🌳 Resolutions for 2026

Here’s my genuine list of New Years’ Resolutions for this year.

1. Meditate twice a week
   • Twice a week is a low bar, but meditating is a subtle thing and is truly not easy to force yourself to do. Feeling guilty for not doing it enough is unhelpful.
   • Every year some version of this is a resolution as I directly observe that meditating makes me a better person through its way of making me notice more things about my environment and myself (when not meditating).
   • I feel that when I meditated a lot around 2016 to 2018, I was about 25. I grew a lot as a person then, I lost a tonne of weight and I became a lot more interested in people and more ‘articulate’ at dealing with all sorts of problems. I also became much less judgy and generally more open minded. In 2026 I’m seeking a renaissance to become this person again.
2. Go to the gym 3x a week
   • I’ve been going to the gym since mid 2024 and recently I’ve decided to graduate from the ‘e-gym’ where the machine does a lot of hand-holding – to normal weights and pulleys. This seems to have a lot bigger results and has sort of refreshed my enthusiasm for the gym.
3. Eat more ramen, with leaves and balls
   • This is really a joint-couple-goal that is better phrased as ‘go to McDonalds less often’. In 2025 we had a habit of going to McDonalds for lunch 3-4 times a week. Partly cos the Netherlands doesn’t give you many good options if you don’t want to cook your own lunch. A ‘tarted up’ ramen is a tasty and cheaper option.
4. Appreciate the Dutch
   • Over the years my slight resentment of the country and its people has grown complicated and calcified. I’ve trained myself to spot and react defensively to lots of things. This isn’t a healthy way to live and so I’m making an active effort to find things to be grateful for while I live in this country.
5. Worry Less
   • It’s a slightly rubbish resolution but I really want to worry less, about everything! Resolution 1 should help with this.

I also have a couple of boring practical goals which include ‘build a bookshelf in the living room’ and ‘renovate the carpet on the staircase’.