If you are so inclined...

Three or four years ago, as most of you know, I stopped making New Year's resolutions in favour of expressing New Year's inclinations, on the grounds that resolutions are depressing when you inevitably fail to keep them. I think the reason that I have so much more success with New Year's inclinations is that they generally tend to reflect more accurately the things I would like to accomplish in the up-coming year, rather than the things I think I should want to accomplish.

The consistent exception to this rule is 'learn to drive', which I'm pretty sure has appeared on every list of New Year's resolutions or inclinations I have ever made. This year I am admitting publicly what should be obvious to all - I am neither resolved nor inclined to learn to drive. I know I should do it - I should want to do it and I should do it even though I don't want to - but the sad truth is this: there is very little likelihood that I will learn to drive in 2011 and I'm OK with that.

Over the last few days, I've been taking some notes for this year's inclinations on my Blackberry's MemoPad. (NB: I have a Blackberry!!!) Reviewing these notes, it occurred to me that this year's list was set to become a depressingly bloated version of last year's. Which was:

- get my driver's license

- maintain a respectable balance on my savings account (current balance = 8.21$)

- acquire healthy eating habits

- exercise periodically

- engage in charitable activities of some kind

- take better care of my cat

It should be noted that, apart from giving slightly more than I could afford to the Red Cross for earthquake relief, I didn't make even the smallest of dents in any one of these.

Anyone who knows me knows that 2010 was a pretty big year for re-direction. All of my stupid life choices blew up in my face in a spectacular way and then suddenly, when the dust settled, everything was totally fine. It was all very disorienting and weird. The lesson I learned from all of this, though, is that the benevolent forces of the universe do a much better job of controlling the direction of my life than I do. I think an exhaustive list of resolutions masquerading as inclinations is probably not in keeping with with this realisation.

As such, in 2011 I am inclined to concentrate on getting enough sleep and let everything else take care of itself.