2013 Goals Update

I never really got around to solidifying any of my goals for this year for some reason.

I recorded my running goals at the beginning of the year, but that's kind of cheating, as races and training take enough time to plan that most of that work and commitment was done long before the new year.

Last year, I hit 3 out of 5 of my resolutions, and along the way, I ran some great races (including the Fairbanks Equinox Marathon with Arvay -- such fun!), learned quite a bit of Mandarin, made new friends around Mandarin language and Chinese culture, and read some great books.  I feel that my goals treated me quite well last year.

This year, for the first month-plus, I checked out of any and all potential goals except running (and work, of course, constant work, the place where I always meet the goals/deadlines).

Things slowed down a bit this week and I realized, oh, crap, I need to formally record some goals for 2013.

So, in a very late gesture, I'm recording my 2013 goals/resolutions:

1.  Running:  I'm reaffirming my commitment to this year's running goals -- so long as I am healthy enough to run, I hope I set and keep at least one running goal each year.

2.  Health: I've been eating quite healthy, taking vitamins every day, and paying more attention to my stress levels .  I've also been doing *very* well on the sleep side of things, which I think is more important than I've realized.  So, I'd like to continue in this trend during the year, keep my red meat consumption relatively low, have lots of vegetarian meals, and do what I can to have low glycemic index meals.  I want to be sure to actually use all the classes on my current Bikram yoga card (8 to go by the first week in May).  And, oh, yes, of course I want to be sure to make time to have a great garden year -- all the effort required is good for my stress levels and health and all of the harvests result in good food!  

3.  Books: Given my current consumption, 12 audiobooks should be easy, so I'm just throwing it out there as something that I'll enjoy if I execute on it.  On the actual silent reading side of things, I'll set the goal at a pedestrian 24.  2 per month seems like something I should be able to manage even though I appear to prefer audiobooks over reading these days.

4. Language: Starting today, I'm committing to 1 mandarin lesson per day (Chinesepod, Pimsleur through Audible, whatever) 'til we depart.  This is the type of goal-setting that causes results.  I can control this one.  Actually, I've decided to try to complete 100 lessons between now and when we leave.  Yeah.  That's the A goal.  (Of course, Settling for the B goal of just one per day, would be totally consistent with my style. And while we're at it, let's admit that I'll most likely miss days in a row and then cram 5 lessons into one day once or twice a month to hit that B goal -- so it's not like I've got balance. Moving on...)

5. Travel: Planning and executing on the China Trip.  Historically, I wouldn't have considered this as a goal/resolution for which I deserved credit if it was actually accomplished.  My time is at a premium now (if anything ever functioned to remind you of your mortality it is this -- I used to think my time was free, valueless, without limit, and all of the economic logical requirements for a truly free resource.  And now, at the ripe old age of almost 40, I'm viscerally aware that this is not true.)  Something has changed, and I now want to give myself credit for taking all the time I need to plan this complex international travel and learning all I can about the culture and language.  I feel I should point to my travels as a goal I strive towards achieving, because, well, because I do.


6. Stay at home weekends: As I've mentioned, I have a goal of 26 weekends at home for 2013.  I'm on the fence about whether we count weekends where we stay in hotels in the bay area as travel or home.  So far we're at 4/8 completely at home and 1/8 with an overnight an hour away.