Grading Your Year

A new year has begun! This is generally the time when everyone starts asking "so, what's your new year's resolution?" and I squirm in my seat trying to come up with one on the spot.

Last year, I resolved to trust my gut. I wanted to start following my instincts and that little voice inside me that tried to tell me which way to go. Looking back on the year as a whole, I would give myself a C; there were some times I really ignored what everyone else told me and trusted myself, but mostly I forgot I even made the resolution. That doesn't mean I had an unproductive year. Throughout the year, I made smaller resolutions (though I didn't call them that at the time). I wanted to read more, write more, manage my time better, take more initiative in different areas of my life, spend more time with friends, etc. I'm happy to say I was successful in sticking to these mini-resolutions and would give myself a B+ for those.

So I think I'm going for a new approach. Instead of one big vague resolution just for the sake of having a resolution, I am going to break the year up and focus on smaller, more specific resolutions. For the first three months of 2010, I want to focus on physical fitness. By the end of 2009, I was going to the gym (semi) regularly and doing hot yoga at least once a week. I want to continue on that path, working out at least 5 days a week and training for a half-marathon.

I still haven't decided what resolutions I'll make for the rest of the year, but I think this might be the year to make some changes to a number of areas in my life. This time next year, I want to be able to look back and give my resolution efforts an A+.

What grade would you give yourself for last year?