New Year's Resolution

Yes, I know it's a little early, but we've recently entered the time of year that moves at warp speed.

I actually have two New Year's approaches. The first comes in September, around my birthday, soon after Labor Day and the traditional start of a school year. That's when I feel like the time is right to ponder my future and decide what kind of changes I want to make in my life and/or goals I'd like to pursue.

January 1st, to me, is like a reset button. Starting a fresh calender year means a I can make a completely fresh start. No matter what my life has been like, I am allowed to re-invent it however I so choose.

Of course, anyone can do this at anytime. 

Still, a new calendar year seems to have so much power attached to it.

That's most likely all in my head, but what's in our heads can be extremely powerful. So I just go with it.

Anyway, as I said, time is flying by extra fast these days and there's quite a lot I feel like I want to get done before the New Year. And that's causing some conflict with my desire to travel. Because, although I can do quite a lot while I'm traveling, most of what I have in mind can be done more effectively if I focus on just getting it done. Plus, it's mostly such mundane stuff that I don't want to dilute my travel experiences with it.

And I'm so anal, I don't think I can enjoy my travels knowing that it's all sitting somewhere waiting for me to take care of it.

Still, I doubt I will get it all finished before the New Year. But I think I will be satisfied if I get it organized enough to work on when I come to visit here. Because I know I will have to come back here, where I don't like coming back to, to visit my mother. And I don't feel any need whatsoever to explore any part of my location while I'm here. Yes, it's changed somewhat since I was growing up, but I don't care. I still don't like being here.

In a way, having something real to accomplish while I'm here will actually make it easier to come back. I mean, it will certainly be nice spending time with my mother between travels, and even seeing some of the rest of my family can be fun. But if I'm going to come for several days at a time, knowing that there is something I can do only here just somehow makes it more palatable. Not to mention, it gives me an excuse to get out of any gathering I don't feel like participating in.

In any case, this year, my goals are very simple. In fact, they're pretty much the same goals as last year, and that's made me realize that just continuing to chip away at things will finally get you where you want to be.

Organization. Just recently, I was feeling a little disheartened when I thought of all the files I wanted to scan into my computer. Because they'd just been unloaded from the car we'd had driven from Nevada and they are in several boxes all over the back room. Then a light went on in my head and I thought, "Wait, maybe a lot of them can be thrown away by now! In fact, maybe a lot can even be deleted from my computer now, too." So maybe that won't be as bad as I thought.

But I want to get all of my, and my mother's, finances whipped into shape before I take off for extended periods of time, as well. I bought a copy of Quicken right after her stroke a little over a year ago and still haven't even installed it on my computer. Everything will be so much easier to keep track of and take care of once I've got it all organized, so that's a must.

Simplification. Simplification and organization go hand in hand. Each makes the other easier. But, in addition to this, I'm still working on achieving the minimalist life I've been talking about for the last few years.

The ultimate goal has always been to only keep what I carry. And that has helped me to be utterly ruthless every time I've changed locations. But, this last time, I decided to keep a few things in case I ended up getting a place of my own sooner than I thought. So I paid my sister to use a corner of her storage unit for a few months. I figured, by then, things would be a little clearer.

Still, I could probably stand to get rid of at least a little more of what I've got. And it will probably always be a constant battle with myself not to hang on to things I don't need. But even with travel accessories, there are just so many neat things! So, it's a problem I've got to be vigilant about. I have to say, though, comparing what I had three years ago to what I've pared down to makes me feel like I've really come a long way. And everything I owned three years ago fit into one very small room. Now, everything I own would fit into the trunk of a large car. Yes!!!

I guess the goal is now to make it all fit into the trunk of a compact. :)

Actually, once I scan or replace 3 boxes of books, this will be the case. So I'm not too far off at the moment.

Travel. I've been back and forth across the country a few times in the last 14 months. Unfortunately, all of the trips have been more in the nature of fulfilling obligations rather than for pleasure. However...I managed to visit at least one place I'd never seen before, both last year and this year. So that definitely counts as moving toward my goal.

I've been working toward a specific vision in all three of those areas for the last few years, and I'm finally close enough that 2011 should be the year I move from "working toward" to "maintaining". And that will be nice. However, I can't help thinking that it shouldn't have taken so long. Part of the reason was circumstances far beyond my control. But a lot of it was also my own procrastination.

I'm not going to dwell on any of that, though. Time is getting short and I have so much to do, not just with the stuff I've been talking about, but other responsibilities which are the reason I am where I am. It may turn out that I don't get to the travel I was anticipating this year, after all. I'm still not sure about that yet.

But, either way, I am determined to stomp on that reset button in early 2011.