Archive | self-improvement RSS feed for this section

Happy to Celebrate a Happier New Year

31 Dec
One of my favorite pictures from one of my favorite days of the past year: Soaking in the excitement of the Red Sox Rolling Rally after they won the World Series

One of my favorite pictures from one of my favorite days of the past year: Soaking in the excitement of the Red Sox Rolling Rally after they won the World Series

What a difference a year makes.

For example, last year the Red Sox finished the baseball season in last place. This year, they’re World Champs. (Yay!)

Last year, my upstairs neighbor was annoying me with her late-night vacuuming and hyperactive dog. This year, she’s moved out. (Yay again!)

Last year, on this very day, the President and Congress reached a deal on the fiscal cliff, ensuring that the long-term unemployed would continue to receive benefits. This year, not so much. (Boooo!)

A year ago, that last item had me nervous up until the ball dropped. This year, I’m relieved that the insensitivity of our elected officials no longer affects me (directly, anyway).

In short, 2013 is ending on a much better note than 2012 did, and I have good reason to move into 2014 happy, hopeful, optimistic, relaxed, and in a better, more positive frame of mind than I’ve been in for quite some time.

Hooray, indeed.
Continue reading →

I Just Can’t Let Go

12 Mar

delete-buttonLadies and gentlemen, I am a pack rat.

If you’re a long-time reader of this blog, this will not be breaking news. But it’s still true.

I save nearly everything: Magazines, concert and other event tickets, posters, mementos, books, DVDs, CDs, promotional tchotchkes, hangers, etc.

I save clothes until they’ve either shrunk to the point of not fitting, faded to the point of being unrecognizable, or ripped so badly that they’re useless — and that applies to shoes, towels, and backpacks/messenger bags too.

I have 20 Newbury Comics pint glasses, and I still use them, even though I have plenty of actual, nicer glasses (and I live alone).

I drove my last car for nearly 11 years before getting a new one.

I still have my old computer, which I replaced in 2006, my old VCR, my old TV, and my old DVD player.

It’s March 12 and I still have holiday cards displayed on my refrigerator.

“Something to Save” was one of my favorite tracks on the George Michael album Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1.

Maybe you get the point. I’m not exactly a candidate for Hoarders, but there’s a reason I have two — yes, two — basement storage units. Continue reading →

3 Resolutions That Will Make 2013 a Better Year

4 Jan

calvin-hobbes-new-years-resolutionsI’ve changed my mind.

On Tuesday, I said I wasn’t going to write down any resolutions this year, only things I was looking forward to.

But as the days passed, and I started to think even more about how I wanted 2013 to be a better year than 2012 was, I remembered the simplest but most important thing: Change begins with me.

This won’t be a better year if I don’t make it so. I need to cause positive change for me and others around me.

So I decided to write down some resolutions after all.

Of course, the usual ones (like eating better, working out more, not being quite so distracted by social media, trying new things, etc.) apply, just as they always have.

This year, the resolutions I have in mind are bigger, more important ones.

Here they are.

Continue reading →

27 Things I’m Looking Forward to in 2013

1 Jan

Boy-with-binocularsI woke up this morning with a big smile on my face.

It wasn’t because 2012 is over, and it wasn’t because of early reports that the fiscal cliff situation was resolved.

It was because 2013 is here.

Sure, some people feel that today is just another day, and January 1 isn’t so different from all the other days of the year. But when the year that just ended wasn’t one of your favorites, you wake up on January 1 with a new outlook, a blank slate, and renewed hope.

Suffice it to say, I’m in a better mood today than I was yesterday.

2013 is going to be a great year. How do I know? Because there are a lot of good things on the horizon. Continue reading →

Good Advice Is There. We Just Have to Listen to It

9 Oct

It happened again this weekend: I got lost.

I went to Wilson Farm up in Lexington, and from there, my next stop was Target in Watertown.

The area’s not completely foreign to me, but I decided to use Apple Maps anyway.

I hit the road, and Siri began telling me where to go.

When I got about a mile from the farm, she told me to make a turn … and because it didn’t look right to me, I decided to ignore her.

She recalculated, and I ignored those new directions too.

She tried a third time, and no, I didn’t follow those directions either.

I knew where I was. Sort of. Siri had to be taking me on a bad route. (Not an outlandish assumption to make.)

Except she wasn’t. Siri was trying to get me to my destination the fastest, most direct way she knew how. I was being stubborn, as usual, and not listening to her.

As a result, I wound up going places where I had no idea where I was.

Continue reading →

I’m Ready for the Start of Something New

3 Sep

When you live in the general Boston area, it’s hard not to be reminded of the passage of time.

Every May, for example, when graduation season is in full swing, it’s only natural to take stock and think of all you’ve accomplished since you graduated. Have the years been good to you, or have you not gone all that far since “Pomp and Circumstance” was playing?

A similar thing happens every Labor Day weekend: As the city deals with the influx of college students and the chaos and hell of moving day, your first instinct is to be reminded that, oh no, another school year is starting and the city’s a lot more crowded and a lot louder than it was just days earlier. Continue reading →

Day or Night, I Love Walking This City

29 Aug

I have a confession to make.

Remember earlier this year when I said I was going to use part of my newfound free time to work out?

And remember how I was true to my word on that first day and went to the gym to use the equipment?

Well … I haven’t gone back to the gym since then. Not even once.

Oh well.

I’m sure you’re surprised to learn this.

But here’s the thing: Even though I haven’t been using the gym, I have been staying active. Continue reading →

7 Things Not to Do When You Work Out

1 Apr

True to my word, I woke up early this morning (before 8 a.m. — on a Sunday!) and headed next door to the gym to begin my workout routine.

For anyone else out there who is thinking about getting their lazy ass off the couch and hitting the gym, I thought I’d share a list of things not to do.

Things that will ensure your workout is successful.

Consider it learnings from my experience. Continue reading →

Change Is Good

30 Mar

Long-time readers of this blog know that I often write about needing change in my life.

Well, today I’m announcing some big changes. Three of them.

The first is the obvious one: I’ve moved my blog to a brand-new home.

After six and a half years at Blogger.com, Martin’s Musings has taken up residence at WordPress, and yes, here at martinlieberman.com.

It’s the same blog you’ve come to know and love, but better.

For example, I’ve done away with the white-text-on-black-background look that screamed “Amateur!” and I’ve chosen what I think is a cleaner look for this new iteration.

In addition, now you can subscribe to the blog, so you won’t miss anything. Just type your email address in the field at the top-right-hand corner of this blog post.

And you now can share the blog posts you like, on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and yes, on Google+ too. (All those options are at the bottom of this and every blog post.)

I’m even going to be writing more often than I have been, on some different topics than movies, so that’s something to look forward to as well.

Why is that? Well, that brings us to the second big change … Continue reading →

Lost and Found

19 Aug

I got lost yesterday.

Again.

My company had its annual summer outing at the Nashoba Valley Ski Area, and on my way home, I decided I didn’t like the route the Google Maps app on my iPhone was suggesting (i.e., Route 2).

So, I opted to go back home the same way I got to Westford: By driving past Walden Pond and through the ‘burbs, by my office, and then onto 128 and the Pike (or up Trapelo Road, if there was traffic on the highways).

I thought I knew where I was going.

I was wrong. Continue reading →

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →