The popular slogan, "Fake it until you make it," tries to convey the idea that simply by trying to do something and trying to have the right frame of mine, eventually a person will reach the point where it becomes easy and feels natural. According to such a mindset, copying external behaviors and mannierisms leads to genuine change of personality, given enough time. My own conception of making personal progress is a bit different, however. In the well-known quote from Star Wars, Yoda offers the sage advice, "Do or do not, there is no try." The mindset conveyed by Yoda in that quote is simply this:
Action is what defines you.
Regardless of what goes on in your mind, and what perspectives you think you have, the simple fact of the matter is that who are you is created, expressed and perceived on the basis of what you do. When you take an action, it directly impacts reality; how you perceive yourself, how others perceive you and what results you reap are directly tied into the actions you take. Actions come in many forms. Whether physically doing things, creating things, going places, speaking to others or even speaking to yourself, all these things impact reality.
When you adopt this mentality you realize that there is no such thing as "faking it." There are only actions that you have taken and actions that you haven't taken. Whenever you're confronted with a new situation, the right question to ask is, "How do I want to act, in this situation?" Whatever attitudes you choose to adopt and actions you choose to take are very real and can impact life profoundly. The only limitation at that point is the mental array of options that you offer yourself. The more various possible actions that you are aware of, the greater the flexibility of choice you have.
The secret to acting well is to have a wide mental array of options and a decent grasp of the possible outcomes of each action. Having an expanded palette of options and an ability to predict outcomes is the result of life experience. The more various things you've considered and tried in the past, the more possibilities you will have in the present. Similarly, in order to adopt a specific persona, it does not much matter what type of things you've done before or how you've thought about situations in the past. All you need to do to be able to adopt a new persona is to have a clear idea about how such a person would think about things, what such a person would say to people, how such a person would carry himself, and what sorts of things such a person would do.
Adopting a new persona, then, is as simple as understanding the mindset and external manifestation of such a persona and acting in accordance with that understanding. At you first you find yourself asking, "How would a confident person handle this situation?" or "What would a wealthy person do in this situation?" or "How would an empathetic person connect with this individual?" The more you act in accordance with your new persona, the sooner you find yourself simply asking, "How should I handle this situation?" or "Given that I have plenty of money, what do I want to do in this situation?" or "How can I best emotionally connect with this individual?"
Since actions define your essence, there is no such thing as faking it. The only difference is how much you have internalized a given persona. The more you are used to thinking about things a certain way and acting a certain way, the more you truly believe that you are a certain sort of person. The change in mentality and the change in actions occur simultaneously, and they are inseparable. Insofar as one acts differently, there is genuine change. Insofar as actions remain the same, it matters not how much one thinks that they think differently. The key to inner change is simply to know who you want to be and then to be that person. You are not bound by who you have been in the past or what you have done before. Be the person you want to be and act the way you want to act. There is no way to fake it.
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
The Five Goals of Education
In developing my own paradigm on the ideal methods of education, my attention has turned to the purpose and goals of education. What about education is valuable? Why do we desire to educate children at all? The purpose of education is simply this: education is the means by which a person is taught the things they need to know to live life well. Any form of learning that better equips a person for practical life is of worth. Those methods of learning that best prepare a person for practical life are the most worthwhile. In order to achieve that end, it seems that there are five different goals that a complete educational program must seek to achieve. These goals are presented in order of priority. Though there is unavoidably some overlap between each of the goals, the ones presented first are the most important and the ones presented last are the least vital (though still quite indispensible).
1. Moral and Spiritual Indoctrination
In order to live life well, it is unavoidable that one must define what is meant by living life well. Without a philosophical framework that serves as the foundation of a person's worldview, whatever knowledge is gleaned exists in a decontextualized form. Decontextualized knowledge is useless for providing meaningful direction in life. Therefore, before any knowledge is useful, a person must be instilled with a sound moral, metaphysical and epistemological foundation, upon which all further learning will be supported. Apart from sound morals and a unified life purpose, a nation cannot thrive or, in many cases, even survive for a prolonged period. Apart from individuals being properly educated in the ways of Godly morality and a Godly vision for life, no society can hold common sound morals and a unified life purpose. The first goal of education, then, must be to properly indoctrinate young minds so that they understand their duties in society within the context of Biblical teaching.
2. Complex Communication
In order to properly interact with people, to understand ideas and be able to effectively communicate, it is necessary that education equip a person with the skills needed to engage in complex communication. The ability to comprehend that which is conveyed through speech, imagery and written word is an indispensible part of this. Well-developed verbal skills are essential for being able to learn, being able to communicate with others, being able to relate to others, being able to function and excel in the modern economy and being able to clearly and concisely articulate one's opinions on a given matter. The ability to communicate at a high level necessitates not only sound verbal skills, but also the ability to process and interpret non-verbal information, especially since in-person communication primarily consists of non-verbal information such as unspoken context, body language, facial expression and tonality.
