New Year’s Resolutions and Implementation
Annual Planning and Dao: Today’s article focuses on a personal topic that I hope my valued readers can benefit from. It also includes reflections on topics such as SEO and AI, which were cut off during the year and are now revisited at the end of the year.
When discussing Zen and Daoism, some might say these philosophies are nice but not practical in harsh reality. However, as my year has shown again, they can be quite useful. As mentinoned before, like many others, I find it interesting and often profitable to learn about other people’s attitudes and reflect on them. If today’s article seems like self-congratulation, I apologize.
For me, this year’s journey again involved maintaining a balance between personal aspirations and professional demands. While no two people have the same challenges, I believe there’s value in sharing how one integrates philosophy into decision-making. I hope to demonstrate how these timeless principles can harmonize with the demands of modern living.
The images accompanying this post are some of my previously unpublished work from 2024, reflecting the range of my artistic activities this year.
New Year’s Resolutions: A Framework for Intentional Living
As 2024 comes to a close, many of us are already contemplating the traditional ritual of setting New Year’s resolutions. The idea of starting anew resonates, but whether it’s necessary—or even practical—depends on individual perspectives. Personally, I lean toward annual planning over resolutions. The former provides a broader, more adaptable framework that feels grounded in reality.
Part of the reason for this article was a post from a fellow blogger, Swabby, who recently celebrated an incredible milestone: his 5000th blog post. His consistent performance at such a high level is admirable. After reading Swabby’s article on New Year’s resolutions, I mentioned I would share my review of this year.
Aspects of my Annual Planning
To keep things focused, I will highlight four key aspects of my 2024 that were deeply influenced by Daoist thinking. Reflecting on these areas fills me with gratitude for how the year unfolded. The areas I’ll discuss are: my day job, my art, web presence, stock market endeavors, and, prefixed, the Dao of New Year’s resolutions and annual planning.
Setting Objectives for 2024
With these reflections in mind, I had set the following objectives for 2024:
- 1 Continue selling items and aim to reach a specific monthly income target.
- 2 Drastically reduce social media activities while improving my blog and enhancing my online presence as artist.
- 3 Advance further into abstract art, focus on reduction, and explore other areas such as music and poetry. Plan to hold two exhibitions.
- 4 Achieve a 20% net gain on the stock exchange.
- 5 (Some personal goals in private life and health)
0 The Dao of New Year’s Resolutions
As someone who has been self-employed for most of my working life, planning, goal-setting, and analysis have naturally become integral to how I approach each year. One of the harshest yet most valuable lessons I’ve learned is this: when something goes wrong, the responsibility rests solely with me. Accepting this truth has profoundly shaped my mindset and the direction of my endeavors and most of all planning.
The connection between Daoism and New Year’s resolutions may initially seem unconventional. However, as a long-time admirer of Zhuangzi, the great Daoist thinker, his wisdom deeply influences how I approach projects, including a new year. The New Year as a project. One of Zhuangzi’s most famous stories is about a cook [article] who skillfully dismembers an ox, visualizing the process in its entirety before beginning. I’ve discussed this story in detail previously (summary in footnote [1]), but for now, I’ll focus on its application.
When I view the year ahead as a project—like the cook preparing to dismember an ox—I imagine the “parts” of the year’s responsibilities already laid out before me. By visualizing the desired results in advance, I conserve energy and approach each task with clarity. This perspective aligns with Zhuangzi’s teachings and, for me, 2024 unfolded more like an ideal case of this philosophy in action.
1. Annual Planning of Daily Business
Viewing the year’s areas of responsibility as distinct components allows me to calmly tackle each one. The key is to maintain a clear vision of the end result, periodically check progress, and make adjustments as needed. My approach includes quarterly reviews, similar to routine accounting.
Day-to-day business remains integral to my activities. From a Daoist perspective, art represents yin, and business signifies yang. Now that I am semi-retired, business has taken on a secondary role, primarily providing an additional income source that allows me to enjoy small luxuries.
The simplicity of this goal makes it manageable: I aim to earn a consistent amount each month. With a clear sales target and minimal complications, this aspect of my planning requires little mental energy—just steady execution.
2. Online Presence, Media, and SEO
When it comes to an online presence, we all have varying goals and approaches. For me, the topic has been essential for over 30 years, particularly due to its significance for my business. Ensuring that my objects can be easily found by search engines like Google has always been a priority. Beyond that, the importance of SEO extends even to my blog.
Why do we blog or post at all? It’s a challenging question, one I prefer to leave unanswered. However, since I plan to sell my artistic work online eventually, establishing and optimizing my internet presence is a necessary part of the process.
Blog Optimization and SEO Progress
Earlier in the year, I mentioned two key initiatives related to my blog, both of which were met with some skepticism by some readers—a reaction I welcome. The first involved reworking my blog to make it more search-engine-friendly. This has been a gradual process, as I didn’t intend to overhaul everything at once. Now, with about two-thirds of the work complete, the results are promising.
