Thank you very much, YeamieWaffles, for pointing out the fact that I haven't really discussed my goal plans with the new followers I've gained. I've left you all a little lost.
If you'd like to read my former posts on the subject, you can find my first post, Becoming Great, or read up on the list on my page entitled 2013 Goals.
But if you'd just like a quick recap, I can spell it out pretty quick. Basically, I've tried to be a writer and consistent in a lot of activities throughout my life, and I've failed at all of it, over and over again. This time, I dedicated myself to building a base for accomplishing my dreams, and determined I wouldn't give up until I had everything I had ever wanted.
To that end, this year's goals are about building habits and skills that will help me reach my future goals and get my writing career on track at last.
Very admirable sentiment, right? But it wasn't solid enough to be a real plan. I needed something big and easily understood to come back to again and again when I wanted to see where I needed to go and what I wanted to accomplish.
So I created a list of 16 things I wanted to add to my life by the end of the year. They are:
- Exercise, stretch, meditate, and work on my writing every morning & every evening
- Journal, stick to a budget, & write a poem daily
- Blog daily
- Clean & organize environment
- Set diet (list healthy choices, count calories consumed & calories burned)
- Learn to cook healthy alternatives
- Sketch something daily
- Write daily (x amount of words daily on main project)
- Improve posture (Alexander technique)
- Learn Spanish
- Learn belly dancing
- Improve my Walmart work performance
- Start composting
- Study anatomy
- Learn chess
- Study classical literature
I've reached number 7 and become a little stunted in my growth at the moment. Which is no wonder, when you realize that I've started this life change only 3 months ago and have already tried to cram half the list into my life.
I think I might have overdone it.
But my premise is still effective. I believe I can slowly integrate great change by adding small changes over time. And each addition to my life has proven incredibly enriching. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed broadening my horizons. Of course, it's also a little scary.
But then, what's life without a little fear?
I'm so sorry for the poor quality of the video, but I can't afford a camera, and for my many mistakes. I hope I get better as I do this more.
Oh, and please excuse my general dishabille. It's been a long day.
For those of you who do NOT wish to watch the video, here's a quick overview of it:
This blog post is to address the fact that there are some things in life we should change about ourselves, i.e. the things we don't like, and then there are things we shouldn't change at all. And since I've spent so many of my blog posts discussing what I don't like about myself, I thought it'd be a nice change of pace to list the positive things I find in myself.
And today was a great example of that.
I went out with a friend today. She recently was injured at work, her head being smashed between two objects. Because of that, she lost her memory. That's right, I know someone with amnesia.
In a single swoop, this girl lost everything she had ever known. The very idea sends a chill down my spine. I can only imagine how much she's suffering right now.
When someone at work was bad-mouthing my friend the other day, I surprised myself by speaking up for her despite the fact that it meant confronting someone. I don't do confrontation, but in the case of defending my friend, I did it, anyway.
And that surprised me.
But not as much as my actions today surprised me. When a car was coming toward my friend while we were crossing the street today, I instinctively stepped in front of the car, blocking her from harm. And I angrily stared down the driver of the vehicle, daring them to try to get through me to hurt her.
Life had hurt this girl enough as it was. Enough was enough. If someone had to be hurt in that moment, it was going to be me. She was not going to have to suffer something else on top of all she's already going through.
That amazed me. I never thought of myself as the type of person who stands up for justice or righteousness. But I did it. Right then. When the moment came, I did it.
And I'm awe-struck by that fact.
Do you, too, have something about yourself that you actually like and find positive? If so, list it in the comments below and tell us all about it.
Two Announcements:
1.) I will be integrating my diet change and cooking healthier alternatives into my schedule beginning Thursday, April 11th.
2.) I will begin jogging 3 days a week from now on, eventually moving myself to a 5 days a week regimen.
Thank you so much for listening if you did, and for taking the time to read this, even if you didn't listen. Have a good one and don't forget to get out there and do something!
Daily Stats:
- Exercised, stretched, meditated, and worked on my writing twice today. Jogging day #1.
- Wrote in my journal, kept on budget, and wrote a poem today.
- Posted on my blog. Video blog post of week DONE.
- Made my bed and cleaned my car out.
Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.
-William Shakespeare
Or, in more modern terms, some people are MADE to be great. We can't all be born that way, and with my low achievement past, I'd say I wasn't. But that doesn't mean I can't ever be.
I can make myself into whoever and whatever I want to be. Which brings me to why I'm here, tonight, starting a new blog.
I want to change my life.
Who doesn't want to change a thing or two in their lives? And we all swear that someday, we're going to do it. We're going to pursue our dream profession; we're going to exercise more; we're going to eat better; we're going to work harder at our jobs. But we'll do all of those things tomorrow.
Well, my tomorrows have come and went and no change has been seen. I still haven't finished my books, I still haven't become a regular, steady blogger, I've never kept to an exercise schedule, and I've never believed that I even COULD stick to a diet regimen. My financial situation is nothing short of abysmal, and if I don't change something quick, it's only going to get worse. Not to mention, my messy house just seems to grow messier.
I've beat myself up over these lack of achievements for years, and still gotten no where.
But this is where I change all of that.
I'm going to take a stand, now, before my life has passed me by without my ever doing any of the things I've always dreamed of. And I'm sick of hating myself for not being "in control" or "disciplined" enough to make what I want happen.
But it isn't a lack of control. It isn't a lack of self-discipline. I have those things in spades, as I've proven time and again as I've turned down drugs, cigarettes, and gratuitous sex.
So, why do I have control on some things, but not in others? Well, I've trained myself in how to deal with those situations, I have the skills and personal motivation required to address them, I am friends with people who support my beliefs in those areas (even if they don't always share them), and I stay away from situations and things that would push me towards giving into temptation.
Unfortunately, I've done the opposite when it comes to my other goals.
So, to change, I'm learning new skills that apply to these goals, concentrating on my motivation whenever I am tempted, and surrounding myself by encouragement and an accommodating environment for change. And now I'm making myself socially accountable through this blog.
Here are my goals for this year (2013):
- Exercise, stretch, meditate, and work on my writing every morning & every evening
- Journal, stick to a budget, & write a poem daily
- Blog daily
- Clean & organize environment
- Set diet (list healthy choices, count calories consumed & calories burned)
- Learn to cook healthy alternatives
- Sketch something daily
- Write daily (x amount of words daily on main project)
- Improve posture (Alexander technique)
- Learn Spanish
- Learn belly dancing
- Improve my Walmart work performance
- Start composting
- Study anatomy
- Learn chess
- Study classical literature
I've already been at the first one for almost a month now. (will be at 4 weeks tomorrow, actually) without missing a day. And I've begun integrating the second, third, and fourth. I have to remind myself to start slowly, but those first four are so important that I can't feel right in putting them off very long.
Well, in case you haven't guessed yet, I'm starting this blog to catalog and encourage myself towards changing my life. And, in some part, I'm doing this with the hope that someone else out there who also wasn't born great will read this, and maybe be inspired to start achieving goals of their own. Who knows? Anything could happen, right?
That's what this is all about.
Daily stats:
- Exercised, stretched, meditated, and wrote both in the morning and night
- Wrote in my journal and began designing my budget for the coming 2 weeks.
- Blogged for the day.
- Cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, did laundry, and picked up in my room.
