The Resolutions of Twenty Seventeen

Upper Iowa River flowing through Decorah, IA

New Year resolutions are usually not my thing. Minimalism admonishes one of the negatives of goal setting, which is what resolutions seem to be.  It is good to have goals, but it is also good to understand that goals can sometimes evolve, morph, or even disappear completely as life (or shit) happens. 

With these things in mind, I'm going to write a few of mine down. This list has evolved over the last several weeks, and I imagine it will continue to change and evolve as 2017 progresses. 

Personal

• Maintain a weight between 163-169 lbs. 
• Ride my bicycle 2017 miles.
• Watch less TV and fewer movies than I did in 2016.
• Remain off of social media.
• Make my own limoncello, orangecello, and ginger beer.
• Kayak all the lakes, rivers, and small bodies of water in the Topeka area (including Perry and Clinton Lakes)
• Complete at least one triathlon

Work/Career Related

• Work toward creating an SBG/SE2 Professor of Actuarial Science position through the Washburn foundation and Security Benefit Group and SE2 in Topeka. 
• Pass the MLC Exam through the SOA
• Explore NSF grants that will build either the pure or secondary education math programs
• Submit at least two papers for publication in a peer reviewed journal. 

Community 

• Firmly establish the Topeka Chapter of Represent.US
• Follow Through with my role as the Secretary of the Greater Topeka Hall of Foamers.

Along with resolutions, one should also have a plan to achieve or stick with them. I won't go into my work or community related plans with this post, but I will spell out some actions I will take on my personal (health, growth, and passions) list. 

To maintain the weight I would like, I plan on having two weigh-ins a week, on Tuesday and Friday mornings.  Ideally, most all of my weigh-ins will be between 165-167.  With the amount of travel that Erin and I do, I'm going to allow myself no more than 4 weeks of being above 169 (this could be as few as 4 weigh-ins or as many as 8). 

I plan on riding 17 miles tomorrow (Jan. 2) since the temperature is supposed to get as high as 60, just to get it down to 2000 as quick as I can. I really like to ride my bike and use this activity as my favorite kind of exercise. The purpose of the resolution is to try and get myself to do what I like a lot more often. This may be my most lofty resolution, but I'm going to give it my best. 

In 2016, I kept track of the amount of TV and movies I watched. I will blog about this near exact amount soon. This year, I plan on keeping track again.  I want the number of minutes that are consumed with this activity to decrease in 2017.  Since this time is approximate (but a very good one), I mean to decrease it significantly enough to be certain it was an actual decrease (say, well over 1500 minutes less).  

After the election, I quit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It is possible, just to let you know, and I'm enjoying life a lot more. I want to remain off of social media in 2017. 

My friend and mentor, John Mullican, makes his own limoncello and orangecello and it is amazing. I want to make my own, too.  Also, I want to make my own ginger beer a few times this year for the purposes of some state-of-the-art Moscow Mules. 

We bought a kayak out of season at the end of 2016. Erin and I kayaked this year in Maine during our East Coast Extravaganza, and during our 6th anniversary celebration in the Des Moines area. I was instantly hooked, and want to delve into the sport. At the first sign of some warmer weather, I'll be taking it to Shawnee Lake.  

Upon adopting the Primal Blueprint style of living, the training for runs, rides, and races has become much less taxing on our bodies. Running, riding, and exercising in general has become so much more easier to insert into our everyday life now that we are familiar with Primal Endurance.  Besides the swimming, I feel like I'm ready for a sprint triathlon right now.  I just need to get the swimming in this summer.  

Do you have resolutions? Take some time to make a plan! Otherwise, you may see those resolutions drop off in February, and this will just be another year, instead of the great year of 2017!