Performance has improved noticeably. For instance, my blog’s visibility in specific countries has significantly increased, and I now have greater control over certain metrics. One striking example: for certain topics seven times as many readers now find me via Google compared to WordPress. Yet, I remain uncertain if the time and effort spent justify the results. That said, I intend to stay the course and refine these improvements further.
The Role of AI in Managing Online Activities
The second point, which tends to spark more debate, is my use of AI. Artificial intelligence has become an indispensable tool for managing the array of activities I handle. While I consciously operate at a relatively modest level with AI tools, I am consistently pleased with the results—and occasionally, pleasantly surprised.
The graphic below shows how these changes affect search engines. In these examples, my valued readers’ comments are also incorporated, helping both the writers and readers.
At the beginning of next year I will present a project in 3 articles about an imaginary journey to an imaginary Zen master. AI will analyze and describe the images. An unusual experiment that might surprise some.
One of the things that is very gratifying is that my blog, zettl.blog, has already been cited multiple times by ChatGPT and similar AI platforms as a source of information. This recognition reinforces my belief in the value of the content I create and share.
3 Annual Planning in Arts
Art was certainly the central theme for me in 2024. How well did I implement my resolutions from the beginning of the year? I am quite satisfied. To what extent?
The question of whether my work is “good” is not just idle speculation, but can hinder my thinking. According to Buddhist beliefs, our dissatisfaction is rooted in divisive judgments. My goal for 2024 was therefore more focused on developing my personal style, improving my technique and creating a natural transition to abstract painting. I focused particularly on reducing things to the essentials. I am also satisfied with the progress I have made this year in translating thoughts into images. The inclusion of aspects such as music, some Western philosophy and especially poetry has played a significant role in this development.
4 Shares – the icing on the cake of the year
It may seem surprising that, as a critic of the capitalist system, I invest in the stock market. Nevertheless, it demands my full attention, not only because of the amount invested. These activities allow me to check the accuracy of my assessments of the economy and world politics. I have learned to make decisions largely without emotions, which is essential in the slippery world of the stock market. Even when trading stocks, I rely on Daoist principles. It is also important to me to put into practice what I theorize. For example, since I consider AI a central issue of our time, I invest in companies such as NVDA and AMD. [2]
responsible investment
Acting responsibly is natural for me, which includes ethical aspects. I avoid buying shares in weapons manufacturers or other unethical companies. Every year on December 26th, I take stock and set goals for the next year.
Miraculously, I have always achieved my goals when I set clear objectives and checked them at least quarterly.
On the other hand, it was a difficult year and a bumpy ride. And we should not forget that many of the large investment houses only achieve 7-8% per annum.
Having significantly exceeded my goals, I plan to take a long-dreamed-of trip in 2025. I don’t want to postpone this journey any longer due to my age.
Reflecting on 2024 and Looking Forward to 2025
Reflecting on 2024, I am satisfied with the work I have accomplished. I achieved or exceeded all my goals and enjoyed a relatively stress-free year. Two wonderful trips allowed me to recharge, find inspiration, and improve my health.
Participating in group exhibitions in London and São Paulo (online) was a significant milestone, helping me reach a wider audience with my art. I also completed the groundwork needed to focus on new goals in 2025.
Looking ahead, 2025 brings its share of challenges, but I welcome them with open arms. I am eager to work out my New Year’s resolutions and, more importantly, put them into action. Cheers to 2025!
Extra:
Annual Yearbook: A Gift of Art
Every year, I compile some of my artistic work into a yearbook intended for friends, family, and art enthusiasts. [previous samples] This year’s edition is quite elegant and even thicker than before. It has become a cherished annual Christmas present. While I am pleased with this year’s effort, I am unsure if I will be able to produce something similar in 2025.
footnotes:
[1] In Zhuangzi’s story, Cook Ding is preparing an ox for Lord Wen-hui. As he carves the ox, his movements are graceful and effortless, almost like a dance. Lord Wen-hui is astonished by Cook Ding’s skill and asks how he achieved such mastery.
Cook Ding explains that at the beginning of his career, he saw the entire ox as a whole. Over time, through practice and experience, he learned to see the intricate details and the spaces between the bones. Now, he doesn’t look at the ox with his eyes but follows his intuition, letting the Dao guide his knife. He moves with the natural rhythms and patterns within the ox, avoiding obstacles and finding the perfect path for his blade. This way, he hasn’t needed to sharpen his knife in nineteen years.
The story emphasizes the importance of aligning one’s actions with the natural flow of the Dao. By understanding and moving with the inherent patterns in life, one can achieve great skill and efficiency without exerting unnecessary effort.
[2] My worst losses have been in the fields of renewable energy and environmental protection. So much for ethical conduct.
[3] Sure you can’t rule anything out, because if I invest in a “neutral” chip producer like NVDA or AMD, it’s not impossible that the GPU will also be used in weapons systems or surveillance technology. On the other hand, I have made losses with my investments in renewable energy and environmental protection.
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