It’s safe to say that 2016 went by with the speed of light. I have a feeling that 2017 will be the same in that aspect. When the New Year arrives, everyone talks about resolutions, changes, new directions, new you, and so on, but for me it never really seemed that big of a deal, neither did New Year’s Eve, because it seems like the only thing that changes is the date.

Regardless, lately a few thoughts settled in my mind, and I guess we could call them resolutions of sorts. Because if there’s anything I learned from 2016 is that life is really, really too short and goes by too quickly to live it only half-heartedly, to always put everything off, and to spend too much time on things that don’t bring even the slightest joy to our lives.

So, my semi-New Year’s resolution, which was born in 2016, and is true not only for 2017, but for all years, is to do more of what makes me happy, and, preferably, less of the things that don’t.

To be honest, the latter will probably be a bit more problematic, as there are things you really can’t avoid, even though they don’t give me much joy, but I guess balance is key, right?

And what makes me happy?

A good book, travelling, to be with those I love, long and meaningful talks, carefree laughs, taking photos, silly jokes, good movies, hearty breakfasts, a cup of great coffee, walks in nature, delicious meals, an unbelievably beautiful diary, my pug in a mug, big family board game marathons, talking over a tea with friends I haven’t seen for a while, red lipstick, a perfectly written song, making old plans actually happen… And there are countless other things, some small, small a tad bigger.

Although I haven’t got any actual plans, I have a direction, like visiting at least one of the big European capitals during the first half of the year (because I’ve been putting it off for too long, and when, if not now?), and to read more just for joy (for a while I don’t really want to see any more scientific papers, even if they are really fascinating). Oh, and I already have the unbelievably beautiful diary, so I guess we can call that a good start, right?

Then of course, it can easily happen that things won’t go the way I planned. It happens. But that’s alright, the fact that I wrote all of this down, is already a step forward. We’ll talk about it next year…