Word of the year: ENTHUSIASM
Before getting to my 2019 resolutions, I wanted to introduce my one-word theme for the year: enthusiasm! Inspired by this article my dad sent the family on New Year’s Day, I want to approach everything I do this year with unbridled enthusiasm. I’m always excited about the new year and the clean slate, but this year I want it to sustain. As the author of the article notes,
Most of the small things that make up your life are amazing, too—mountain bike rides, rock climbs, ski runs, sunsets, stars, friends, people, girlfriends and boyfriends, dogs, songs, movies, jokes, smiles … hell, even that burrito you ate for lunch today was pretty phenomenal, wasn’t it?
Brendan Leonard, Outside Magazine
Why shouldn’t I use exclamation points in an email?! Why shouldn’t I be completely stoked about my favorite eggs being in stock at the grocery store?
Following last year’s model, here are my 2019 resolutions. I have decided on nineteen goals that I am pumped to complete! I hope you enjoy!
19 for 2019
Complete a triathlon
This is my overarching fitness goal. It will be a challenge to learn how to swim effectively, and balance the extra cardio while also keeping muscle mass.
Indulgent purchase: Apple Watch or Fitbit
This is done! I have been wanting a fitness tracker for a while. After in depth research about the Apple watch’s workout tracking features, I decided to splurge. One swim workout in, I love it.
Read 40 books
Last year I read 43 books and it felt doable again. I decided to choose a nice round number.
See 15 movies in theater
Get a job!
The job market for my profession happens before I graduate, so even though I graduate in 2020, I hope to be employed by November.
Submit two papers to journals
Make a birthday calendar and buy stuff to make birthday cards
I love sending birthday cards and wanted to get a little more creative this year. We’ll see if I get around to this…
Finish photo books
I have two photo books that need completing on Shutterfly.
Visit 5 national parks
Cook at least 2 meals a week
Become more green: green cleaning supplies, eat more organic, reduce single use plastic
Green Enough was a good resource to kick start this goal.
Play the piano at least three days a week
It’s silly to have a nice keyboard in my living room and not spend 30 minutes a week playing.
Date night once a week with Phil
Use phone less
I am hopeful that the Apple watch will help with this, but it’ll still be a challenge. Specifically, I want to stop using my phone as an alarm clock.
Get a house plant
I don’t want to become a “plant parent” though!
Basement clean sweep
This needs to happen about twice a year and it’s been a while.
Blog more (twice a week)
I think I can achieve this by focusing more on microblogging (shorter posts). One larger idea I have is to share blog posts about the National Parks we’ve been to over the past three years.
Set up LastPass
My hodgepodge Evernote system works…but not effectively. I believe the premium version of LastPass is only $2 a year, so I would like to try it out.
Find a course to take and learn something new
Not sure what this course will be yet…any suggestions??
People can disagree with things like quality, maybe your taste in food, or whether or not a movie is good. But no one can argue with enthusiasm, especially when it is over the top.
Brendan Leonard, Outside Magazine
[…] a few years, I have shared my goals and resolutions here for (2018; 2019). Last year I shared my one-word theme. I like posting my 21 for 2021 goals both for posterity and […]