Jellybeans

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Buckle up, folks--this one’s kind of corny.

Today marks a month since New Year’s Day, which is when I actually intended to write this post. (Given the subject of this post, I think the lengthy delay may actually be a good thing.)

As a society, New Year’s Day is when we begin the resolutions we made a day earlier. This year will be the one we finally lose that weight, get in shape, write the novel, take the trip, give up whatever. And, as a society, we generally stick with those resolutions for a solid three or four days before (quietly) packing it in and starting to think about next year. (It’s a cliche, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.)

So I’m not a fan of resolutions.

But:

I really like goals.

(I am aware that I’m playing with semantics, but then, I’m always up for semantics.)

A year and a month ago, I made it my goal to draw every day for a year, and I’m still going. A few months into 2017, I made it my goal to start work on my webcomic. In June, when I officially started work on it, I set a goal of 20 completed pages by the time school started. I exceeded that goal by a couple of pages.

Look: These are all things I had been meaning to do for years, but never got to in any meaningful way. There was always something that needed doing (or that I chose to spend my time on instead). And then, as insane as this sounds, I saw a video on YouTube.

Here, watch this. It’s short. You have time. (A warning: I find this video tremendously beautiful and inspiring. My students largely find it depressing. Your mileage may vary.)

Sometime in December 2016, I saw that video, and it made me think about the time I was spending on scrolling through various apps on my phone, or watching the same TV episodes over and over.

As I tell my students when we watch the video, there are certain non-negotiables in life. We have to go to school, or to work. We have to pay bills. If we don’t do these things, our lives probably become pretty tough.

There are other things that are negotiable, but are (I think) too important to give up. We need to spend time with friends and family; we need to play with the dog; we need to take time out to play games, read books, watch movies, etc. If we don’t do these things, our lives lose a lot of their meaning.

The key is to look at the things that we’re choosing to do, but not getting joy or meaning or value out of, and to replace them with the things we always meant to do.

I’ll end with the writing prompt I give my students after the video. You don’t have to write anything down, unless you want to. You don’t have to tell anyone about your goal, unless you want to. But please: set a goal. My life hasn’t changed in very many concrete ways in the past year--same job, same family, same house--but my level of satisfaction with my life has risen dramatically. Give yourself that chance.

Some possible things to consider:

  • What do you want to spend more of your time on?

  • What do you want to spend less of your time on?

  • What do you want to get better at?

  • What’s something you’ve always wanted to try, but haven’t yet?

(See you next week!)