Tuesday, January 04, 2011

New Year's Commitment to Self

As I may have mentioned in the past, I am not a big New Year's Resolution person. It doesn't take a genius to look at gym memberships and compare them to attendance rates to see that the real dedication to whatever resolution was made only lasts about a week...maybe a month if the person is really dedicated. I don't like professing to do something that I know is only an I-hope-it-will happen moment (as if our outcomes can become reality solely on desire).

The world of "outcomes" has taught me that we want to prove we are successful. People want to see good outcomes. Personally, I'm more of the mindset, "It's better to have tried and failed than to never try at all," but that doesn't always work in a society motivated by outcomes. And, I suppose, we do want to ensure what we're working toward gets accomplished.

So, here are my goals for 2011 that I know I can achieve:

  • Do laundry weekly
  • Drink coffee every morning
  • Take at least 2 weeks of vacation
  • Go to work on a daily basis (unless I'm sick or on vacation)
  • Do everything in my power to make education better for children
  • Educate about multiculturalism
  • Push the envelope about people in disadvantaged situations
  • Learn everything I can about cultures other than my own
  • Exercise 5-6 times/week
  • Challenge myself to learn more about the other person's views
  • Carpe diem
  • Do something new

However, there are a few things that I would like to try and fail at than never try. So here are my more ambitious goals:

  • Do things immediately (instead of procrastinating) in order to stay on top of things better (i.e. return phone calls, answer/file emails, etc.)
  • Take on new challenges
  • Connect more with the community
  • Accept compliments
  • Digitize, label, and group all old pictures
  • Organize and label the videos on my computer
  • Get started on a book
  • Learn about the political candidates before election day and vote at every election (not just the major ones)
  • Improve my Spanish
  • Become really good at my kung fu forms
  • Write more (blogs, journaling, book, etc.)

So now, I'm off to accomplish item #1 on the ambitious goals list before I get behind.

3 comments:

Karen said...

Great and fun post. Yesterday at the gym where I take water aerobics, someone sharing the locker area with me commented that the parking lot was crowded. "New Year's Resolutions -- it's the Resolutionists ", she told me. Love it.

I don't make them either, but I do at least need to get back to three water classes a week instead of the one a week I've done during the holidays! That's about it for me. Pretty unambitious overall, but realistic. It's the old 'something's better than nothing' theory.

Love your lists.

Janet Morrison-Lane said...

I say having a goal of three water classes is manageable and doable. Who needs more than one resolution anyway?? :)

Karen said...

It would have been more clever if I'd used the right word that the lady in the fitness center locker room used... "Resolutionaries." Makes a little more sense!