Mid-year Performance Review

In looking at my post from January, I see that I gave myself a score of 5.75 when I evaluated my performance on my 2008 New Year Resolutions. I am happy to report that in my mid-year review of my 2009 resolutions, I have a solid rating of 7.0! How’s that for moving in the right direction?

I do have two caveats in regards to my surprisingly high score. First, I drastically changed one of my resolutions early in the year, so my score was based on my modified goal, not the original one. Yes, I changed my mind about spending twenty minutes each day massaging my face as described in the book “Facelift at Your Fingertips”, and applying the weekly masks it recommended. I found the goal of slathering on sun screen in the morning and moisturizer in the evening, along with doing a few facial exercises I found on the web, to be much more manageable.

Second, my ratings focused more on my performance in the last few months rather than over the entire six month period. I think that’s pretty standard in the business world, so I decided to follow suit. It’s not like I made an extra effort to impress myself and get a more favorable review (that’s just a little too surreal, isn’t it?); I just seem to have more determination and will-power lately.

The area of greatest improvement was the one I failed at so miserably last year: refraining from nail-biting and skin-picking. Maybe the dentist’s warning that front teeth were starting to wear down gave me the extra motivation I needed. (He attributed this to my avoidance of chewing on my back teeth due to a gap in my bridgework, but I’m convinced that nail-biting is the real culprit). Now that I finally have healthy, attractive fingernails, I’m even more determined to keep them this way. But I do have this question: how do normal people trim down a nail that’s much longer than the others? OK, I realize they probably file them or maybe even use a small scissors, but I’ll admit I still do a little ‘trimming’ with my teeth now and then. It’s just so satisfying! But such trimming is now a rarity; mostly I clean and file my nails and moisturize the skin a couple times a day. I guess I’ve been a little obsessed with them lately, but I’m so happy to have kicked a decades-long habit!

My other major accomplishment for 2009 is that I finally hit the weight I said would be my final goal. It’s two pounds under the highest weight in the normal range for my height, and 18 pounds higher than the lowest weight. So technically I’m no longer overweight, though when I look at the lower half of my body, I know I could stand to lose another 10 to 15 pounds. But right now I’m just happy to be staying within 2 pounds up or down from my goal. If I stay at this weight for the rest of my life, I’ll be thrilled!

As for the rest of my resolutions, I was quite successful with some and a bit lacking in others. The lowest rating I gave myself was a ‘4’ in home exercise (I dance and bike but can’t seem to motivate myself to do crunches or lift weights); my highest score was again a ‘9’ for daily prayer. That’s probably the most important one anyway, and the activity I certainly enjoy the most.

In January I also defined two goals for myself which I’d hoped to achieve by the end of the year. I must say that I’m not any closer to discerning my charisms or discovering my passion now than I was at the start of the year. But these goals are really on the back burner as far as I’m concerned. I’m having a ball doing, for the most part, what I want to do, when I want to do it. My routine has a pretty good mix of hobbies (photography, dancing, blogging), household responsibilities (cooking, cleaning, maintenance), volunteering (at church and at a non-profit organization), spirituality (praying, journaling, worship) and socializing (meals and games with family, and friends). I’m no longer testing for the presence of certain charisms, nor am I taking any steps to determine how passionate I am about some of my favorite activities. Come December, I might look back on certain events and come to a different conclusion about my gifts, abilities and passions. But for now I’m just living my life, trying to do everything I do for the glory of God, and striving to be the best person I can be.