New Year’s Resolutions
The cutest, most fun being in all of Toronto, Egg Drop Dumpling, recently wrote to me – I need new years resolution ideas for 2010. I completed the snail mail idea that you gave me this year. It was a hit. You’re 1 for 1. So talk to me. Thought I’d list a few here, in case you want to steal one or two.
**Disclaimer – I have been unsuccessful at fulfilling my own for the past couple of years, for whatever that’s worth.**
- 2008: Be more British
- 2009: Be in a GAP commercial
If anyone can help me accomplish either of these, I’m all about retroactive success!
2010 New Years Resolutions (NYRs) for You to Pilfer
1. Start your NYRs early – I started mine December 1st. Of course the obligatory one of becoming fit, and it’s helped to quash the usual holiday season inhaling of badness, and even helped me drop a few. I also planned everything out for the Dance Experiment (non-dancers learning routines to perform on stage in front of the world) so that come 2010, it’ll be ready to kick into high gear right away. No time for excuses!
2. Send a present to someone once a month, when it’s NOT their birthday or anniversary or other special occasion – a compliment written on a nice sheet of stationary, a mix CD, a book you enjoyed, Garrett’s carmel corn/cheese corn combo…
3. Do one thing a week by yourself – mix it up. Some social, some business, some silly and frivolous, some brow-beaters, some involving food/drink, some during the day, some at night. Could be as simple as going to a coffeehouse to read a book. Wine tasting, resume building workshop, play, concert, poetry reading, social media workshop, party, restaurant…
4. Throw a dinner party for a group of friends who don’t know each other – have everyone send you a fave song ahead of time and give out a mix CD with everyone’s song at the end of the dinner.
5. Practice “Yes and’ing” – stealing the improv rule that you should always “yes and” your teammates. Whatever they say, you say yes to. Don’t disagree, don’t argue, don’t rationalize. Just say yes. “Do you want to try yoga with me?” “Yes, and how about grabbing a chai afterwards?”
6. Lower those bills – If you take the time to do a little internet research and make a few phone calls, I bet you’ll be able to pay less for a lot of the “necessities.” By taking advantage of a partnership between my college alma mater and an insurance company, I went from $111 a month in car insurance to $52 a month. By comparing health insurance plans at ehealthinsurance.com, I went from $128 a month with one carrier to $70 a month with another. By choosing AT&T DSL instead of Comcast cable, I pay $19 a month instead of $63 a month for the internet.
6a. If you do end up saving money, put that money in the “Fun Jar!”. Use the money for guilt-free spending on whatever silly thing you want!
FYI, the snail mail idea I gave Egg Drop Dumpling last year is that she send a real card – not an e-card! – or letter to someone different every month for the year. Nice to get mail in this age of texts and emails!
If you have any interesting NYRs, I’d love to hear them!