So This Is The New Year…

I’m going to take a break from my usual rants about things that annoy me in Hollywood. The vitriol-masked-as-humorous-annoyance will be back again soon. Until then, I want to talk about new year’s resolutions.

We’re two-and-a-half weeks into the new year, but it’s not too late to write your resolutions.

“But resolutions are stupid,” you might be saying. “Everybody wants to lose weight and get more organized.” Yeah, I’d agree with that. If those are your resolutions, then they’re pretty stupid. (Dang. Couldn’t help myself. Couldn’t go three paragraphs without calling something stupid.) Maybe that’s why I don’t necessarily call mine resolutions, but, rather, 2012 Goals. A few things I’ve learned that can help you with your 2012 Goals:

Write them down. If you’ve got a journal, put them there. I put mine on 3×5 index cards, taped to my wall above my computer. In the past, I’ve used FutureMe to email them to myself. Hell, if you want to, write them in the comments section of this post and I’ll send you a reminder in 11 months.

Tell people about them – your best friend, the dude you’re hooking up with, your roommate, your therapist. Saying it out loud makes it more real, so say it to as many people as possible.

Make the goals realistic. Make them something that you actually plan on working towards. I could add Make a million dollars to my list of goals, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that one. A more realistic goal might be Make $35,000 this year or Get health insurance. Those are things that I know how to work toward. They’re attainable.

Make them unique to you. It’s easy to get caught up in where you think you should be at this point in your life/career/relationship, but try to write your goals based on what you want and how you feel.

My goals, in no particular order:

1. Get an agent or manager for my writing.
2. Travel to at least three states I’ve never been to.
3. Buy new clothes.
4. Listen to new music.
5. Be amazed by at least one thing per week.
6. Write two features.
7. Exercise regularly.
8. Read more, especially screenplays.

Happy new year.