I was never really good with new year resolutions.
As the Jamie Cullum song would say:
“Resolutions
Well Baby they come and go
Will I do any of these things?
The answer is probably no”
However, in 2017 I am committed to make some changes. This blog right here is one of them. I have been planning to write more for years and years and I finally said enough is enough! If I don’t do it now I won’t do it at all.
So here are some of my goals for 2017 (so far):
- Improve my health and fitness (because it’s not okay to have back pains when you’re young).
- Work, focus and being productive. I made massive advancements in this area in 2016 and I intend to continue in this path.
- Finance. With all modesty, I think I’ve done well enough in this area, but there is still a lot to learn and improve. In 2017 my main goal is to save more and spend wisely.
- Getting rid of clutter. I have been reading and watching a lot of content about the benefits of letting go of stuff. Since I moved to America in 2014 (more on this later), I always tried to keep as little as possible. But in 2017 I want to move even more to the minimalist side.
- Relationships. This is an important one for me. I want to continue to cherish my good friends (most of them I know for over 20 years now). But I also want to build new and meaningful relationships. This will probably be the most important thing I’ll do this year.
- Reading. I spent too much time reading news in 2016. I want to start a news diet in 2017 and move to a book feast. My inspiration for this change was a small book I read in December by Oliver Sacks. It’s called Gratitude and it’s a compilation of essays he wrote during his life. It’s beautiful and effortless to read. Yesterday I joined the Goodreads 2017 Reading Challenge. I pledged to read 24 books (2 books a month). I’ll post my results and even reviews of these books here once I’m done.
- Start a podcast and a YouTube channel. Over the years I have done several experiments with these two mediums. However, I never actually transformed these ideas into something more consistent. This year, I intend to really spend some time and produce content in audio and video.
I think 7 is a good number. It fits the Goldilocks principle: not too much, not too little, but just right.
To end this post I think it is appropriate to list some important achievements and events that happened for me in 2016. These are not in any specific order:
- I moved to my second apartment (in life), which I really really enjoy.
- I started my Masters program in Design and Media Management.
- I got the chance to witness and be part of two very important wedding cerimonies. This meant planning and traveling to Brazil and Los Angeles in less than 5 months. But I was able to be around close friends that are near and dear to my heart. These trips were by far the highlights of 2016 for me and all efforts paid off.
- I traveled back to Brazil after two and half years away and got to be with my family. It was very important and meaningful to be with them once again.
- I got the chance to travel to Panama for the first time. It was a wonderful trip with amazing people.
- I had the opportunity to watch my favorite comedian, Louis CK live, for the second time.
- I developed 12 new websites.
Even though there is sort of a backlash against 2016, I think it was a great year for me.
Now, as Ellie in the Pixar movie UP would say: Let’s have a new adventure!