I have never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. That may be due to the fact that I am an educator and that my life has centered around the school year, which runs from to August to June. As a result, my goals have usually been based on that calendar.

But, because multiple myeloma pretty much controlled and dominated every part of my life in 2014, I have resolved to do a number of things differently in 2015.

First, I am going to quit being a myeloma hypochondriac. I am approach­ing my sixtieth birthday, I was a three-sport athlete in high school, and I played college football. I would venture to say that most of the aches and pains I have experienced in the last year were due as much to those factors as any old myeloma-related lesions acting up (or new ones developing).

Having said that, I am resolved to take better care of myself. Two serious bronchial infections, a bout with pneumonia, and allergic reactions to the antibiotics prescribed for treating the pneumonia since my stem cell transplant in June proves that a macho approach of just gutting it out when even the faintest symptoms of a cold appear just won’t work anymore.

My doctor advised me to get in the best shape that I possibly could before my stem cell transplant last year. That is the only time I haven’t followed his advice to the letter, and I paid dearly for it. It was good advice then, and I’m certain it still applies now, so I resolve to exercise regularly.

Perhaps the toughest goal that I've set for myself in the New Year will be to quit being mentally preoccupied with having this disease. I found that, as the disease has progressed, it has increasingly dominated my thoughts. I had hoped for a mental respite after the successful stem cell transplant, but that has not been the case.

My wife and I recently decided at the last moment to travel to Indianapolis for the Big 10 college football championship game between Ohio State and Wisconsin. For the two days we were there, taking in everything involved with the Buckeyes dominating performance, I thought little of multiple myeloma. Finding enjoyable diversions such as this might be a useful strategy in reaching this goal.

I vow to accept compliments about how good I look without muttering under my breath “If only you knew how I really feel.”

I know that statements such as “You look good; you don’t look like you have cancer,” which I heard when I was first diagnosed, had good intentions. However, I never knew how to reply them.

I was at an even bigger loss for words when people told me "You really look good!" within days of my being discharged from the hospital after my stem cell transplant. I was completely bald, had no color, had lost 22 pounds, and I looked good? I must have really looked bad pre-transplant to earn such a compliment, because I thought I looked like a "walker" (zombie) on the TV show “Walking Dead.”

I hope to continue to not be concerned with what caused me to get this disease. In my mind, such thinking is wasted energy — water under the bridge, if you will.

My dad died from hemochromatosis, a rare blood disorder in which the body absorbs too much iron in the blood. Three months ago, my mom was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare cancer of the secretory glands. I think it is pretty safe to assume that environmental factors played very little role in my situation. Heredity seems to play a much larger factor.

I have written previously about my need to become more knowledgeable about multiple myeloma. I need to follow through on this resolution in 2015. Exciting things seem to be happening in myeloma research in regard to new treatments. Being armed with such knowledge as I move into the inevitable relapse stage of this disease is essential to my well-being.

I am going to be resolute in maintaining a gracious, thankful attitude. Unlike some, I will never say I am thankful for what I have experienced since being diagnosed with this terrible disease. While I have had many positive experiences, myeloma remains an incurable disease. And, given what one has to go through to enjoy whatever those positive experiences may be that result from being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, they simply are not worth it.

I will be thankful for being blessed with a great oncologist, a great medical team, a great cancer center, and family and friends. I resolve to show my appreciation to all of them whenever possible.

Finally, I resolve to practice what I preach. For decades, I have preached to my students, my players, my staff, my family, and anyone else who would listen that faith, family, and friends are all that really matters. With what time I have left, I need to walk the walk, rather than just talk the talk.

My goal when I first started as a columnist for The Beacon was to give the perspective of a newly diagnosed patient, in the hope that it might help others who were newly diagnosed. I hope that, in some small way during 2014, I have been able to do that.

My perspective will change in 2015. Unfortunately, I am no longer a myeloma “newbie,” but I nevertheless look forward to sharing my perspective in my monthly writings.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year with the hope that 2015 ushers in nothing but good news in the fight against multiple myeloma.