Changes

A quick list of things I want to accomplish for the new year; or more accurately, “Changes I need to see in 2023.”

  • Learn Spanish
  • More meditation & yoga
  • Learn Adobe Bridge, PS and LR more
  • Quit smoking
  • No alcohol
  • No Soda
  • Lower BP

Learn Spanish with the Duolingo app in small increments everyday. Attempt to retain it by using it in the real world as opposed to just going through the lessons and forgetting it. I know people who have done this and with good results. Success in this will be able to have conversational Spanish by the end of 2023. Bonus: the Italian & Spanish languages are similar so the Italian module is downloaded as well. Two languages in one year? Ambitious!

Meditation and yoga almost daily. I have the software to do so such as Apple Fitness + and Music meditation. Guided podcasts, etc. I just grabbed a new padded floor mat to help with this. Success here will be lower BP, increased flexibility, calmer mind, more patience.

Learning Adobe products should be easy. I have the fundamentals down because I’ve been using it for years. But I want a deep dive. This will come in handy for my photo archive organization. The end result will be an organized archive system where I can easily find and use any one photo on demand.

After the NYE party on Saturday, the pipe and tobacco will be stored away in a tote. I am over smoking and the removal should help. I need to purchase some gum or mints to help with those cravings. This will help me breathe easier, lower my BP and overall health.

Stopping alcohol consumption is not difficult for me, even when I am at a bar I can refrain. I should see less weight and overall health as a result.

Lowering my BP should be my number one priority this year. Less, salt. Less sugar. Less eating out. Increase my cardio with more walking, yoga. More supplements and eventually the diuretic prescription again. All of this should help me lower my weight and eventually those readings will come down.

When I fall (and I will fall), get back up, learn from my mistakes, and continue pushing forward because failure is a byproduct of growth. It’s all part of the process. If I plan on recycling the exact resolution I’ve made every year since 2018, perhaps it’s time to try something different. Now that I have the right tools, making 2023 the year I follow through on my New Year’s resolution is entirely up to me.