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.
Showing posts with label new year resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new year resolutions. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Welcoming the New Year
Yes, it’s a new year, and as usual I’ve made an impressive list of resolutions. Many of them are the same as last year …isn’t that true for everyone? I still have 16 objectives, but a few from last year dropped off, replaced with more ambitious aims.
I also went through and graded my performance on my 2008 resolutions. Guess I just can’t get out of the ‘performance review’ mode, even if I’m the one reviewing myself. The goal I did best at last year was to pray daily. I also did a pretty fair job of eating healthfully, exercising, and becoming a better driver (at least by following the rules more closely and avoiding traffic tickets). The resolution I did worst on was quitting my nail-biting. I know it’s absurd for a person my age to continue engaging in this nasty habit, but it’s such a part of me that I often do it unconsciously. In the past I’ve given it up for months at a time, but 2008 was not a banner year in this department. But I have hopes for 2009! I’m going to try a couple new strategies, so we’ll see how they work out.
Anyway, I rated myself on a scale from 1 – 10 on each resolution, with 10 being the best possible score. My average rating was 5.75 per resolution. I definitely got better reviews when I was in the business world. I guess I am one tough boss! Actually, that was one of my 2008 resolutions: not to be so hard on myself. I gave myself a 6 on that one.
As for 2009, I’ve defined two goals in addition to the 16 ways I plan to mold myself into a better person. I don’t call them resolutions because I don’t know that I can accomplish them through my own determination and steadfastness, but I will certainly work at them. The first is to discern my charisms and put them to use according to God’s will. The second is to discover my passion and spend more time pursuing it. Hopefully, these two goals are really one in the same.
When I first retired I made a lot of lists, cataloging the things I like to do, things I’m good at, and things that give me a sense of accomplishment. I thought that this would help me figure out how to fill my time and perhaps even decide on the perfect ‘retirement job’. I wanted to find my passion (the retirement books are big on living out your passion!), but I guess I’m not an especially passionate person, because nothing really jumped out at me.
Later, when I learned about charismatic discernment, I found that the three signs of a charism fit into these same categories. Doing the things I like to do equates to finding joy and peace from exercising a charism; the fact that I’m good at something would be reflected in recognition of my gift from others; and a sense of accomplishment would certainly come about if the results of my efforts were unusually effective and successful. So I was really trying to discern my charisms a year ago, before I even knew what they were all about.
Going back to my original lists, I see that there are some activities that show up in all three categories. One is cooking a really good meal. Easy enough, but I’m not sure I’d consider it a passion, much less a charism. Another is problem-solving. A good skill to be sure, but I really need a context for it. When I worked in IT there were plenty of opportunities for me to solve problems, and I did so on a daily basis. Now I find it rewarding to solve little puzzles through my various hobbies and volunteer experiences, but this is not a major part of my day. Hey, maybe I can apply my problem-solving skill to figuring out how it fits into my elusive charism and/or passion!
Of course, writing appeared on all three lists, too. But in looking back at what I’ve written over the years, (as well as my success in this pursuit, or lack thereof), I know I’m not as good a writer as I like to think I am. It’s too bad I can’t figure out how to use list-making in a constructive manner! I really enjoy doing it, I get a feeling of accomplishment when I cross things off a To Do List, and judging by the number of pages taken up with this endeavor, I’m pretty darned good at it! Then again, quantity does not equate to quality, as my creative writing efforts bear out.
Still, it’s good to have some goals for the coming year. I will mull them over some more while I finish making the soup I started from fish heads and vegetable-scrap stock. Sounds disgusting, but the end result is quite tasty! I do have a knack for cooking a good meal.
I also went through and graded my performance on my 2008 resolutions. Guess I just can’t get out of the ‘performance review’ mode, even if I’m the one reviewing myself. The goal I did best at last year was to pray daily. I also did a pretty fair job of eating healthfully, exercising, and becoming a better driver (at least by following the rules more closely and avoiding traffic tickets). The resolution I did worst on was quitting my nail-biting. I know it’s absurd for a person my age to continue engaging in this nasty habit, but it’s such a part of me that I often do it unconsciously. In the past I’ve given it up for months at a time, but 2008 was not a banner year in this department. But I have hopes for 2009! I’m going to try a couple new strategies, so we’ll see how they work out.
Anyway, I rated myself on a scale from 1 – 10 on each resolution, with 10 being the best possible score. My average rating was 5.75 per resolution. I definitely got better reviews when I was in the business world. I guess I am one tough boss! Actually, that was one of my 2008 resolutions: not to be so hard on myself. I gave myself a 6 on that one.
As for 2009, I’ve defined two goals in addition to the 16 ways I plan to mold myself into a better person. I don’t call them resolutions because I don’t know that I can accomplish them through my own determination and steadfastness, but I will certainly work at them. The first is to discern my charisms and put them to use according to God’s will. The second is to discover my passion and spend more time pursuing it. Hopefully, these two goals are really one in the same.
When I first retired I made a lot of lists, cataloging the things I like to do, things I’m good at, and things that give me a sense of accomplishment. I thought that this would help me figure out how to fill my time and perhaps even decide on the perfect ‘retirement job’. I wanted to find my passion (the retirement books are big on living out your passion!), but I guess I’m not an especially passionate person, because nothing really jumped out at me.
Later, when I learned about charismatic discernment, I found that the three signs of a charism fit into these same categories. Doing the things I like to do equates to finding joy and peace from exercising a charism; the fact that I’m good at something would be reflected in recognition of my gift from others; and a sense of accomplishment would certainly come about if the results of my efforts were unusually effective and successful. So I was really trying to discern my charisms a year ago, before I even knew what they were all about.
Going back to my original lists, I see that there are some activities that show up in all three categories. One is cooking a really good meal. Easy enough, but I’m not sure I’d consider it a passion, much less a charism. Another is problem-solving. A good skill to be sure, but I really need a context for it. When I worked in IT there were plenty of opportunities for me to solve problems, and I did so on a daily basis. Now I find it rewarding to solve little puzzles through my various hobbies and volunteer experiences, but this is not a major part of my day. Hey, maybe I can apply my problem-solving skill to figuring out how it fits into my elusive charism and/or passion!
Of course, writing appeared on all three lists, too. But in looking back at what I’ve written over the years, (as well as my success in this pursuit, or lack thereof), I know I’m not as good a writer as I like to think I am. It’s too bad I can’t figure out how to use list-making in a constructive manner! I really enjoy doing it, I get a feeling of accomplishment when I cross things off a To Do List, and judging by the number of pages taken up with this endeavor, I’m pretty darned good at it! Then again, quantity does not equate to quality, as my creative writing efforts bear out.
Still, it’s good to have some goals for the coming year. I will mull them over some more while I finish making the soup I started from fish heads and vegetable-scrap stock. Sounds disgusting, but the end result is quite tasty! I do have a knack for cooking a good meal.
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