New Year Resolutions

I rarely ever write out or document my New Year resolutions, and it’s never been for any real reason outside of laziness. It’s probably something I should add to my list of resolutions, that laziness, but it’s not. Maybe it’s out of laziness to not find a way to work it in, but I don’t think it’s something with fits with what I want to do with my life this coming year.

My New Year Began in October

I was recently in Nashville for one of my best friend’s wedding (Adrian Santos) and I was fortunate, while there in Nashville, to have a couple of great conversations with him and another good friend of mine (Josh Smith) who I see less often than I’d like. It having been a hard few months previous to that trip, the conversations all had a general overtone of forward looking and contemplation for me, with each of those two great guys contributing a lot to my thinking — more than likely without them actually knowing it. Both Adrian and Josh are extremely focused and disciplined in a way that I typically just fake at being, but it was great to get some tips and advice from both of them. I’m grateful that I’m friends with both of them for many reason.

I’ve decided that my resolutions this year were going to be categorical, rather than specific, so that I can apply each resolution to multiple aspects of my life, hopefully this will help me stay focused but not to become lost in the minutia and specificity of a singular goal, which although would be accomplished, would do less help to me as a person and be more of a list item that could just be checked off and forgotten about.

1. Save More

I’ve decided to set an actual amount this year of how much money I would like to save. Last year I was blessed to do better than I was expecting financially and I was able to save a bit (which became fortunate later in the year due to some financial things that decided to creep up unexpectedly). I was lucky to have done that, but it wasn’t as purposeful as I wished it had been, and without a set amount that I was trying to reach, I wasn’t able to judge myself at whether or not I had been successful at attained that goal. So, by setting a hard amount I’ll be able to judge my accomplishment more specifically.

Along with a financial savings, I’m going to apply my goal of Saving More to other aspects of my life. Time is a big one that I spend and waste too much of. By becoming more efficient with how I decide to spend my time and life, it will allow me to spend more on the things that I do what. Time is valuable, and it’s a cost that you can calculate. Some do it financially [sidebar], which makes sense to me if you’re calculating work costs, but I prefer to look at it in a more abstract fashion, based on events and activities rather than money. Would I rather do this or would I rather have two extra hours to do this? By learning to save more of my time, money, and myself, I’ll be able to spend every thing better: giving myself more bang for my buck, and give back to myself more of the things I wish to have around.

2. Simplify My Life

I am way too complex with my life. Complexity does equate to having complex things though. I’m a total tech junkie, but that stuff isn’t all that complex for me. It’s not about a specific thing making my life complex, it’s more of a mindset. Somewhere along the line I decided that complexity equates to a system that will deliver specific results, and there is some truth that can be found there, but not in a way that be applied to the whole. Yes, computers are complex working things, but that complex thing can be used to write a giant application to manage a to-do list, or a simple text file can be used and saved on your desktop to accomplish the same thing.

I need to figure out what aspects of my life are complicated because I’ve made them that way, which ones are complicated because they are complicated, and how I can simplify both of those areas.

3 For acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair; 4 for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young- 5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. Proverbs 1:3-5 (NIV)

Life doesn’t have to have a lot of things going on in order to be exciting and fulfilling. There is beauty in simplicity, and that is something I’ve lost along the way. When I started my blog a few years back, and even further back from there when I wrote articles for a design community website, I wrote it under the title of “The Details.” I found all the beauty in the details, and I still do. The way a single letter “n” is designed in a typeface or how a image and text line up in a grid system, those details are amazing. But, adding details to something for the sake of having details doesn’t make it more beautiful — it makes it more complicated!

Simplicity can apply to so many things, but a real simplicity is a thoughtful paring down of something until it is exactly what it needs to be, and not a single thing more. Do I really need to have a super complex method for organizing my thoughts, or will a single Moleskine with list items written down and then crossed out when finished? This is a goal that will have hundreds of aspects for each area it’s applied to, but over time, simplification will lead to a more calm mind and an easier outlook on life.

3. Stewardship of What I Have

This one is simple (see resolution #2). I need to be a better Steward of what I have been blessed with, whatever it is. Money, time, talent, friendships, family: you name it, more than likely I’ve taken it for granted. I need to fully understand and realize the value of things I have in my life and use them wisely and in a way that will justify their existence as well as the blessing that God gave me by putting those things in my life.

“Stewardship, including financial stewardship, is essentially a faith issue… God calls us stewards as his beloved children, and promises his love and acceptance of us forever. Having incorporated us into his family, then God invites us to work in the world to foster God’s purposes. Part of that call is to acknowledge in our hearts and lives that our very being and everything we have belongs to God, and we are caretakers using ourselves for his Kingdom.”
Dr. William O. Avery

By being a good steward of everything I have, I become more faithful to God’s purpose for my life and His will for those elements He’s given me. By acknowledging God’s ownership of my possessions, I give Him more ownership of my life and more control over my decision making.

4. Study More and Sharpen What I Do Know

I want to learn more about so many things. Theology, typography, design, color, cars, learning other languages, people, so many things. I’ve been very lazy in my life lately in pushing myself to be more, and I miss that. In learning to do things better I become better, and I become more efficient in doing those things I have just learned and those things I already know.

Information is not knowledge.
Albert Einstein

In the past, I have define knowledge as knowing a bunch of stuff. And although that has helped me in games of Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit, it hasn’t helped me in what really matters: living my life effectively and helping others to live their lives more effectively. I want to become more wise and knowledgeable, not an encyclopedia of useless facts, like I have bragged about being in the past.

5. Sustain

My last goal is more or less a cheater goal. I want to be able to Sustain all the goals I’ve set. I’m fully aware that it can’t really be accomplished until the year is finished, but that is probably the truth with the other four resolutions I’ve set as well. Regardless of that, I still want to make it a goal of mine to keep my goals, as circular as that may be.

I think I would be more wise (see resolution #4) of me to sustain my goals for a lifetime than it would be to just let them be a place I have my yearly eyes set on. By sustaining these goals, hopefully I’ll become a better Chrisitian, person, friend, son, brother, etc. to everyone around me.

Conclusion

Hopefully I do good on my goals in the coming 12 months + 1 second. One thing I took great time in orchestrating was the ability for each of my goals to influence each other. I’m hoping that by learning to simplify things that saving will be easier. By learning to save more of my time, studying will be an easier thing to accomplish and sustain. Stewardship of my studies and saving commitments will make things simpler and more sustainable. All this will make my life simpler, as well as save me time and effort.

I’m now curious of your resolutions or goals that you’re setting for yourself for the coming year. How do you plan on keeping these resolutions? In the spirit of Simplicity are you going to just write a list and try and stick to it? Or, in the spirit of Sustainability and Stewardship, are you going to try some method of accountability, be it a friend or other means? Feel free to comment and let me know what your goals are or let me know what you think about mine.

Happy new year, everyone! Here’s to a fresh start and a successful ending.