New year’s resolutions can be a bit of a mixed bag. They can motivate you with the promise of a fresh start or clean slate. “Let’s do this thing.” That said, the joke about empty gyms in February? That’s definitely rooted in some truth. Anywhere from about two-thirds to 80 percent of people give up on their new year’s resolutions within the first month. And then, only 8 percent make it all the way to the end of year. That’s not exactly reassuring.

But, I’m not your average Joe. (Or am I?) Now that it’s February — and I had an unexpectedly eventful January, which I’ll discuss in just a moment — I thought it’d be a good idea to assess how I’m doing with my new year’s resolutions. I set three goals for myself at the beginning of 2023. So, how am I doing with them?

Thank You for Your Kind Words

Get better at receiving compliments.

Let me start this off by giving a little bit of context. In January, many companies (particularly in the tech sector) laid off thousands of employees. Microsoft announced about 10,000 layoffs. Meta, parent company to Facebook, laid off a similar number of workers. I was also among these casualties, albeit at a (relatively) smaller online media company. While I knew the company had its share of challenges, as did so many others last year, I thought I was “safe” and indispensable. The leadership thought otherwise, so I was let go.

To say I was blindsided would be quite the understatement. That said, it provided a great opportunity for me to work on this first goal of 2023: get better at receiving compliments.

I shared my “free agent” status on social media and was immediately overwhelmed by so many kind words of support. Many friends and colleagues, both publicly and privately, asked if there was anything they could do to help, saying that any company would be lucky to have me. They reassured me that I’m great at what I do — writer, editor, content strategist — and I’ll land back on my feet in no time.

This is not to toot my own horn, by any stretch. I’m humbled beyond words. This gave me an opportunity to learn how to say “thank you” and simply be appreciative of these kind words. Even me adding the “not to toot my own horn” in this paragraph perhaps shows that I’ve still got work to do on this goal. But, I’m working on it.

Keeping My Mind *Off* My Money

Worry less about the money.

Wow. The world can be so cruel with its irony sometimes, eh? Right when I told myself that, financially, our family is doing just fine and we don’t have too much that we need to worry about, I lose my job. And our family, in effect, loses about half of its household income. Who’s worrying about the money now?

Even so, perhaps this 2023 goals is a little on the nose. My wife continues to work full-time in a very safe and stable profession, so while we may need to make some changes, we’re going to be just fine from a big picture point of view. I can’t retire or switch over to full-time stay-at-home dad duties just yet, of course. But, this newfound free agent status means I have an opportunity to look for the right kind of work, and that may or may not correlate directly with work that pays the most money.

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At least in the short to medium term, it’ll be a return to freelancing for me. In fact, I’ve updated both my LinkedIn profile and my freelance writing site to better reflect this shift. This will (hopefully) give me greater control over my time, making it easier to manage family logistics, like school pickup and drop-off.

You Don’t Have to Say Anything

Have something to say (before you say it).

The point here is that you should only open your mouth (or your keyboard) if you have something to say, rather than simply because you have to say something. It’s a not-so-subtle, but oh so important distinction. In this age of social media algorithms and the overbearing pressure to stay relevant and extend your reach, you can feel obligated to post something just so that you have something new to feed the algorithm beast.

This is, well, still a work in progress for me. In terms of this blog, I published two articles here last month. The first outlined by goals for 2023, as we’re discussing here. The second explored the narrative of the terrible twos and how they’re really not that bad. At this pace, I’ll only write and publish 24 posts this year, compared to 42 last year and 94 in 2021. Am I okay with that?

Over on Instagram, I had 16 Reels (including the new dad jokes series!), 6 regular posts and carousels, and 116 Stories. That means my main feed had something new about two out of every three days. If I keep this up, I’ll have 192 Reels in 2023. I’m not sure if I’ll keep up this kind of pace, but (I think) I’m okay if it scales back if I really don’t have something worthwhile to share. For context, I posted 94 Instagram Reels in 2022.

Taking My 2023 Goals One Day at a Time

No, these new year’s resolutions aren’t S.M.A.R.T. They’re probably not specific enough and they’re not at all measurable. But, I think they still represent a worthwhile exercise in me trying to grow as a person. As I embark on this new chapter in my life, I’ll return to these three big picture ideas to remind myself of where I am and who I want to be. And I can only do that one day at a time, one step at a time, one freelance project or Instagram Reel at a time.

What about you? Did you set any goals for yourself for 2023? How are you doing one month in?