They're guidelines, not resolutions.

2014. Unbelievable. Seriously, it was 1998 like two days ago. Where am I?

Another new year brings the chance to shut, or slam, the door on all the stuff — the good and the garbage — from the last twelve months.

Resolutions? Nah. Too easy to break.

This year I’m going to set up some general guidelines to live by. Nothing set in stone. Just some little arrows on the ground to keep me moving in the right direction.

We’ll see how this goes.

• Be nicer, to everybody. Most people deserve to be treated with kindness. But I’m talking about being nicer to the people I’d normally rather punch. It just feels better to be nicer. I’m generally a pretty nice guy, but I do let the occasional jackwad get to me. This year, when somebody does something to make me want to knock them out, I plan to kill them with kindness. I’ll feel better. They’ll be confused. It’ll all work out for everybody involved. Of course, there’ll still be those who piss me off just enough to deserve a verbal beatdown, but I’ll do my best to keep those to a minimum.

• Be grateful. Be positive. I’ve been trying it out here and there lately and it feels pretty good. This doesn’t mean I’m going to stop bitching about shit that needs to be bitched about. Never gonna happen. The world needs some disgruntle. It can’t all be sunshine and starbursts — that’s not how things work. But I’ll do my best to realize more often that my glass is more than half full.

• Do more stuff that makes me happy with the people who make me happy. I think when you get right down to it, that’s the true meaning of life.

• Be intrigued more often. I want to be surprised on a regular basis. I plan to do more without having a plan. Less think. More do. Less hoping. More being. Let’s throw a little caution to the wind, shall we?

• Don’t be afraid. Of anything. That’s right, I said anything (except maybe midget clowns and being buried alive — those two things scare the sweet jesus out of me!) I won’t be afraid to speak my mind. I won’t be scared of the unknown. I won’t fear rejection. I won’t be afraid of other people’s opinions of me. I won't be afraid to be who I am. I won’t be scared to fail. I won’t be scared to succeed. I won’t let anything scare me because I’m just not afraid anymore. Simple as that.   

  

There, guidelines. Not resolutions. Resolutions break. Guidelines guide.
Bring it on. I’m as ready as I’m gonna be — and more ready than I’ve ever been.

JS