In the month of December, I’ll be writing five essays on my New Year’s Resolutions that I’m committing to for 2017. Stay tuned for one essay each on what I want to consume, create, cultivate, give back, and my 2017 challenge goal. I encourage you to join me in reflecting on your goals for the New Year!
In this first of five essays, I’m focusing on what I want to consume more of in 2017.
In the past several years, I’ve come to really appreciate what I can learn from artists and creatives. From Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist to Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit to Amy Whitaker’s Art Thinking to Grace Bonney’s In the Company of Women I’ve been incredibly inspired and energized.
In 2017, I want more of that. More art and more connecting with creatives.
(I’ve found that resolutions work best with broad definitions, but concrete action items. I’m going to be defining “art” broadly. As an introvert, I’m going to be defining “connecting” broadly as well.)
In 2017, I’m committing to do the following:
- Read more poetry. I’ve strayed from poetry since my undergraduate days as an English major and I miss it. Each time I visit my public library, I’m going to pick up a collection of poems to browse through. I go about once a week, so I’d like to get through 25 collections this year. I’m going to include audio books in this as well — who doesn’t want to have poetry read out loud to them?
- Listen to more creatives who are podcasting. In particular, I‘d like to focus on the Write Now podcast, the Being Boss podcast, the Accidental Creative podcast, Elise Gets Crafty, and starting Tara Gentile’s podcast. There are so many more great podcasts out there that it’s kind of overwhelming. I’m going to commit to commuting with podcasts (driving and walking) so that I can keep up with all these shows.
- Visit a local art museum. Since I moved back to the Northwest over a year ago, I haven’t checked out the local art scene. I’d like to commit to visiting an art museum in my town, or in a neighboring town, at some point in the next year.
- Get back to reading novels. I read a decent amount of books this year, but they leaned heavily toward non-fiction. This makes sense since I’m working on writing a new book and need to read for research purposes. The book writing will continue into 2017, but I need to make sure I’m also reading for pleasure and to enjoy the art of fiction. I’m committing to at least one novel a month and 2 classics for 2017.
In addition to seeming like do-able goals, each of the above action items is also something fun for me to look forward to in 2017.
To think on:
- What do you want to consume more of in 2017? What do you feel is missing from your life?
- Are you someone who makes New Year’s Resolutions? Why or why not?