New Year Resolutions - 2021
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Everything else is different entering this new year, why not my resolutions? I just reviewed my 2020 resolutions and instead of outlining what I/we didn’t do in 2020, I thought I’d see what we did do. It took a good bit of noodling, but I came up with a few things.
We both maintained our weights, ate mostly healthy and exercised regularly. In fact, we walked at least 10,000 steps every day last year… all 366 days. 10K steps equals ~5 miles/day for us. Nothing compared to walking the Via Francigena last year or the Thames Path the year before, but not bad. The yearly total according to my Garmin step tracker was ~4 million steps and just under 1,800 miles. Eating healthy, by the way, is not difficult. It’s become a habit. For the most part, we just avoid sugar and high carbs. That along with regular exercise makes weight management pretty easy.
We had plans to take another ‘long walk’ in 2020, but that, of course, was wishful thinking once March rolled around. Unfortunately, the first half of 2021 is still not promising for a long walk in Europe. Long walks out-of-country are on the back burner for the time being. Maybe a few more miles on the AZT in 2021? Or maybe, just maybe, by Autumn 2021 we might be able to travel abroad again.
We did take two road trips this year. The first, the 9,094 mile ‘2020 Pandemic Road Trip’, included visits and exploring in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, northeastern Nevada and a quick dip into eastern Washington state. The second, ‘The No Destination/No Blue’ trip was spent entirely in Arizona and entirely without Blue. He was suffering from a cracked flywheel and couldn’t move. We have absolutely nothing good to say about the Ford Service/Dealership that took 7 weeks to repair him. Our experience with Ford service in Las Vegas is just as dismal. Enough said! Despite all my whinging, the road trips were wonderful. We avoided people for the most part, enjoyed nature and spent lots of time together.
One of the most fun things we did in 2020 was relearning how to ride bikes. Not sure we ever forgot how, but it’s been awhile. There were some challenges that these 70+-year-old bodies had to overcome in order to ride for any distance, but we managed. We resolve to do more bike riding in 2021… especially on the Rail-Trail routes.
One resolution that I always have trouble with is being a nicer person. David does not have this problem… he’s a nice guy. I, on the other hand, am my own worst enemy in this department. I’m impatient with others and this impatience leads to snarky behavior and a sharp tongue which I usually regret. One way to compensate for the ‘snarkiness’ is to do more community service. I figure it’s like building up ‘nice credits’ so that when I’m inexplicably and unconscionably snarky, it kind of evens out. We’re working on more community service activities in 2021… food banks, trash pick-ups, blood donations… you get the picture. Less snark, more nice!
Another goal for the coming year is to be happier. Actually, we’re both pretty happy people overall, but we want to concentrate on those activities that keep us positive and happy. In these days of the pandemic, civil unrest and economic uncertainty, it’s sometimes hard to concentrate on the good things in life. We’ve found throughout the years that what we do, not necessarily the things we have or accumulate, contribute most to our happiness. Wanting less and more appreciation for what we have might be a key. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but we can certainly strive for more appreciative behavior in 2021.
And what about you? Do you make resolutions? Do you keep them? Do you think resolutions are a waste of time or are they constructive in self-evaluation and self improvement? What are your plans for 2021? Curious minds want to know.