I'm not generally one for New Year's Resolutions. If there is something about your life you want to change or improve, why wait until the 31st of December? In my limited experience, most New Year's Resolutions end up in the same place as the empty champagne bottles: discarded.
Nonetheless, there may be some value in writing down a list of goals. The more I think about it, the goals are just another way of looking back on the previous year and saying "if I had the opportunity, this is what I would have done differently". And there might be something to writing down a lost of goals and posting it publicly. After all, there is nothing like the scrutiny of our friends and family to make us reconsider our life choices. In this theme I am borrowing fairly heavily from this guy, a writer I have been following for a little while now, and in particular this post. So in that spirit, here goes:
Fitness:
1) Qualify for the Boston Marathon
I don't actually plan on running the Boston Marathon, but I would like to make the cutoff. The last time I checked it was 3:10:00 for my age group. This represents a significant improvement on my first marathon time. Or to put it in other words, I would have qualified in Berlin if I was over 65.
2) Compete in an Olympic distance triathlon and not come last.
This one has potential. I've only ever done one triathlon, and I came dead last, but that was after some significant cramping, numerous green ant bites, and that bit near the end when I got lost. I think I could be reasonably competitive if I could just improve my swimming, which brings me to:
3) Spend some time in the pool.
I am reasonably fit (most of the time), but I really suck at swimming. This stems in part from a vague fear of drowning. Time to face that demon.
Professional:
1) Get a profession.
This one is kind of easy on paper. Basically, I don't want to be cooking for a living this time next year. I have actually laid some ground work here, but there remain some largish hoops to jump through. I keep dancing around it, but I really need to finish my Masters degree.
2) Get published.
I sort-of, in-a-way achieved this earlier this year, but I think I need to do better. Something peer-reviewed would be nice, but I would settle for an op-ed piece.
Personal:
1) Be a better partner.
Hanna is (at the risk of sounding corny) the centre of my little universe. We're taking a big step this year, what with getting married and all. I don't want to start taking this for granted.
2) Get a dog.
Easy. Life is better with a dog, but I guess the larger issue is that I need to be in a place where owning a dog is a realistic (and reasonable) idea.
That's about it. A mixture of easily quantifiable and harder to measure goals. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.
Nonetheless, there may be some value in writing down a list of goals. The more I think about it, the goals are just another way of looking back on the previous year and saying "if I had the opportunity, this is what I would have done differently". And there might be something to writing down a lost of goals and posting it publicly. After all, there is nothing like the scrutiny of our friends and family to make us reconsider our life choices. In this theme I am borrowing fairly heavily from this guy, a writer I have been following for a little while now, and in particular this post. So in that spirit, here goes:
Fitness:
1) Qualify for the Boston Marathon
I don't actually plan on running the Boston Marathon, but I would like to make the cutoff. The last time I checked it was 3:10:00 for my age group. This represents a significant improvement on my first marathon time. Or to put it in other words, I would have qualified in Berlin if I was over 65.
2) Compete in an Olympic distance triathlon and not come last.
This one has potential. I've only ever done one triathlon, and I came dead last, but that was after some significant cramping, numerous green ant bites, and that bit near the end when I got lost. I think I could be reasonably competitive if I could just improve my swimming, which brings me to:
3) Spend some time in the pool.
I am reasonably fit (most of the time), but I really suck at swimming. This stems in part from a vague fear of drowning. Time to face that demon.
Professional:
1) Get a profession.
This one is kind of easy on paper. Basically, I don't want to be cooking for a living this time next year. I have actually laid some ground work here, but there remain some largish hoops to jump through. I keep dancing around it, but I really need to finish my Masters degree.
2) Get published.
I sort-of, in-a-way achieved this earlier this year, but I think I need to do better. Something peer-reviewed would be nice, but I would settle for an op-ed piece.
Personal:
1) Be a better partner.
Hanna is (at the risk of sounding corny) the centre of my little universe. We're taking a big step this year, what with getting married and all. I don't want to start taking this for granted.
2) Get a dog.
Easy. Life is better with a dog, but I guess the larger issue is that I need to be in a place where owning a dog is a realistic (and reasonable) idea.
That's about it. A mixture of easily quantifiable and harder to measure goals. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.
1 comment:
2010 will be grand. Here's to achieving your goals ... and more importantly, here's to lists!
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