Singing in the New Year: 2026 Resolutions

Every year, I relish looking back to reflect on the happy memories made, sometimes despite minor or major troubles in life. And the coming of a new year always holds such potential, I excite at the prospect of setting new goals and seeing what I can do through the twists and turns life will inevitably throw at me. 

I've been brainstorming for a couple weeks now on what I want to set out for myself in 2026, but instead of finding clarity and focus, as is exemplified by my life, I have a million thoughts in a thousand different directions. It has been helpful to look back at my previous new year's resolution posts to remember what was important to me, and which of those areas of my life may still be important. 

Let's Get Physical

Movement - whether straight exercise or more adventurous activities like hiking in the wilderness or swimming in ocean, along with dance which has a social element to it - has been a consistent theme and one that I would be remiss if I left off again this year, and perhaps all years. 

In some of my recent reading, I have been reminded that we can sort of rewire our brains by strengthening the paths of the habits we want to create or by lessening the frequency of exercising the pathways we don't want to promote. While I've had sprints of good exercise habits, and I've continued going out to dance regularly, it still has not become consistent enough and I am very good at making excuses for myself. 

So putting those ideas together, I think I need to exercise with the intention of re-wiring my brain. Reframing it in this way gives me a purpose and a way to combat the excuses I inevitably want to make for myself. Calling out the excuses for what they are, and reminding myself that fighting against the choice not to exercise is actually promoting the thing in my brain that I want to strengthen. 

I want dancing to continue to be a part of my life, and I don't think I have to set that as a resolution for that to continue idly. I have toyed with getting more serious with it - taking lessons, for example, or practicing and really becoming an expert in a routine or two. Specifically, I love the "Doin' the Jive" routine, it's not too complicated or difficult, and I think if I practiced enough, I could even possibly offer to teach it at FWSDS. I could practice the "California Orange" routine to get better at that in case it is taught again at Camp Hollywood next year, or maybe I could spy on what the LA dancers are working on and try to get ahead of it with that routine. 

I also think, beyond the comfort and convenience of indoor exercise, I should aim for more intentional outdoor hikes. I already have scheduled for myself a trip to Kawaii and a trip to Yellowstone, so those are great opportunities to not just be outdoors but to do something rigorous. This starts by simply searching for and planning things to do which would involve walking or hiking in the wilderness. And I do love a good trip planning session! 

One Song

Musical pursuits have been on my mind a lot in recent months, and I've tried to postpone it to keep myself focused on writing and publishing my book(s) for the remainder of the year, so now is the time to explore what I really want to do in 2026. 

My reinvigorated interest started as more of a fun thing: playing with generative AI to create songs that are surprisingly catchy and entertaining, even if not totally perfect in pronunciation and logical flow. I've had a latent desire to get a better recording of "Go in Peace and Love," an a capella song I sang with my Madrigal Choir in high school every year, and which had great meaning I think to all of us. Wouldn't it be amazing to get the gang back together to record it? Or to find new talented singers with whom to rehearse and record it? My niece, Anna, has a beautiful voice and expressed interest in recording - I think her Dad even got her a recording session for Christmas - so I shared my thought with her which piqued her interest. 

I've also had a latent desire to pick up on piano/keyboard lessons and learn how to play some songs that people can sing along to, or even better, learn how to sight read on piano. I recently went to a Christmas party at the house of a swing dancer I know in Fort Worth, and he was actually playing songs on his historic but surprisingly well-tuned piano, while a few of us stood around and sang along. We started with Christmas tunes and then moved onto Broadway show tunes. It was so much fun to me, I would love to do that regularly, and I hope I'll at least be able to return to that as a holiday tradition while living in Texas. 

Beyond gen AI music, I often dabble in writing parody lyrics, or even writing lyrics for original tunes. I've enjoyed these exercises and sometimes dream of writing a full musical, but the ambition and lack of focus are daunting. So trying to find the middle ground between taking on a fun project and being able to complete it is the challenge. 

I have a decent microphone and sound-dampening panels, so I think I'd like to set a goal of recording a least one vocal song. In addition, I do want to dig up the "Go in Peace and Love" sheet music and pass that on to Anna, or at least get it in front of myself again. Perhaps I could record the individual parts myself, if I am so inclined. 

Beyond creating and performing, it has occurred to me that I often feel behind on learning of new musicals, and that seems like a very solvable problem. So I'd like to find ways to be more connected to Broadway news and up and coming shows. 

No Place Like Home

Until I looked back at my old new year resolution posts, it hadn't even occurred to me that a new DIY home design project has been turning in my head. Having fully satisfied my vision for my Love Island-themed bathroom, and executed my alternative Texas styling in my family room, complete with hot pink fireplace, I think it's time I turn my attention to that boring kitchen of mine. I already have a theme - citrus - and a vision, so really, it's just about refining the design and executing at this point. 

