Monday, December 14, 2009

2009 Goal Check In

1. Meditate It took me a while to get into the groove this year, but I think I'm starting a good habit in the past month. I recently picked up a book called "8 Minute Meditation" and decided to give it a shot. So now each evening before bed I take 8 minutes to surround myself with quiet and calmness. The guided lessons are easy to follow and very straightforward. So often when you read a book about meditation it's about some huge higher-power, transcending experience type of thing. But Victor Davich's approach is simple. Just sit quietly for 8 minutes and "allow, allow, allow" whatever comes through your mind - recognize it, then release it - and let thoughts float by like clouds. I'm glad I found this book. It has helped me find an easy and manageable way to fit meditation into my day. 


2. Declutter I think this is one of those goals that are more like "life long" rather than something to accomplish in just one year. I've donated a TON of stuff to charity, sorted through a lot of paperwork that just needed to be trashed and tried hard to downsize as much as possible. But there's still a long way to go. 


3. Buy less stuff This is probably the one goal where I've failed miserably. I've bought a lot of high-ticket things this year (new cell phone, new freezer, new netbook, new desktop computer, new GoWearFit). And let's not even mention how much I've spent on textbooks and school supplies! But there's an area that I feel needs some serious attention and it's something to laugh about. I find that I over-buy at the grocery story. My pantry is full and overflowing. My upright freezer is nearly full too. My cupboards are full. It's not that I eat all the food I buy, I just seem to enjoy buying it. So it's something I need to examine more closely and figure out if there's an issue I need to deal with on an emotional level.  


4. Take more photos I have! And since I've taken more photos, I feel that my skill as a photographer has improved. Being a part of a photo club certainly helps. But also in the process of taking more photos this past year -- in particular the ones where I'm paid to do so or doing some type of formal photo shoot -- I have to decide if I'm going to limit what I shoot. I know I don't want to shoot weddings anymore - too much pressure to be perfect and a huge amount of work (16+ hour days). And when I've done photo shoots for people (ie: senior pictures) it just takes me a long time to find the time to edit and finalize the files - so then I feel pressured to get the work done. So for now, while my time is precious and short, I'm going to avoid doing shoots for other people where obligation comes into play with post-processing. 


5. Go to school Oh boy am I going to school! And it's kicking my butt! The Winter quarter is going to be a true test of my endurance though. In the past I've done 2 classes per quarter and often one of them was an online course. But for Winter I've got 3 classes and all of them on the campus that's 90 minutes away from home -- so class gets out at 9:45 p.m. putting me home around 11:15 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. But if I can survive this type of schedule and continue doing it for the following 3 quarters, I'll be done (or nearly done) this time next year. I'm glad to be accomplishing this goal, but it is a LOT of work! 


6. Knit this afghan I bought the yarn. It's really pretty yarn too. I love the colors. LOL! But no, I haven't finished it. I started it a couple times, but I realize I actually need help with this project. Either I need to find another knitter to help me along or I need to take this to a yarn store and get involved in a knitting group that can guide me. It's a good afghan to knit as a beginner because it forces me to learn how to read a pattern and do different stitch variations .... but I think it's still beyond my extreme novice abilities. It's still on the list of goals and I have a picture of the afghan hanging on my fridge... so I'm definitely going to finish it. One Day. 


 7. Spend more time with friends So this one I had to think about. Because of my school schedule my social schedule has had to take a backseat. I'm not able to attend all of the WLS support groups so I've been missing seeing those friends. And I haven't had many chances to get together with the Women's Dinner Club group although I'll see them this week. I try hard not to miss my Photography Club meetings, but come Winter Quarter at school, I'll not be able to attend those either. However, my own support group (the one I lead) I've been able to hang out with those gals a bit more than normal lately. We've done a couple field trips and this summer we did some 5K races together. I've been out to dinner with some of the gals regularly too. So all in all I think my social schedule has stayed about the same -- less quantity but more quality. 


8. Renew love of scrapbooking I tried. I really did. When I create a project and it's done I really enjoy it. But I seem to dread the idea of starting or even getting into the thick of the project while I'm doing it. So for now I'm going to let this goal fall by the wayside. My scrapbook studio room is still there and fully stocked with supplies -- and I'll work on small projects here and there. But for now I just don't have the desire to get back into the craft like I used to.




9. Continue Holistic Wellness Plan Goals Financial, Spiritual, Emotional, Vocational, Intellectual, Relationships, Character. These are the main goals of my Comprehensive Holistic Wellness Plan. Guess which one I'm focused most on? Intellectual goals are going well as I focus on school right now. And that goal should slide nicely into the vocational goal since the ultimate goal of going back to school is to change my career path. I did some major overhauling of my finances a couple years ago and feel that I'm in a very good place with money (well, winning the lottery would help, of course). I'm still not dating or have any prospects for a romantic relationship, so that one's still on hold. I'm always working on my emotional well-being and hopefully once I get some answers on this whole weight loss thing I can move forward a bit with that. I think this new meditation process is helping some with my spirituality simply because it's giving me to the time to listen to my soul and the thoughts in my head. Long ways to go on that front though. Overall I think the Wellness Plan is going well and it will always be with me as I work to make myself healthier, better and happier. Not that I'm not those things now... but we're working on the "er" part.

So for the past two years I've done a list of goals to work on for the year. 

 8 Goals for 2008 and 9 Goals for 2009. 

 But for 2010, I'm going to go a different direction. Right now I'm planning to (and this can change) do one of two things. Either set one goal to work on for the year or pick one word that will define my goals, actions and attitude for the year. Ali Edwards started the One Word idea a few years ago and I've tried it in the past -- the idea intrigues me and I'm kind of leaning in that direction. But I've got a few weeks to mull over the options and ideas yet... so I'll let you know what I decide. How'd you do with your goals for this year? 

~Pam

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