Earlier in the week, I posted some silly New Year’s resolutions. These resolutions used reverse psychology, or something like that, to ensure 2010 would be a success one way or another.

As promised, here are some REAL resolutions for 2010.

1No “junk food” for an entire year.
This likely sounds crazy or impossible, but I’ve actually done it before. In high school, starting the summer before my junior year and ending just before the start of my senior year, I didn’t eat a single bite of food that I considered to be “bad” for me. I was gung-ho about baseball and I wanted to do whatever it took to earn a college athletic scholarship.

What did I consider “bad” for me? The obvious things. No hamburgers or fries from McDonald’s, Burger King and the like. No pizza from any restaurant chain. No potato chips since they’re empty calories and won’t even fill me up. No deep fried anything. And so on.

In reality, it’s much easier than it sounds. I don’t have to do anything special. I just have to make a series of choices every single day. “Don’t eat that, eat this.” I’ll never go hungry. I’ll always be full. It just so happens that the things I’m eating and making me feel full won’t be terrible for me.

And as good days turn into good weeks and good weeks turn into good months, the outcome will be an infinitely healthier version of me come 2011.

2Pay off my car.
A little over three years ago, I made it a goal to become “debt free” before my birthday in December 2007. I succeeded. Having started a little over a year earlier, I managed to pay off my student loan and all my credit card debt the day before my birthday.

However, I didn’t include my car loan on my list of debts to pay off. With an interest rate of only 4.5%, mathematically it didn’t make sense for me to work towards paying off my car loan early (other than the psychological benefit of having no car payment, of course). With online savings accounts at E-Trade, Citi, ING Direct and the like offering interest rates of 5% and higher, I was better off putting any EXTRA money I had into savings rather than into paying down my car loan.

That was true then, but it’s not true anymore.

My 4.5% interest rate on my car loan is still low, but the recession has caused banks to slash the interest rates they offer customers in online savings accounts. E-Trade, for example, gave me a 5.05% interest rate when I was paying down my other debts in 2007. Today, it offers a paltry 0.5% interest rate.

Coming into 2010, I had 14 payments remaining on my car. That puts me on schedule to pay it off in February 2011.

My (very) modest goal is to pay it off before we get anywhere near 2011.

3Read one self-improvement book a month.
“Self-improvement” is a broad niche, but basically I want to read at least one book a month that makes me a better person — a better man.

Between books, blogs and magazine articles, I already read a lot (in general). But I want what I read this year to be very specific. Much like how I do not want to eat anything that is bad for me, I don’t want to READ anything that doesn’t improve me.

If you have any book suggestions, do please share them by leaving a comment.

4Finish baking.
You’re probably wondering, “what the heck is Kev talking about…is he going to cooking school?” No, that’s not it. I would totally kick butt in cooking school, but that’s not it. The following quote from the great thinker, Buffy Summers, should help explain what I mean:

“I’m cookie dough. I’m not done baking. I’m not finished becoming whoever the heck it is I’m gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day, I turn around and realize I’m ready. I’m cookies.”

Still not sure what I mean? Well, this resolution is in place of the resolution common for most single adults: “Find Mr./Ms. Right” (or the equivalent).

I’m not going make such a resolution. I’m not going to because I know I’m not yet ready. If Miss Right fell into my lap right now, I’d undoubtedly screw it up by groaning and asking how much she weighed.

(Metaphorically speaking, of course. I’d never actually say such a thing.)

The good news is I’m very close. I just need a little bit longer in the oven and I should be fine. But for the first time in a long time, I recognize the fact I’m not yet ready.

Yes, I’m at the right age. Yes, I’m financially stable with a good job. Yes, I have many of the intangibles needed. And yes, I want it to happen.

But it’s the reason I want it to happen that has me not yet ready.

I still, in the back of my mind, crave that special someone because of the need to fill a hole in my life. But that’s not why a person should date or marry. It’s not fair to the woman. It is impossible for her to fill that hole. I believe many relationships end for this very reason — one or both parties expected the other to “fix” them or make them happy. That’s not how it’s supposed to work.

I should want to be with that special someone because I want to share my life (my happy, fulfilled, wonderful life) with that special someone — NOT because I need her to complete me or make me happy. I should already be complete. I should already be happy. I should already be fully baked.

When people say they found their special someone when they stopped looking, what they really mean (whether they realize it or not) is they stopped looking for someone else to give their life fulfillment. They found fulfillment on their own. And then, while living their happy and fulfilling life, they were finally ready to share their lives with someone.

So, that’s my biggest resolution for 2010. I need to finish baking. I can do this by finishing things I’ve already started: getting closer to God, discovering new hobbies, and finding something I’m passionate about.

And then I’ll be ready. I’ll be cookies.

5Do something awesome.
Okay, so I’ve already met this resolution about 800 times so far this year. I just needed to add an easy one to finish the list.

Thoughts? Comments?