10 things I want to do in 2016

Every year I sit down and write up a list about all the things I want to change in my life. And when the year draws to an end I take a hard look again at that list and sigh about all the things I didn’t do. Most of the time on top of that list is a certain weight or size goal that I want to achieve but always fail miserably at. So for 2016 I decided to come up with more realistic, achievable and personal development goals that will make me happier. A size is just a number and not a state of happiness!

1. Travel more…. for pleasure

The last couple of years I have traveled intensively for work. I sometimes feel like I sit in an airplane every week to get to some meeting in Germany or Europe. So naturally I got a bit travel weary over the past years. I have spent a lot of weekends in 2015 launching on the couch, binge-watching Netflix and eating the wrong kinds of foods. In 2016 I want to take the opportunity to get out of Wiesbaden more often and see more of Germany and the rest of Europe. I take the closeness of a lot of places here too much for granted – can you imagine I have never been to Paris?

2. Go out more

What I want to achieve in travels I also want to do in going out more. And no – I’m not talking about going to gay clubs and partying all night long. When I was in school I was an avid theater-goer as I was also part of the school’s drama club. But then when I went to university it sort of stopped. Yes, I occasionally went to see a play or musical when I got good tickets but even when I lived in Berlin I never took advantage of the rich offer that I had there.  So theater, musical and going to the movies is on top of my list – and I will start with seeing *Joy* tonight.

3. Spend more time with friends and family

In 2015 I was kind of a homebody. Yes, I see my family once per week for supper but over the course of the past year this has become a bit too mundane thing to do. While cleaning my kitchen I actually found a gift certificate that I received from my sister for my birthday in 2015 for a brother/sister day. And I still have to use it! Also, I want to spend more time with my nieces. They will turn 13 this year and I would like to take the opportunity to even further strengthen our relationship for the years to come. So if it’s going to the movies, shopping or just hanging out – just spending more quality time together.

4. Try working out with a trainer

Like I said in the beginning, I am always trying to get more fit, firm and more muscular every year. I never can seem to crack the code. I know I eat too much bad food and I am inconsistent in my work-out routine. I just can’t seem to kick myself enough in the butt to stick with it. So this is where a trainer comes into the picture. To be honest, I have never thought about the idea of getting a trainer until I travelled to NYC last year to stay with my friend Eric. Eric, who is in his early 40s, has lost a tremendous amount of weight and gained muscle mass by joining the right gym and getting a trainer and a nutrition plan. So if he can do it; why can’t I?

5. Run at least 3 10k runs

I ran my first 10k last year for Midsummer and it was a great experience. I loved the spirit at the event because I could share it with other people without being in direct competition. And much like hiring a trainer who will kick your ass, registering for a run and working towards that goal got me really motivated to do so. In order to keep up my goals as a runner I decided to go for at least three runs this year starting in April in Düsseldorf with three other friends!

6. Ditch the messy habits

When it comes to my household I have to admit I’m a bit of a slop. I’m always dreaming about the perfect apartment where everything is clean and organized but I just can’t seem to get myself to keep it up. I’m also not good at taking care of all my paperwork, filing everything only once or twice a year, running late on my tax returns and therefore being angry and frustrated. Not to mention that I can’t have spontaneous company. So for this year I decided to start with a purge in my apartment and getting rid of all the things I don’t need, clean out my basement and set up shelving to store the things I don’t need all year and get a system in place to be more organized.

7. Entertain More

I used to love to entertain people and have company over. Hard to do at the moment with a messy apartment. So in the process of the purge I’m also looking forward to having friends and family over more often – be it for a board game night, trying out a new recipe for dinner or just having some coffee – I want to enjoy my apartment with other people around!

8. Love more

Over the last couple of years I have somewhat fallen under a kind of Sleeping Beauty spell when it comes to dating and love. For a long time I felt hurt and rejected by the gay community – always afraid to go out with someone new and even if I did I couldn’t bring myself to open up to more than coffee or dinner for the fear of rejection and that I could finally find someone to love. I have realized and learned over the last two years that this fear is based on that I have not really loved myself the way I should. Now that I have come to terms with myself and see the good more than the bad I feel I need to go out there and experience all the things life and love can offer. Be crazy, be spontaneous and adventurous!

9. Get serious about photography

I took my first two photography classes in 2015 to get acquainted with my new Canon DSLR. Since then I more or less experimented with my camera but I have not yet cracked the code for the kind of pictures I want to take. So in 2016 I want to step up my game when it comes to photography but also video editing. You might think that having a YouTube channel would make me a well-versed blogger with excellent camera skills but this is far from the truth. I still have a long way to go to perfect my skills but I am willing to learn and I know it’s nothing you can learn over night – practice makes perfect!

10. Blog more

And last but not least I want to blog more. The idea about starting a blog has been on my mind since 2010 but I have never had the patience to sit down and actually do it. My biggest problem is that I want to be perfect from the very first moment which you just can’t when venturing into a new field. So I have gathered books, tips from friends who blog and started to flirt with this medium over the last year and 2016 I want to be the year to finally put myself out there the way I always wanted it to be. Stay tuned for more!

Have a great week

 

Florian