1. Adopt an attitude of gratitude.

 

Does your air car occasionally dip down? Does your best friend prefer the company of your humanoid Ai colleague? Yes, let's face it, he's a cheaper date, and maybe you need to lay off the booze. Is a new bio-engineered monkey bird pooping all over your furniture? At least you don't have to clean your own house. There are plenty of bots for that.

 

The point is, things aren’t perfect, but you are alive and get to be part of this cool weird world. You get to make choices, laugh, and eat cookies. Those are the most important things in life anyway. If you are gluten-free maybe just skip this resolution.

 

1. Connect to the people you love.

 

It is easy to lose touch with the people who matter most when there's such a distracting and alluring world out there for us to engage with. But sometimes you have to lift your head out of that virtual reality, even if you’re just about to plunge into a chocolate pool with your talking dolphin buddies. Life is too short, although, arguably longer with all the tech-transition possibilities that prolong it. But your organic cycle is short, so hug the people you love before you download your consciousness into a wall or a robotic dog and hugs become a challenge.

 

1. Sleep.

 

It's easy to take those Wakie-wakie pills and stay up all week. But sleep is important for our brain development, and that brain of yours can come up with some nifty things when you go to bed at a reasonable hour. So let’s set a time and stick to it. If you have difficulty falling asleep, have your smart house robot sing you a lullaby.

 

1. Do stuff with your actual body.

 

In the year 2172 everything is at your fingertips. Technically you don’t have to move at all. With endless virtual reality, food that can be delivered to your mouth, or even just nutritional infusions with a set timer on it, not to mention pee blockers. The world is your sofa. You could also send your robot avatar body out and venture into the physical world from the comfort of your living room.

 

But it’s fun to move in the real world you’ve forgotten because of all your basketball games with virtual Lebron James and all the pajama parties with Lady Gaga. I get it, but breathing fresh air and moving your limbs is surprisingly pleasant. Making eye contact with people that actually exist and sipping a real cup of coffee on a park bench is irreplaceable.

 

1. Find your happy place in life.

 

That’s tougher than it sounds, but maybe you’re in a job you don’t like. Maybe coding virtual shoes just isn’t enough for you anymore. Maybe you live in a city with bustling aircars constantly zipping above your head. Is it time for a more peaceful life with real trees in it? Whatever it is that you need to change, whether a physical location or your daily functions, do it this year. Find a better place in the world or in space. You decide.

 

1. Eat real food.

 

Yes, you may have the best food printer money can buy. But every once in a while remind yourself that food doesn’t come in a nutritional ink box. Go to the food market and bite into a real apple. Get dirty and pick some strawberries from an aerial garden. Bite into a lab-grown fish tissue fillet. Your body will thank you.

 

1. Program your smart home to say nice things to you.

 

All too often we get into the habit of negative talking to ourselves. No matter what we do, we feel that it’s not enough. We need someone to say that you’ve done a good job today, and you’re on the right track. If you can’t say it to yourself, program all of your machines to say it for you, at set times during the day. There’s nothing like your home-bot telling you how proud they are of you.

 

1. Stick with it.

 

No matter what you’re trying to achieve this year, no matter how big or complex your goal is, stick to it. Don’t give up. Don’t let go. If it takes more time, so what. It won’t matter once you get to the other side.

 

 

No matter what your resolutions are for this year, be kind to yourself and be kind to others. We’re all in this weird journey together. Remember, it’s a challenge for everyone, even those who don’t always show it.

 

Here’s for the year 2172!! Let it be the best one yet.