This blog will be my place to keep track of my personal development. Until now, it's been more of a rambling than anything. So, I plan to break it into segments for Reading, Listening, Learning, Loving, Working, Playing, Planning, and whatever else helps me develop personally.
Reading is obvious. It'll contain tidbits of what I've read.
Listening will be what I heard in Automobile University.
Learning will be what I learned during the day. You know when you think "I learned something new today."
Loving will be about family and friends.
Working will be what has happened in my free-lance and day jobs.
Playing will be my time relaxing, hopefully with friends.
Planning will be my hopes for the future.
Any of these categories can include God, family, friends, work, fun, and finances.
This year I hope to be more observant, more giving, more loving, more frugal, more spiritual, healthier, wealthier, and wiser.
Reading -- I have lots of things to read, so I will change my routine to include time for reading. This shouldn't be too difficult, at least for the next month.
I got several good books for Christmas, and I bought a couple to help with my resolutions. It's important that I have a good, comfortable place to read. My son fixed the TV in the workout room so I'll have something to watch while working out. I'm excited!
Listening -- I'm listening to a series with Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar that has been pretty inspiring. Zig talks about enrolling in automobile university where you listen to tapes and CDs while traveling, and I plan to do that. I have a friend who has gone through just about everything the library has on CD doing just that. One of the CDs was so interesting I brought it into the house and listened to it while I was cleaning house Friday. I've listened to these before in my office, but I don't get as much out of them with the distractions of having to work(!), so the car is a better choice. It's also easier to rewind if I want to hear something again. Thanks to my dear friend for lending these CDs to me.
Loving - I spent a couple hours Wednesday night writing thank you notes for the gifts I received for Christmas. Then I actually made a list of what I received. If you've ever done that, it's an eye opener. I found how truly blessed I am because of all the gifts bestowed upon me. The list includes 23 people! And some gave me more than one gift! I'm humbled and suddenly I don't feel like I deserve what I've been given, which, I guess, makes them gifts.
Playing -- I'm putting together a puzzle that will help build my skills of observation and attention to details. I have to pay attention to the colors as well as the shapes. Since it's a puzzle of a Monarch butterfly, there aren't a lot of colors. To put it together will be fun and frustrating. Once I’m finished putting it together, I have something to mount it to and glue to keep it together.
Planning -- For the past month, I've planned to be more observant. How does one begin to be more observant? What makes one more observant than another? Why does my son see things in detail when I don't even see the big things? Is it something you're born with, or is it something you can learn? I've really thought about that, and I came to the conclusion that it started with that admonitions to stop staring. Don't let him catch you staring. I realized that when I see something that's really interesting, I look away. Instead of checking out the details of something, I look away. Good looking guys, car accidents, interesting things - if it involves a person, I look away. There has to be a healthy medium between staring and looking away. I hope to be able to develop that in the year to come. I've started by trying to notice more details when I'm reading.
When I was a child, my mom used to say that whatever you do on New Year's Day, you'll do the rest of the year. I really don't know if that's true, but to make sure, I NEVER cleaned house on New Year's Day. I think this year, I'm even going to do that differently. To tell you the truth, I'm tired of being in a messy house. My house is so messy because I'm so tired when I get home, and with the free-lance work I do, I'm stuck at my computer all evening for several nights in a row. Then before I know it, the house is overwhelmingly messy.
Planning -- I put together a vision board every year to help me focus and decide on my goals. While looking for images for my 2011 vision board, I found some really interesting articles in the magazines I was searching through. I found something about changing careers or preparing for retirement, gardening, Social Security, and saving money.
Health -- My walking buddy and I plan to walk as often as possible. We started last Thursday by walking one mile after work. It wasn't as much as we used to do, but we've been off track for at least a month, and anything is better than nothing. I've actually walked more. I walked to another building and back Monday (about a mile, I think), .7 mi after work Tuesday, and in addition to the walk after work Thursday, I walked a small circle to weigh in and get lunch at the cafeteria.
My son starts working tomorrow (YEA!), and I can start doing what I want. I'll change where I sit in the living room to include a lamp that's easier to reach so I'll be able to read more spontaneously than now. I figure I'll be more active. I think I'll try to walk to the grocery store at least once a week. The library and Dollar Tree are both within walking distance. I'm actually pretty excited about this change in my life.
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