I don’t set goals. I don’t see the point in thinking about what I’d like to achieve and how I’d like to get there – I’d rather start acting upon the things I want to do and working towards the place I’d like to be.

I recently read, in What I Wish I Knew At Eighteen by Marty Wilson and Daniel Gregory, this quote from Ken Roberts:

“Do not have goals – they’re too limiting! My career has taught me that things work out much better than I would ever have been audacious enough to ask or pray for. Just do what you love and see what unfolds.”

Those words speak to the very core of me. I have no idea how this blog post will end, let alone my life. I don’t plan articles. I never once used an essay plan in high school. I started a business with no business plan. I certainly don’t plan any part of my personal life. It’s just too boring to do so.

But it seems, now, early in January 2011, that a lot of people are planning their goals. And thinking about what they’d like to achieve from this New Year. Resolving to do things. And I’ve no problem with that. There’s something refreshing and promising and hopeful about a New Year.

And whilst I may not set goals, I do like to reflect. And resolve to do things.

So, in 2011, I resolve to:

• Only spend time with people I like. Somewhere, between Primary School and growing up, we manage to accumulate an android phone bursting with contact details of people we don’t actually like. I’m not interested in spending time with those people any more. Harsh? Perhaps. But life’s short, and I don’t intend to waste it on people that I don’t like. There’s too many people in the world that I love, and I’d rather spend my time with them.
• Write. A lot.
• Take lots of photos. And then some more. And then even more.
• Work, work, work.
• Actually plan some things; day trips, mini breaks, a trip to New York, catch-ups with the people I like, adventures.
• Read. A book a week. At least.
• Keep a memories box. I did this for a number of years when I was younger, and looking back through them after time has passed is an exciting re-discovery – each item kept triggers a memory or an emotion. And that’s definitely worth the shelf space the box requires.
• Be me – unapologetically, wholeheartedly, and with so much gumption my ponytail will emit sparks, like a firecracker.