New Year’s Resolutions 2026

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.”
Melody Beattie

“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.”
Brad Paisley

Rich Geib’s 2026 New Year’s Resolutions

What should I do? Where to go? How to live?

  • The big THREE:
    • My health (physical, mental).
    • My presence with my daughters.
    • A clean, intact exit from my job.
  • The narrow, non-negotiable TWO:
    • Exercise, food, sleep, and blood tests;
    • Prioritize and nurture my FRIENDSHIPS. —
      • — Everything else is strictly secondary at best and can be ruthlessly discarded at worst.
  • HCP all set up.
    • After years or research and thinking it over, have this modified and broken in gun good-to-go in 2026.
      • Years in the making, an evolutionary end point.
      • Your “forever gun.“
  • Continue to monitor older daughter’s UCLA tuition and other expenses and cover them.
    • I think it is going to workout…
      • …WHAT A RELIEF!
        • No student loan debt: a gift to daughter upon graduation.
    • Keep putting money into younger daughter’s 529 account.
  • Continue to traverse this uncomfortable “liminal” stage of life:
    • One era of life is ending; the next has not yet started. I am smack in the middle.
    • This is an awkward and off-putting period — and it is finite. It is a temporary time, not a life sentence. Remember this, Richard.
    • You are not in jail. You are just finishing a very long contract.
      • Stabilize, protect, and prepare.
  • Complete your NASM-CPT course of study and pass the accrediting exam.
    • Be close to finishing your subsequent CES certification, building on CPT one.
      • “Bridge career” after retirement.

Here is the reading lineup at this time:

  1. “Esther Perel’s Where Should We Begin? The Arc of Love,” by Esther Perel
    • DID READ
  2. “L.A.’s Last Street Cop: Surviving Hollywood Freaks, the Aryan Brotherhood, and the L.A.P.D.’s Homicidal Vendetta Against Me,” by Al Moreno
    • DID READ
  3. The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge,” by Michael Punke
    • DID READ
  4. “Living the Martial Way: A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think,” by Forrest E. Morgan
    • DID READ
  5. “Zen in the Art of Archery,” by Eugen Herrigel
    • DID READ
  6. “A Simple Plan,” by Scott Smith
    • DID READ
  7. “American Rust,” by Philipp Meyer
    • DID READ
  8. “The Fighter’s Mind: Inside the Mental Game,” by Sam Sheridan
    • DID READ
  9. “The Unfettered Mind: Writings from a Zen Master to a Master Swordsman,” by Takuan Soho
    • DID READ
  10. “Mystic River,” by Dennis Lehane
    • DID READ
  11. “Saying Yes,” by Natalie Davis
    • DID READ
  12. “In the Rogue Blood,” by James Carlos Blake
    • DID READ
  13. “Affliction,” by Russell Banks
    • DID READ
  14. “A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting,” by Sam Sheridan
    • DID READ
  15. “Hurricane Season,” by Fernanda Melchor
    • DID READ
  16. “Loose Girl,” by Kerry Cohen
    • DID READ
  17. “Temporada de Huracanes,” por Fernanda Melchor
    • DID READ
  18. “KODO: Ancient Ways: Lessons in the Spiritual Life of the Warrior/Martial Artist,” by Kensho Furuya
    • DID READ
  19. “Life and Times of Michael K,” by J. M. Coetzee
    • DID READ
  20. “There Are No Secrets: Professor Cheng Man Ch’ing and His T’ai Chi Chuan,” by Wolfe Lowenthal
    • DID READ
  21. “Mensaje en Una Botella,” por Nicholas Sparks
    • DID READ
  22. “The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan: A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Practice,” by Wong Kiew Kit
    • DID READ
  23. “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World,” by John Mark Comer
    • DID READ
  24. “Woman In Berlin – Eight Weeks In The Conquered City – A Diary,” by Marta Hillers
    • DID READ
  25. “Rising Sun And Tumbling Bear: Russia’s War with Japan,” by R. M. Connaughton
    • DID READ
  26. “Epigenetics: The Ultimate Mystery of Inheritance,” by Richard C. Francis
    • DID READ
  27. “The Jagged Blue Line,” by Graham Dunne
    • DID READ
  28. “American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China,” by Matthew Polly
    • DID READ
  29. “Dispatches from Grief: A Mother’s Journey Through the Unthinkable,” by Danielle Crittenden
    • DID READ
  30. Overcome,’ by Amber van de Bunt
    • DID READ
  31. “The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness,” by Arthur C. Brooks
    • DID READ
  32. “Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird,” by Keith O’Brien
    • DID READ
  33. “You with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir,” by Christina Applegate
    • DID READ
  34. “Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic,” by Bunnie Xo
    • DID READ
  35. “The War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail,” by Greg Lukianoff and Nadine Strossen
    • DID READ
  36. “Razorblade Tears: A Novel,” by S. A. Cosby
    • DID READ
  37. “The Cradle of Citizenship: How Schools Can Help Save Our Democracy,” by James Traub
    • DID READ
  38. “In My Skin: A Memoir of Addiction,” by Kate Holden
    • DID READ
  39. “The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness,” by Morgan Housel
    • DID READ
  40. “The Way of the Fight,” by Georges St-Pierre
    • DID READ
  41. “Homeschooled: A Memoir,” by Stefan Merrill Block
    • DID READ
  42. “Días de Combate,”por Paco Ignacio Taibo
    • DID READ

Watch the following movies —

  • “Landman, Season Two”
    • DID NOT WATCH
  • Mosul
    • DID WATCH
  • Hamnet
    • DID WATCH
  • King Ivory
    • DID WATCH
  • Hail Mary
    • DID WATCH
  • Nuremberg
    • DID NOT WATCH
  • Rolling Thunder
    • DID WATCH
  • Frankenstein
    • DID NOT WATCH
  • Attack on Titan, All Four Seasons
    • DID WATCH