Sorry, Not Sorry

It has weighed on my mind that one of the pieces of actionable (but annoyingly hard) feedback from my boss was that I say, "Um," too much and that my speaking could use polish. While I recognize this as true historically, I've also sort of embraced it as I've been told how I communicate is effective. I also take a little pride in being unapologetically me, and that is a part of my language. But, if I want to advance into the higher echelons of the company, which I do, then it may be worth acting on the feedback. 

Billionaire (Passive Income, Automation and Technology)

Ever since my Python script to post to Twitter stopped working, I haven't had automated or manual promotion consistently for my book(s), fabrics and blog. As such, I think it's time to dig in on figuring out a way to automate social media posts again, especially for my fabric business which is a small but steady source of passive income. It is much improved when there are posts about it, so ignoring that untapped potential seems frivolous. 

I also would like to complete my AI certification program and find ways to utilize that learning as part of my IncQueries project. 

And similar to my desire to keep up with the latest Broadway musicals, I've realized I've defaulted to books for much of my intel, but books hardly keep up with the changing technology landscape, so I should shift some of my "input" bandwidth to podcasts, YouTube channels, or news publications and the like, related to my interests in technology and economics. 

A big source of frustration and reason for procrastination in my personal resolutions for 2025 was wanting to publish my management book. I set out to establish relationships with actual publishers who could provide editorial critiques and help market my book and maybe even create a path towards becoming a writer beyond a single book. I found it to be much harder than I anticipated, and pivoted to self-publishing with a program I was willing to invest in if it worked. I got stuck, however, largely on the "building a list" based on social media posts discipline again. I could still exercise one of the features to try to get unstuck, but I'm not convinced self-publishing is the way to go for books I really care about. The topic of the book didn't explicitly have to be management per my resolution, and I did, indeed, self-publish my book on Astoria, which was a fun rabbit hole to go down. But the pivot away from seeking a real publisher relationship was unsatisfactory to me. As such, I think I'd like to give that another go, but I'm not sure I'm committed to making it a resolution this year. 

The rabbit hole I went down for my Astoria book was a fun one, and if I wanted to do a more light-hearted book again, I have many topics I could pursue, including connecting the disparate mythologies and conspiracy theories of the Bermuda Triangle, ancient unexplainable architecture, crop circles and patterns in stone under rivers, etc. When I moved from California to Texas a couple years ago, at the urging of my friend Allison, I stopped at The Thing to see the updated museum, and documented the new bizarre explanation of all of history as we know it (spoiler alert: it was all the aliens' doing). That kind of stuff makes me laugh but also is a fun exercise is challenging the "known" science and history. 

I'm leaning towards an "either/or" resolution. Either I figure out how to automate my social media, and try to build my list / audience, or I attack the challenge of getting in with a publisher. 

And if I could combine another fun rabbit hole project with the outdoor movement, that would be a reasonably efficient way to accomplish a lot with limited time and resources. 

You've Got a Friend in Me

Finally, I want to strengthen my existing friendships and develop new local friendships. While swing dancing offers a social environment outside of work, that is not a sufficiently social environment to forge deep friendships necessarily. So I think this is where I can set more discrete goals for myself, spending one day (or part of a day) a month with a friend or family member (not a romantic partner), and seeking classes or activities in which socializing could promote new friendships. 

My Resolutions

It feels like a very well-rounded list is formulating, with lots of bonus ideas or general focus areas. So, let's give it a go. In 2026, I think I'll endeavor to: 

• Physicality - Make Movement a Requirement to Re-wire my Brain
• Bonus: Make plans to get out into nature for walks and hikes
• Plan Yellowstone trip in detail
• Plan Kawaii trip in detail
• Plan for work trips
• Bonus: Learn a dance routine expertly
• Musical - Record at least one song (or continue on with an album)
• Bonus: Find the sheet music for "Go in Peace and Love"
• Bonus: Start practicing keyboard/piano again
• Optional: Try to find new musicals and stay up to date on them
• Home - Complete Kitchen Redesign/Renovation
• Bonus: Finish unpacking all boxes
• Bonus: Consolidate clothes into my primary closet (and donate the rest)
• Technology & Passive Income - Automate Social Media and/or Get into a Publisher with my (management) book
• Optional: Go down another rabbit hole to write another low-stakes book
• Bonus: Complete AI certification course
• Relationships - Spend one day per month with a (non-romantic) friend or family member
• Find classes or activities to attend with like-minded people 
• Profession - Invest time and energy towards refining my language

Here are a few fun videos that capture just some of the fun I had in 2025.