It's 2018. Mariah didn't make a total train wreck out of her performance on new year's eve, last night, so for those of us that base our entire next year on how MC handles the last hour of the previous one, things are looking up from 2017 already.
2017 was a busy year. Turns out though, so was 2016. Fancy that. I wrote a few things in 2016, and then remember excusing my lack of writing on time. Two kids under two, a new role at work, family, friends... so many reasons to call myself busy. But if I blame things on not having the time, I will never get to them, as there is no magic bucket of time the world has just waiting for us to find and relish in. What I currently have in terms of time is all I am ever going to have, so it's high time to start making time, and not waiting for more of it to magically appear (although that would be amazing, and yes, magical indeed).
I'm wagering that what I make time for in my day-to-day life (that makes up my year-to-year life, I suppose?), is indicative of what I value most. But what about the things I want to value? That I aspire to value? That's what this year is going to bring for me. Lassoing those aspirations into lived values. If nobody's got time for circles, I suppose I'll have to make time.
In 2017, my commitment was to live simply and fully. I certainly tried, but without a doubt fell short on those two. In pursuit of a simple but full life, my goals included decluttering our lives of excess material goods, successfully completing a monthly workout challenge every month, finally finishing the longest book series ever, running a 5k in under 27 minutes, chipping away at my unread work-book collection, completing my MBA degree, and brushing up on my ever fleeting Spanish skills. Obviously, any person who makes these sorts of commitments is prone to following it up with reflection and analysis. Happily.
I'm hell bent on stronger alignment between my aspirations and lived values. Things like writing, drawing, painting, and seeking out new and useful skills are missing from my 2017. Life is short. 2017 made that abundantly clear on a global, national, and personal level. I'm working on my list of 2018 commitments this week. Naturally, it will be complete once filled with specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound goals - is there any other way?
Oh, and a sticker chart. If you can't indicate goal attainment with a sticker, you may as well not do it. #morewordstoliveby
First on that list? Write more. Two years ago the wifey thoughtfully gave me a book called 642 Things To Write About. If I'm claiming life is "too busy" to write (it's not, side note), taking away at least one barrier by having 642 days worth of prompts seems like a great first step. I've always thought it would be so much more fun to do high school over now that I fully grasp the weightlessness one should embrace at that time in life (and have been a teacher). I imagine that these 642 prompts will be akin to walking into my high school english class and writing in my daily journal... sounds absolutely riveting, right? Cheers to publicly re-writing the private reflections of my high school self. Kidding. I think.
Happy New Year. Here's to a year full of showing our love, kindness, and gratitude for each other in actions and truth, not simply in words, written, or otherwise.
2017 was a busy year. Turns out though, so was 2016. Fancy that. I wrote a few things in 2016, and then remember excusing my lack of writing on time. Two kids under two, a new role at work, family, friends... so many reasons to call myself busy. But if I blame things on not having the time, I will never get to them, as there is no magic bucket of time the world has just waiting for us to find and relish in. What I currently have in terms of time is all I am ever going to have, so it's high time to start making time, and not waiting for more of it to magically appear (although that would be amazing, and yes, magical indeed).
I'm wagering that what I make time for in my day-to-day life (that makes up my year-to-year life, I suppose?), is indicative of what I value most. But what about the things I want to value? That I aspire to value? That's what this year is going to bring for me. Lassoing those aspirations into lived values. If nobody's got time for circles, I suppose I'll have to make time.
In 2017, my commitment was to live simply and fully. I certainly tried, but without a doubt fell short on those two. In pursuit of a simple but full life, my goals included decluttering our lives of excess material goods, successfully completing a monthly workout challenge every month, finally finishing the longest book series ever, running a 5k in under 27 minutes, chipping away at my unread work-book collection, completing my MBA degree, and brushing up on my ever fleeting Spanish skills. Obviously, any person who makes these sorts of commitments is prone to following it up with reflection and analysis. Happily.
- The decluttering is a never-ending process, but there were countless trips to Goodwill (usually coupled with IKEA trips to buy new furniture to organize what is left of the mess - the key to my motivation in completing this type of thing). However, I'm still holding fast and tight to that Gap jean jacket from 2001 (now most recently worn in October 2017... See? 2017 brought great, amazing things, after all). Baby steps.
- There was "March Popsicle Stick Madness," "Sizzlin' Step-tember," and other ridiculous monthly workout challenges created by me, for me. July and December were the two months I failed to create a monthly workout challenge, and as such, were the only two months in which no workout challenge was successfully accomplished. I suppose that's a pretty strong case for setting strong goals, eh?
- I finally finished the Wheel of Time series. While I was often not sure why I let a human lead me to believe I should start it in the first place, I actually loved it. The last several books were actually pretty hard to put down and went immeasurably quicker than the first 8 or 9 (mostly because I didn't read others books in between). 12,217 pages it seems, total. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I would be interested to read them all again (but I won't, because we all only have one life to live).
- I most definitely did not get under 27 minutes with a 5k. Unofficially, I got under 28 (27:28, I think?), but officially my personal record was 28:15. That's still almost 4 minutes faster than any 5k I have on record and 2 minutes faster than my unofficial best prior to 2017. So, I'll take it (and, perhaps, learn to set goals with a better balance of both ambitiousness and feasibility).
- I put a few work books under my belt, but nothing of particular note, and a few parenting ones, too (which tend to have surprisingly broad applications, the wifey and I have found). I especially loved The Danish Way of Parenting. As per usual, 15-20 pages in I wanted to be Danish, live in Denmark, and get my Hygge on all the time.
- I did earn my MBA, which is major win. Certainly not a journey of traditional means to get it, but ain't nobody got time for circles these days. Thankfully I'm not looking to impress anyone with it, so who cares (I mean, I do, a little, obviously, but only a little... that tiny portion of me that still lives and dies by UChicago's ranking on the US News and World Report scale every year). I managed to expand my understanding of the world and business and have found ways to apply bits and morsels to my work... so, wins all around.
- I failed miserably on the Spanish front. No sugar coating that one. I do speak it more fluently and often than I have since high school, but only certain phrases immediately relevant to raising kind and loving two year olds. Which simply does not count.
I'm hell bent on stronger alignment between my aspirations and lived values. Things like writing, drawing, painting, and seeking out new and useful skills are missing from my 2017. Life is short. 2017 made that abundantly clear on a global, national, and personal level. I'm working on my list of 2018 commitments this week. Naturally, it will be complete once filled with specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound goals - is there any other way?
Oh, and a sticker chart. If you can't indicate goal attainment with a sticker, you may as well not do it. #morewordstoliveby
First on that list? Write more. Two years ago the wifey thoughtfully gave me a book called 642 Things To Write About. If I'm claiming life is "too busy" to write (it's not, side note), taking away at least one barrier by having 642 days worth of prompts seems like a great first step. I've always thought it would be so much more fun to do high school over now that I fully grasp the weightlessness one should embrace at that time in life (and have been a teacher). I imagine that these 642 prompts will be akin to walking into my high school english class and writing in my daily journal... sounds absolutely riveting, right? Cheers to publicly re-writing the private reflections of my high school self. Kidding. I think.Happy New Year. Here's to a year full of showing our love, kindness, and gratitude for each other in actions and truth, not simply in words, written, or otherwise.