Lounge of Tomorrow - Resolutions for 2016

Reposted from Facebook - for old time's sake:

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Once upon a time I used to post a set of informal resolutions on a message board I belonged to, a practice I failed to follow up on last year and so missed the chance to revisit my 1-year younger self and see how I did compared to what I had actually hoped for. So I post this here, for my 2017 self to read when Facebook send me it’s New Year’s Day, “On This Day” message. But hey, I welcome any comments and would love to hear any resolutions you have to share.

1. Read more – While I met my “goal” this year of beating last years dismal count by reading 4 books, I’ll public state a goal of reading at least 5 books in 2016. I’m hoping I can beat that, especially now that my new job allows me to commute with public transpiration returning to me the time I would otherwise waste just driving.

2. Reduce clutter – this is sort of the housekeeping corollary of prioritizing experiences over things, I’ve accumulated an awful lot of stuff that I seem to hang on to for no good reason other than I have the space and I don’t want to make a decision. Perhaps I’ll take some “before” picture of my desk, closet , and garage to see how I did come New Year’s Day 2017.

3. Share my gratitude – No, I’m not going to do one of those “three things” lists, so you needed prematurely block me from your Facebook feed, rather I hope to be more attentive and demonstrably appreciative of the people around me who do wonderful things, share great ideas or stories, and otherwise inspire me to be a better person. I’m an introvert at heart so I tend to leave a lot of that stuff unsaid, and I know for many of you I don’t need to say it, but I’ll regret it if I don’t.

4. Be more present – This isn’t some Zen spiritual quest so much as a reminder to put my damn cell phone away. Don’t be the first person to pull out my cell phone during a meal, watch the show with my eyes and not through a screen, resist the urge to Google every piece of conversational trivia, and remember I don’t need to be flying to put my phone in airplane mode.

5. Encourage more conversation – Again as an introvert, I have a hard time striking up conversations with strangers or acquaintances. My fantasy would be to have a salon, inviting a small mixes of people I know to just chat in depth about art, humanity, the nature of the universe, or mixing a good cocktail. I don’t know if I’ll do something so formal, but I hope to find excuses to bring people together and share our thoughts and stories. Part of this goal may just be identifying to local venues for long dinners, cups of coffee, great cocktails, where you can actual hear each other speak. I want to hear your stories.

6. Take some risks and face some fears – I don’t have anything specific in mind for this one, rather it’s a reminder to step outside my comfort zone and let myself be vulnerable probably in service to indulging my curiosity. This might include travel to difficult places, taking the lead in an uncertain venture, or sharing an embarrassing story. I guess this is mostly about making sure I’m not always just on autopilot and am conscious of the decisions I’m making (or choosing to ignore – once an existentialist…)

That’s it for now, subject to change without notice and all the usual disclaimers – see you in 2017.