be happy. I could choose to be unhappy if that is what I want, but that is not what I want. I will choose to be happy in 2012. And it’s not as if I have been unhappy; quite the opposite. I found this quote on the Financial Mentor site by Todd R.  Tressider.  Todd’s site is certainly worth a visit. Here’s the quote: “Suffering today in an effort to earn greater success and income for tomorrow so that I can relax and feel secure at some future date is insane. I can embrace the adventure that is my work, do what I can each day without stress but with creativity and joy – and trust the results will be meaningful.”    My work is an adventure….God help me, I do love it so!

3. I’ll choose to be healthy. I have written here previously about a new blog venture that focuses on having Healthy Heart Numbers and I’ll be trying to improve those numbers for myself and many others. Having healthy heart numbers means living a longer, healthier life. It involves using my Healthy Heart Numbers App and bringing your health numbers into recommended ranges. Part of my project involves losing 10% of your body weight in order to bring your BMI (body mass index) into acceptable ranges, so there you have the traditional ‘losing weight’ resolution. However, as a member of The Healthy Heart Club, you can also be a prize winning 10% Elite club member. I’ll tell you more about all that at a later date…if you are interested.

4. I’ll write more. It’s something I enjoy doing and I have met some amazing people all across the country who also write for their own reasons. I will be publishing some of my early work on both the Kindle and in the ePub format used by the Nook and iPad and will totally disregard looking for any of the traditional legacy publishing deals. I’m not interested in what some New York editor thinks of my writing.  We have little in common.  There’s a new age dawning in the publishing world and I’ll be right in the middle of it. I spent nearly three decades in traditional publishing, but the times, they are a changing.

Here are a couple of Texas specific resolutions:

5. I’m going to climb Guadalupe Peak and Enchanted Rock during the year 2012. They are two places in Texas that are icons and every good Texan should go there if they are physically able. I’ve climbed the tallest mountain in New Mexico and I better go ahead and make the climb up the highest peak in Texas while my knees still function. One of  ’em is titanium, so it should be able to drag the other one up to the top of Texas. After the Enchanted Rock climb, I can go recuperate in a biergarten in Fredericksburg.

6. I’m going to learn to play the guitar. I have several friends who are absolutely gifted with the instrument and I’m jealous. I might as well keep on being jealous because they have a big-as in lifetime-head start on me. My good friend T. Gozney Thornton was over at the house one evening and he picked up my guitar and literally made it sing. Other friends who can play the hell out it include Augie Meyers, Joe Forlini, Joe Dianda, and Jeff Strahan. They can just tear it up. So that is something I will learn to do in 2012 in a very basic fashion. Like three or four chords or so. I have an amplified Fender CD 100 in natural finish. Who knows, after a 6 pack or two, I may even try to sing.

So that just about covers it. If any of you want to join me in being grateful, happy, healthy, and going off on a couple of wild-eyed expeditions just let me know and we’ll meet up and make a trip of it.

I’m David out in Real Texas

Ready for the New Year

Tagged as: new year's resolutions, resolutions for 2012, Texas resolutions