I always write an entry at the end of each year where I look back and ask myself the same question that I asked myself one year earlier. “Am I better off than I was one year ago?” This year, the answer seems to be “yes.” Is everything in my life perfect? Not even close, but my life being better than it was one year ago is obvious, even to me.

Of course, I have “areas of opportunity” as they say in the retail/corporate world. I have things that I need to work on and improve. I have changes to make. I have decisions to make. The upcoming year could result in a lot of new things for me.

An obvious (to me) area that I need to work on is my physical self. I didn’t put enough work in during 2025 and I let myself go a bit. For years, I’ve noticed how much more difficult it gets to keep my weight down and to keep myself in good shape. I’ve also noticed how much difficult it gets when my age hits an age evenly divisible by 10. And as I approach another one of those milestones, the difficulty has increased yet again. I am completely committing myself to losing weight, getting in shape, and running some 5k races in 2026. Not only do I plan to run in those races, but I plan to have results that I’m proud of.

My belief is that if I get my physical health in order (which includes my weight and some other issues), that my mental health will improve as well. I’m taking some steps to get my head in the right space, beyond what I’ve already said. I’m going to attempt to find ways to relax, stay calm, and keep my head clear of negativity in 2026. I know that’s always easier said than done, and I also know that there’s lots of factors going on in the world that will make it more difficult for me, but I’m prepared to face the challenge.

In my 2024 year-end entry, I discussed some of the things that I was doing for my mental health. Various apps, attempting meditation, and stuff like that. I strayed from that a bit during this year, but I have some new apps and I’m again committing myself to it all once the New Year starts.

One area that I’ve constantly struggled with is my financial situation. I’ve never truly been above water here. I’ve gone under a few times, but I haven’t drown. Expenses never stop and they always seem to grow at a faster rate than my income. There will be some tweaking of my spending ways and a few plans of action in 2026 to see how much better I can end up here.

Two things that I always mention in my end of year entry are my reading goals and a specific workout goal. My reading goal is usually just to read 12 books throughout the calendar year. I finished a grand total of zero books in 2025. Ironically, I did start one about time management, but I never finished it. I will re-start and finish that book VERY EARLY in 2026 and I WILL meet my reading goal for the year. It’s something that I enjoy and it will help my mental health.

I’ve already said that I’ve been lax with the workouts. The workout goal that I always have is to successfully do a Crow (or Black Crow in the DDPY world) pose. I did not go it this year. I did it in 2024. I’m legitimately not sure if my arms are built for this pose, but I will continue to try to do it. If I keep at my workout goals, I should be able to achieve it.

Workouts aren’t the only thing that I plan on doing more of. I also plan to eat better. That doesn’t necessarily mean eating less of the things that I enjoy. It really means to eat smarter. Back in 2022, I had an app for weight loss and I really did enjoy the lessons from that app. Due to that program no longer being covered by my insurance, I no longer have access to it. But, I do remember the main lessons from it and I will be making them part of my daily life once again. This, and the workouts, should help me improve many aspects of my well-being.

I experienced a few really great moments in my social life during the year as well. A one year anniversary. Some fun events. A few brief getaways and road trips. I don’t like getting into details of my personal life on here, but I’ll say that I’m happy. I believe that things are good. And I will do the work to make them even better.

The theme of my 2024 year-end entry was really that I had a lot of gratitude and appreciation. Those two things are still very prevalent for me. Life is not easy. It doesn’t seem to get easier. The world is currently a very weird place. There’s things that I usually celebrate that I don’t know if I’ll want to celebrate them in 2026. I’ll explore that internally, and maybe here, over the course of the next few months. But, I also don’t want to focus on that right now. I just want to focus on the positive, which is that I’m grateful for what (and who) I have. I appreciate where I am.

My New Year’s Resolution is ALWAYS the same. It’s always “I want to make it better.” I want my 2026 to be better than my 2025. I’m going to make a significant effort to see that through. It may be a difficult road at times, but I’m going to keep navigating forward. I don’t know where I’ll end up on that road, but I think I’m going to be well equipped to handle the voyage.