In 2020 I'm going to be...

Here's a non-exhaustive list of the achievable actions I'm going to take this year. For two reasons; so I can join everyone else in telling everyone else what they are going to do in the year ahead... but more than that, it's a list of behaviors that I can change, to start to practice now being the person that I want to be through out my mid to late thirties (I read that this is a good habit to get into... practice being the person you want to be in five years time, now).

KIND

Every year there are more and more posts about the successes - and failures - that people have experienced over the course of the preceding year. This year was different because it allowed people to reflect on a whole decade. I read a lot about the destinations people traveled to, having kids, buying houses, getting married, finishing degrees, getting divorced, having more kids, finding themselves and falling in love... so they can do it all again this decade. It dawned on me though that no one (or at least anyone that Facebook's algorithm allows me to see in my feed without searching for them) wrote anything about how they have changed the world for the better. And before you roll your eyes, I reflected on this point and I'm in this party too. In a year where I read #gratitude more times than was necessary (along with #blessed, #bestlife, #fitspo and #nofilter), in a year where the adult population got angry at a teenage girl for having a point of view, in a year where there was a collective sigh and the question "are we still debating whether climate change is a thing?" was put out there too much (the answer is it most definitely is), it was disconcerting that what people were actually referring to with their posts about gratitude was how good they have it in life... generally. That's all well and good, it's good to show gratitude in that way, after all gratitude is the quality of being thankful. But there's one more part...it's also the readiness to return kindness. I posit that not as many people can claim the latter here. So I'm going to start 2020 with a challenge to myself (and those few that read this) to be more kind... easy as that. I read an expression that has stuck with me for the past few weeks and it ties in with this, that one should always be humble as well, because you meet the same people on the way up as you do on the way down. Sit on that one for a while I tell you what else I'm going to be in 2020.

GOOD

I had made the mistake years ago of striving for great when really all I'm ever going to be is (at best) very good. Don't get me wrong, there are some things that I'm really very good at, and some things that one might consider me to be excellent at... but overall I'm just good. And I'm alright with this. It's exhausting trying to be great at things... who has time these days? I read an interview with Kipchoge (a man who I admire and a man who runs) and he said that when he trains he doesn't want to make each session great, in fact each session is far from great... he rarely gets past 80%. But what he does do is string together a whole lot of really good sessions. That was the key takeaway message... be consistently good and anything will be more enjoyable and you will invariably achieve success. I thought about the running training I had been doing this last year and I was going out trying to annihilate myself every session. But this mid to late thirties body isn't what it used to be and I'd end up fatigued and injured. Slowing down to speed up is going to be my new mantra. I watched a TED talk as well in which the presenter discussed this idea of being great and said that none of us ever really get there and that what we should focus on instead is just trying to be a little bit better than those around us (contextually... not in an arrogant way)... and that this happens by being consistently good. This one really resonates with me. In 2020, I'm going to be consistently good.

HEALTHY

As I sit here at 3.30pm on a Thursday afternoon sipping a chilled Riesling from the Clare Valley (is there a better Riesling?) I feel a little hypocritical saying that I'm going be a healthier version of myself in 2020. But I'm not so much referring to drinking less as I am to being mentally healthy. Anyway, I could argue that a glass of wine does as much for relaxation as yoga... it's all relative. I've discussed before about the need for men to talk about their emotions... if they do they will find a brotherhood out there who can support them. To me, being healthy is equal measures being fit, eating well, being social, having pursuits, getting some culture, connecting with nature, spending time with your family and looking after yourself. All of these things together make you healthy... and happy (because if you're healthy by this definition, how can you not be happy, right?). So to round out the list, in 2020 I'm going to be healthier.

And that's it... three very achievable, simple actions that I will put into place in 2020.