It is June 6th, so today I am 41 and a half. Six months ago to celebrate turning the not so exciting age of 41, I made a list of 41 things I would try to do this year or continue to do. It is now half way through the year, so I decided to check back and see how I was doing. 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 – working 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 have gone to a salt cave, a flotation tank, some new exercise classes… and I know there is more – what else?
3. Focus on what I want in my life not what I don’t want Pretty good! Really trying on 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 a thing in 6 months. Sheesh. I stink.
6. Run a trail 1/2 or full marathon – Planned for August – North Country Trail Half Marathon
7. Get a personal record at any distance in running – Came pretty close in the 4 mile distance, but will definitely get one in the Mount Washington Road Race 7.6 miles up a mountain on June 15.
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 – Working on it and changing my work to be more engaged in the work I do, too.
13. Learn to enjoy swimming for exercise (any help or ideas welcome) – No progress here, but Deb got me a lead on group lessons/swims! Thanks, Deb!
14. Say no (more often) to doing things because I feel obligated to- Doing a lot better on 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 – Doing a lot better on this!
17. Practice empathy – Doing pretty well on this one and continuing to try to put myself in others’ shoes.
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 – Not much progress on this… need to focus on this one. Be more mindful of eating!
21. Eat more whole foods- less from boxes and jars – Doing pretty well on this
22. Take the weekend trip to Rome we’ve been chatting about – No progress 🙁
23. Disconnect and take downtime every week – Not much progress on this… need to focus on this one, too.
24. Be less critical of myself and others – Doing a bit better on this
25. Stop comparing myself to others so much- Doing a bit better on this – sometimes. This is a tough one. I should add no more “fat talk”.
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 – Doing well on this one!
30. Drive Neal’s Porsche at least once (with supervision ;)) – No progress
31. Improve focus and stop multi-tasking so much – This one is getting worse, I fear.
32. Really learn and practice meditation – No progress – I tried 21 DayMeditation from Deepak Chopra and only got to day 6.
33. Knit more and teach Stacy to knit, too – Not much progress on this – one blanket 3/4 way done.
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!) – Making some progress here.
36. Continue to support awesome start ups and companies that give back! Doing pretty 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 – Doing 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 Doing pretty well on this!
41. Be grateful everyday for health, good fortune, Neal, my family, my friends and a very full life. Doing pretty well on this!
Well more than 50% in the green (good) or yellow (moderate) but still some work to do! Thanks for indulging me. I think one of the issues is trying to do to many things at once. Maybe I need to be younger or say that I am? 😉
How are you doing on your goals or positive changes this year? Any tips to share?