Every year I make a list of New Year's resolutions, all of which have been rattling around my brain for weeks and all of which I fully intend to keep for the duration of the year. They're New Year's resolutions, so that never happens...but dare to dream, right?
So for your entertainment and my accountability, here's the list for 2026!
1. Get in shape.
I know, what a creative choice for a New Year's resolution! 😜
But yes, after several brief, ultimately aborted attempts to do this last year, I fully intend to take this goal seriously in 2026. I've done all the research on what foods to eat and when to eat them, I've decided what kinds of exercise I'm going to emphasize, I've figured out when I'm going to work out each day—the prep work is done. Now I just have to follow through.
My goals for the next twelve months: gain 20-25 pounds, increase core strength, be able to run 5 miles at a 8:30 pace, and develop a consistent, healthy diet that cuts out excessive sugar and junk food. You'll see at this time next year whether I pulled it off!
2. Listen to 300 albums.
Ever since getting into podcasts (in college, WAY before it was cool!) I have listened to way less music than I wish was the case...and what music I do listen to is often dictated by what my family will tolerate in the car. But the fact remains that I own over 10,000 songs, to say nothing of the 30 kajillion available for streaming on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, etc. There's a lot of music out there, and I'm wasting opportunities to hear it...if I don't do something intentional now, I'll be that grumpy 70-year old complaining that nobody's recorded any decent songs in 50 years.
So this year I'm running back a failed resolution from 2023 and am aspiring to listen to 300 albums over the course of the year, which I will document and share at the end of 2026. I'll try to have a good mixture of music I know and love alongside stuff I've never listened to. Hopefully you'll be surprised at the end of the year by some of what I enjoyed!
3. Go on one long walk per week.
Sometimes it seems like my life is lived in 2-minute increments, with very little time for the proverbial stopping to smell the roses. Some of that is keeping up with the pace of 21st century life, some of that is being a dad of three young kids, and some of that is me giving in to a culture with a short attention span. Regardless, it seems like I ought to make it a priority to find more time to slow down.
So in 2026, I resolve to go on one long walk per week: 45+ minutes in which I'll put some music on, leave my phone in my pocket, and just be. I expect that most of these walks will happen on Thursdays (my day off/Sabbath) and that I'll make an effort to find solitary places like the Rowlett Creek Preserve for them.
4. Cut my screen time down to 2 hrs per day.
This is what I said in 2023 when I made this is one of my resolutions for the umpteenth time:
5. Go on a "date" with each member of my family once per month.
Quality time is important, but it can also hard to come by in a family of five. So this year, I'm making it a priority to give each member of my family some undivided attention at least once per month.
For Lindsey, that means a date night or a Starbucks run or a walk around the neighborhood, but it DOESN'T mean the two of us sitting next to each other doomscrolling after the kids go to bed. For the kids, it could mean anything from ice cream to watching a baseball game together to snuggling up and reading a book for half an hour.
The point is for it to be intentional, preferably planned in advance, and at a time when nobody's competing for my attention. Looking forward to this one!
6. Wear my mouthguard.
This one's pretty simple and should be oh so easy to pull off. Nearly a year ago, my dentist prescribed a mouthguard for me to wear at night, because apparently I grind my teeth in my sleep. I went in for a fitting. I paid several hundred dollars for said mouthguard. I picked up the mouthguard once it was ready for me.
...and it has sat in its case, unused, every since. Vanity is a powerful thing.
Let's see if I can't do better in 2026. I spent too much on the stupid thing not to wear it.
7. Read 6 big books.
I have a TBR spreadsheet (that's "to be read" for those not on BookTok) where I not only keep track of the number of books I own and haven't read, but also the page numbers for each of those books. The total number of pages I have to read to finish the list is...intimidating. Let's just say I won't be knocking it out this year. Or next year. Or the year after that.
What I DO want to do is tackle some of the books on that list which I've been actively avoiding because of their size: Les Misérables, Lonesome Dove, It, etc. I won't get the thrill of crossing a book off the list as often, but I'll still get to put a dent in my TBR's page count that way. At 6 in a year, we're looking at one big book every month, which is ambitious but attainable.
What is "big?" I'm not going to put a legalistic number to it, but generally it means any book on my shelf where I've considered starting it only to hesitate because, "Ehhh, too long." So we're probably talking 800+ pages unless the font is really tiny or the material is pretty dense.
8. Get my finances in order.
Lest this resolution scare you, we're doing ok for our stage of life. Bills get paid on time every month. We're debt-free except for our mortgage. We can afford to pay for any sub-$10,000 emergency without being in trouble. And most months we bring in more than we spend.
But also, our money is still sitting in the First National Bank of Central Texas, whose nearest location is 2 hours from our home. Because of the nature of my job, I have no retirement account, stock options, or any of that other jazz that comes standard with corporate jobs. And in 9 years, the first of my three kids will (presumably) want to go to college.
So this year (sooner rather than later) I resolve for me and Lindsey to have a long, potentially boring and/or unpleasant conversation where we make a financial game plan and stop operating our finances on autopilot. It's time.
9. Watch every MLB team play at least one full game.
One point of pride for me is that I am not a Texas Rangers fan who follows Major League Baseball; rather, I am a Major League Baseball fan whose team is the Texas Rangers. I follow all the goings-on in MLB—online, through several podcasts, via a couple of newsletters, etc. But what I don't do as often as I'd like is actually sit down and watch a non-Rangers game (at least until October) for more than an inning or two at a time.
So in 2026, I resolve to watch every team at least once—a full nine inning game for all 30 teams. Theoretically, this can be pulled off in as little as 15 days; it's easily achievable. I'm hoping that by doing so I'll learn some new names, get introduced to some broadcasters I've never heard before, and maybe even luck into some great performances along the way.
To keep myself accountable, my plan is to actually keep score of all of these games (whether from home or, in those fortunate instances when it applies, at the ballpark.) That's something I haven't done much since we started bringing small children to games, and I miss it. I'll let you know at the end of the year if I saw anything particularly memorable!
10. Be more joyful.
As I shared in a sermon a few weeks ago, my son Andrew recently said something to me that's been haunting me ever since. I was fixing lunch for him and his siblings after church one Sunday, chatting away with them all, and he remarked, "This is nice, Daddy! You're not grumpy like usual!"
He didn't mean for it to be the absolute kill shot that it was. But man has it stuck with me.
So I'm ending this list with a resolution that is far from measurable, but one I'm taking very seriously: I want to be more joyful this year. My God is too good, my life is too good, and my life is too short for grumpy to be my default setting. Here's to a joyful 2026!
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