Ok, here's the obligatory 2007/2008 post... First, thanks to the good folks in the bloop that have breathed a little life back in the group.
The holidays were good. I was able to insulate myself a bit from the overwhelming consumerist side of Christmas, so I was able to enjoy it more without the little devil on my shoulder whispering defeatist ideas into my ear.
I took a little over a week off from work and headed up to Oklahoma to hang with the folks for a couple of days and then we all drove up to Branson to spend a few days with my half-brother and his family.
It was good and I enjoyed myself a little more than I thought I would. (having to interact with a dozen people 24/7 for 3 days is very tough mentally for me)
Unfortunately, because of the weather, I didn't get to see hardly any of you good folks. Damn shame. I'll make up for it this year somehow.
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Not surprisingly, 2007 didn't end the way I had planned it to. That's both good and bad.
The last half of 2007 brought some real, significant changes to how I look at the world. I slowly started to realize the full extent of how I'm not actively involved in my own life. I started to consciously notice how much I had let the day-to-day mundane activities had taken-over. And I noticed how my job had changed from something I enjoyed to just being another player in the rat-race. Things had to change.
Halfway through the year, by most people's measurements, I had it made in my career. I was the supervisor of an international team of developers. I had been tapped by my boss to take his job when he moves up this year.
But I was miserable. Fucking miserable. I'm sure you remember some of the posts. So I took a leap and told my boss to demote me. Rather than chance loosing me (his words), he literally invented a new position for me. It's my dream job.
Now I enjoy work more than ever before. I get to work on things I think are important. And I finally have more balance between work and non-work. (I know all of you have heard this before, but it's part of the narrative here...)
I've made some real changes in other areas as well, but I'll save those stories for later. I'll just leave it to say that I'm starting to get a taste for living my life on my own terms and it's the best I've felt in years.
So now comes for the time to talk about resolutions for the year. But I'm changing it up a bit this time. Rather than producing a laundry-list of giant goals that I have to stare at taunting me from the refrigerator door, I'm trying something that should make things more manageable.
Rather than looking at the whole year--which is too long of a time for me to plan goals for--I'm planning by week. 52 chances to set goals. If I don't get to one, no big deal--I've got 51 more chances to do better.
I'm planning to share most of these as they go. I've got the first few goals roughly sketched-out and I'll go into them soon. But the recurring theme for the first of the year is "simplify". It's time to take those things that take up my valuable time and either eliminate them or find another way to do them.
4 comments:
"52 Chances to Set Goals" sounds like a book. Or a calendar. Maybe you should sell it. :)
Good post and good for you.
You know, it's a been a while since I've seen you. I'm pretty sure that's not you in the picture, but not 100%. ;-)
Good luck with the resolutions. (and the quote "luck favors the prepared," comes to mind).
Yeah, it's not me. But I thought it was a good visual reminder of the "simplify" theme.
That is a very cool idea! Good luck and happy new year!
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