2023 Resolutions: The Bare Necessities

"Am I wearing myself out?" I asked myself.

The answer was quite the realization! a.k.a. kick in the butt. I have been working too hard, and that's fantastic because I take life seriously. But have I been working a little TOO hard? "Uh ... yes!" said my poor soul!

The fourth gear kicked off somewhere around 2012 and I took life’s highway. Full speed! I worked my fingers to the bone to hit a 4.0 GPA. Voila! A Masters degree. Alongside, I got my brother married. Parallel to the bride hunting, event planning, and managing the household, I partnered with my sister and started off a business! As a solid empire began building, I secured a stable life for the family. I even went ahead and fulfilled the biggest religious duty; the ultimate life goal, Hajj! During the ride, I overlooked some key needs that would throw Abraham Maslow off his hinges *winks* (business school joke!). But I made it to the top tier of his hierarchy of needs where I am at a "self-actualization" stage ... realizing my full potential! The bits that are wearing me down are the bits that I skipped somewhere along the race. I am fretting "Why did I miss?", "Should I have done this better?", "How much time do I have to do over?"

The burnout has been monumental. I need to switch to Cruise Control before my transmission fails! Baloo the Bear from Jungle Book advised: "Lemme tell you some'm, Li'l Britches: if you act like that bee acts, you're working too hard. And don't spend your time just looking around ... for something you want that can't be found."

And the song continues,

"When you find out you can live without it
And go along not thinkin' about it
I'll tell you something true
The bare necessities of life will come to you
They'll come to you!"

So, the Bare Necessities Resolutions 2023 will roll as follows:

CONQUER THE CLUTTER

2022 was the year of junk removal! Literally! We had to seek professional help. It took a gianormous dump truck with 2 guys and a few hundred dollars to haul away swords (real ones), broken old landline telephones from my childhood, broken handicrafts (mostly multiple pieces of corporate gifting items), damaged trophies and awards, moldy carpets and rugs, rotting shoes ••• it felt like an anthropological recovery site as Sara and I dug through the relic one box after the other. What happened? We didn’t know there would be an avalanche of junk that we would be caught dead in when we gave Dad an okay to ship “some of the stuff” from Pakistan. He’d sold the family home and was moving to Maryland.

I learned a BIG lesson. Do not accumulate clutter.

I intend on decluttering for good this year. The 365 days of Mission Conquer the Clutter have begun. This includes:

• Sending away unused clothing to goodwill
• Sorting the seasonal decoration boxes in the Dungeon (basement)
• Tossing away extra stationery items from my room to storage
• Organizing kitchen cabinets and pantry

PLAN A VACATION

It's high time and much needed! Due to the You-Know-What disease that started in 2020, I have not been to the Wizarding World for 2 years now and counting. My system is craving frozen Butterbeer and I am having The Forbidden Journey and Escape from Gringotts withdrawals.

 

BRING BACK THE STORYTELLER

I was fierce! I used to tell stories. They were everyday bits, biting reality, incidences, troubles, and just raw, naked truth. Everything was served with a topping of humor because when you sugarcoat poop with the funny, it becomes more tolerable. I need to relight that spark. My words have been my armor and they have brought comfort to many. I have managed to tickle many funny bones. Somewhere during the race with time, I lost that spark. I stopped talking. I need to talk!

COOK FOR FUN

This is a big one! The kitchen pressures took fun out of cooking. Every week's been just quick, quick, quick, bulk cook, freeze, wrap it up! It needs to be more fancy, more fun. I need to cook to enjoy. That generated so many recipes.

ELIMINATE TOXIC TIME WASTERS: ACTIVITIES, PEOPLE, EMOTIONS!

This is a big one. I have worked on this over the past many years and have won like a boss. Fine tuning is the thing of 2023. Time is money for the general world. To me, on Planet Abbiesville, 'Time is a blessing' and I intend on making the best of it. Spending a precious gift on toxic activities that don't give me a worthwhile return is just foolish. Spending it on toxic humans who don't really return the investment is mega foolish. And spending it on toxic emotions simply makes one a King Fool!

Toxic activities:

Unnecessary arguments and discussions over trying to prove/defend my stance. Not needed!Whining and complaining. Discussing bygones.Discussing the future.

Toxic humans:

The very, very busy who don't return calls/texts The very, very curt who respond with one liners or wordThe narcissists

Toxic emotions:

Anger and gloom