It’s a brand new year. 2020! My, how time flies.

Whenever a new year rolls around, I can’t help but rile myself up over all the big goals I want to set and changes I want to make in the coming year. Sure, the start of a new year is kind of an arbitrary time to suddenly make a bunch of changes, and sure, setting too many ambitious goals all at once can very quickly and easily lead to a feeling of total failure, but hey — it’s fun to imagine that every new year brings with it a fresh and limitless supply of potential and possibility ✨

2020

So, I’ve been reflecting on the year that was, and the year to come. What did I do well this year? Which goals did I achieve, and which did I miss the mark on? Did I establish good habits? Bad ones? Which do I need to break in 2020, and which do I need to (re-)establish? I should probably read more. I should definitely sleep more. Maybe I’ll start waking up at 5 AM — that could be a game-changer. Am I even a good software developer? How do I “level up” in 2020? How do I make more of a name for myself? Am I spending enough time with family? Friends? It’d be good to play less video games. It’d be good to play more music. Maybe I’ve been working too hard. Maybe I’m not working hard enough? Oh, I’m definitely going to get serious about running this year. And cooking. And…meditation? I’ll need to learn at least one new skill. And finally get into a consistent journaling habit. Maybe I should just strive to build and release 1 brand new app this year. (Is it a failure if no one uses it?) Maybe I should just strive to build and release 1 wildly successful new app this year.

How do I get anyone to read my damn blog???

Anyway, on and on it went, until finally, I whittled it down to a comprehensive list of things I want to do this year. It’s always tough to find just the right balance between ambition and attainability — I want to aim high enough that at the end of the year, my peers look me in the eye and say “wow, you’re so impressive,” but not so high that those same peers laugh at me for failing to live up to my potential. But, this year, I think I’ve nailed it.

So, without further ado, here is my list of goals for 2020 (in no particular order):

  • Be good to people (and other forms of life).

Thanks for reading!