So it seems that all I read about these days is lists on New Year’s resolutions. People are listing all their objectives and goals for 2014. I’ve also read somewhere that only 8% of us actually complete their resolutions, but can’t remember if it’s all of them… I think it’s just one.

This got me thinking… Most of our resolutions are the same year after year: stop smoking, lose weight, save money; yet we keep on missing them. In the days previous to the change of year, we stuff our faces in with food, we binge drink at parties and make trip after trip to the shops. I stopped smoking years ago, so that one is a mission accomplished for me, even though it probably wasn’t part of my resolution set that year.

Yesterday, I did a lot of thinking. Maybe it wasn’t a lot but since my brain was feeling all sludgy from drinking strawberry tequila shots, it seemed like a lot of work anyway.

My entrée to the New Year was spent like this: I woke up (at my friend’s house) with a massive hungover and feeling sick, so had to take painkillers. My friend then offered to drive me home (I still can’t understand how she was able to perform as a functional human being, but what do I know) and my action plan consisted of putting on some trainers, getting the coat, and staying in my pyjamas. I hopped on the car (that might have been an overstatement) and off we went. It was raining, so I hopped out of the car (again massively overstated) and got home, kicked out my trainers, dropped my coat somewhere, drank lots of water and went back to sleep.

I only slept for 1 hour more, but it doesn’t matter as the rest of my day was spent in front of the TV, doing nothing and feeling miserable. Any sudden move would call on the hordes of pins and needles in my head, and would stir the shaky and delicate stomach zen balance. Series after series, after film, I finally made it through the day.

Retrospectively, despite the fun I had the previous night (it was awesome, believe me!), it’s a rather depressing way of spending the first day of the year. I’m thinking about it now, and how that might set a precedent for the rest of the year. This time around, I don’t have any resolutions, other than keep up the good work and stop the bad one, but it still feels like a bit of a wasted time.

Since my much needed holidays were spent sleeping and watching TV, and sleeping some more (and eating!), my sleep clock was completely disoriented, so last night there was no way on earth I could fall asleep. First day back at work meant that I was sleep deprived, tired, feeling still the after effects of the party (I told you it was great fun) and wishing it was already the weekend. Again, not a great start, I’m afraid.

So, what are your plans for 2014? I can hear you asking. Well, I’m glad you did!

My most immediate plan is to run. I haven’t run in what seems like eons. Not run 5k or 10k, or run 3-4 times a week, just run. My 2014 main goal is to lace up my trainers and get out. Of course there’s a half marathon I need to train for, and that’s a big objective, but I can’t think of that major achievement as a whole without my head exploding and wanting to give up automatically and build a fort with my covers. I need to think on a daily basis, so rather than just aiming to run for 26km, I’m going to be aiming one running session at a time.

Second resolution? I guess that would be write. Again, I’ve been quite lazy in the past months, finding excuse after excuse, but that needs to change. I don’t care if I write on the blog, or in a notebook, or a story, I need to write.

My final resolution is to take the camera out of its case more often, to photograph the stuff around me. For someone who claims to love photography, I am never taking photographs. I am too engrossed in the daily, unimportant details, that I’ve lost sight of what matters to me.

If I had to have any resolutions, I guess it would be those three. I’ll probably shape them better in the days to come, you know, making those SMART and all that, so as to not fail before I even start, but that’s secondary.

I let you now as well with a challenge – I’ve decided that I need to face yet another of my fears, not this year, but this first quarter. I’ve always been scared of making a fool of myself (despite doing this quite often), of being the centre of attention, and stages, so this is something I want to tackle, and the sooner the better. So… Even though I’ve already told a few of you, let me put it in writing (and therefore make it even more official):

I hereby challenge myself to go to a karaoke and sing sometime in the first three months of 2014.

Just writing this has made my palms go sweaty and my heartbeat speed up like crazy, but there it is. I’ve said it.

Challenge accepted.