Last year, on my birthday, I created a list of 41 things I would try to do this year or continue to do. Friday was my birthday again so here is my assessment of how I did. Always the former consultant, I have color coded my status in a “stoplight” fashion as Good (green), Moderate (yellow) or Poor (red).
Here is the list and my statuses:
1. Judge less and be more accepting – Moderate – tried hard on this one…but it is a tough bad habit to kick. Any advice?
2. Try something new every month (ideas welcome) – Pretty good! I went to a salt cave, a flotation tank, some new exercise classes, ran up Mount Washington, went to Nicaragua, worked at a marathon expo (well two), I raced a few new distances, tried MANY new products…
3. Focus on what I want in my life not what I don’t want. I think I did well at this one!
4. Learn one recipe that I can bake and not be embarrassed to serve – No progress here.
5. Cook once a week for me and Neal- a whole meal from scratch – FAIL. I have barely cooked any meals for us all year. Sheesh. I stink. (I did make lots of simple breakfasts and lunches for myself.)
6. Run a trail 1/2 or full marathon – Completed! I came in 3rd (W), too! – North Country Trail Half Marathon
7. Get a personal record at any distance in running – TWO – Mount Washington Road Race 7.6 miles up a mountain and Title 9K and a duathlon, too! All new distances/races.
8. Create a better charitable giving plan – No progress here but still giving which is good.
9. Show gratitude and be kind(er) – Pretty good and still working on it!
10. Plan for success not worst case scenario – Doing a lot better on this!
11. Stop worrying about things I can’t control (or at least worry less about things I cannot control!) – Doing a lot better on this!
12. Be a better colleague and help my team be more successful – DNF – I moved to a contract role. Looking for something new now.
13. Learn to enjoy swimming for exercise (any help or ideas welcome) – No progress here.
14. Say no (more often) to doing things because I feel obligated to- I really improved in this.
15. Provide new learning opportunities for the students I work with at allstars project – I participated in more sessions and workshops and provided resume and interviewing help to many students.
16. Start with yes more than no – I definitely improved on this.
17. Practice empathy – I definitely improved on this.
18. Be a better listener – Working on it! I can still do better. Any tips?
19. Share what I know and learn new things – Doing pretty well on this
20. Eat more slowly and enjoy my food more – Still not slow, but getting better at being mindful.
21. Eat more whole foods- less from boxes and jars – Did really well in the back half of the year at this.
23. Disconnect and take downtime every week – Not much progress on this… need to focus on this more.
24. Be less critical of myself and others – Doing somewhat better on this.
25. Stop comparing myself to others so much- Doing a little better on this – sometimes.
26. Be more spontaneous once in a while! No progress 🙁
27. Stop buying things just because they are on sale – Making a little progress but still not great.
28. Support local businesses- Good on food/not great on other stuff.
29. Help friends and colleagues to network – Did well on this one!
30. Drive Neal’s Porsche at least once (with supervision ;)) – Didn’t happen.
31. Improve focus and stop multi-tasking so much – Didn’t happen.
32. Really learn and practice meditation – No progress – I tried 21 DayMeditation from Deepak Chopra again and only got to day 3.
33. Knit more and teach Stacy to knit, too – I did a few things but did not teach Stacy or Jen :(.
34. Be better about being more green (and support businesses who are green) Making a little progress but not great – I did get a sodastream so I stopped buying seltzer bottles at home!
35. Stop wasting money, food, resources, time, energy (and keep giving things we don’t need to people who do need them!) – Made some progress here.
36. Continue to support awesome start ups and companies that give back! Did well on this!
37. Pursue professional interests more aligned with personal passions – Definitely doing well at this – see this post
38. Smile more, smirk less – Did pretty well on this!
39. Do a few things that scare me (which is not hard because I am a scaredy cat) – I did a few things! see this post
40. Tell people in my life that mean something to me how much they mean to me more often Did well on this!
41. Be grateful everyday for health, good fortune, Neal, my family, my friends and a very full life. Did pretty well on this!
Well more than 70% in the green (good) or yellow (moderate) but still some work to do and on the bright side less than 20% with no progress!
So for this year, I decided I will not make 42 new goals. I will keep working on the yellow and red ones and continue the positive momentum of the green ones. I will also try to be kinder to myself – I can be my own harshest critic. I also think this is a great goal for me:
On a positive note, I feel that I closed my 41st year a lot more positive and happy than my 40th. That is as good of a goal as any I can think of for 42, too!
It is good to look back and reflect on goals. Don’t you agree?
PS. There is still time to win in my Giving Tuesday Giveaway, my FB Page Skechers Giveaway, a December double stuff gift from Yumvelope (I won November!!) and my Betty Lou’s giveaway, too! And in my co-hosted TASSIMO Single Cup Brewer Giveaway, too!