3. Expert Thinking
Another crucial skill that enables people to live life well is the skill of expert thinking. The ability to cognitively process a variety of problems and challenges and figure out practical solutions is a necessary skill for handling the dynamic array of challenges of which life consists. While some problems may be routine and can easily be solved by applying simple heurisitics, people are often faced with challenges and tasks unlike anything previously dealt with. A person's problem-solving skills are dependent both on their possession of applicable knowledge and on their ability to utilize expert thinking to determine the best way to apply such knowledge. For this reason, it is vital that education teach a person how to mentally approach challenges and figure them out. It is not enough to simply know a few answers, instead it is vital that a person be able to think outside the box and figure things out for themself. Expert thinking is extremely helpful both in the job market and in day-to-day living.
4. General Body of Knowledge
Typically, this is regarded as one of the main goals of education. While it isn't the most crucial goal, there is no doubt that having a broad knowledge of various topics is quite practically useful. Generalized knowledge is extremely useful whenever one encounters a new piece of information. With a sound mental framework for contextualizing new information, it can easily be processed and added to one's long-term memory bank. The broader one's knowledge of any given subject, the more easily new information can be considered, processed and mentally filed. For this reason, once one has well-developed communication skills and cognitive thinking skills, it is quite useful to develop a large breadth of knowledge, with at least a little bit of familiarly with each subject that is encountered in daily life.
5. Specialized Body of Knowledge
While possessing a sound foundation of general knowledge is quite useful, it is also essential for a person to possess at least one specialized body of knowledge, with a greater depth of understanding and familiarity of that subject. Having a large quantity of specialized information in a field highly demanded by the modern economy will ensure that good jobs are relatively easy to acquire and simple to retain. Specialized knowledge is also something that is naturally developed related to a person's hobbies or personal interests. The more effort that is put into learning about any specific topic or pursuit, the broader one's knowledge of the topic and the greater one's mastery of that topic will be. One of the goals of education is to prepare a person for life by helping them develop sufficient mastery over fields that are applicable to their life.
Before considering the best and more useful methods and means of providing education, it is necessary to consider these five goals of education, and how each aligns with the overall purpose of education.
1. Moral and Spiritual Indoctrination
In order to live life well, it is unavoidable that one must define what is meant by living life well. Without a philosophical framework that serves as the foundation of a person's worldview, whatever knowledge is gleaned exists in a decontextualized form. Decontextualized knowledge is useless for providing meaningful direction in life. Therefore, before any knowledge is useful, a person must be instilled with a sound moral, metaphysical and epistemological foundation, upon which all further learning will be supported. Apart from sound morals and a unified life purpose, a nation cannot thrive or, in many cases, even survive for a prolonged period. Apart from individuals being properly educated in the ways of Godly morality and a Godly vision for life, no society can hold common sound morals and a unified life purpose. The first goal of education, then, must be to properly indoctrinate young minds so that they understand their duties in society within the context of Biblical teaching.
2. Complex Communication
In order to properly interact with people, to understand ideas and be able to effectively communicate, it is necessary that education equip a person with the skills needed to engage in complex communication. The ability to comprehend that which is conveyed through speech, imagery and written word is an indispensible part of this. Well-developed verbal skills are essential for being able to learn, being able to communicate with others, being able to relate to others, being able to function and excel in the modern economy and being able to clearly and concisely articulate one's opinions on a given matter. The ability to communicate at a high level necessitates not only sound verbal skills, but also the ability to process and interpret non-verbal information, especially since in-person communication primarily consists of non-verbal information such as unspoken context, body language, facial expression and tonality.
3. Expert Thinking
Another crucial skill that enables people to live life well is the skill of expert thinking. The ability to cognitively process a variety of problems and challenges and figure out practical solutions is a necessary skill for handling the dynamic array of challenges of which life consists. While some problems may be routine and can easily be solved by applying simple heurisitics, people are often faced with challenges and tasks unlike anything previously dealt with. A person's problem-solving skills are dependent both on their possession of applicable knowledge and on their ability to utilize expert thinking to determine the best way to apply such knowledge. For this reason, it is vital that education teach a person how to mentally approach challenges and figure them out. It is not enough to simply know a few answers, instead it is vital that a person be able to think outside the box and figure things out for themself. Expert thinking is extremely helpful both in the job market and in day-to-day living.
4. General Body of Knowledge
Typically, this is regarded as one of the main goals of education. While it isn't the most crucial goal, there is no doubt that having a broad knowledge of various topics is quite practically useful. Generalized knowledge is extremely useful whenever one encounters a new piece of information. With a sound mental framework for contextualizing new information, it can easily be processed and added to one's long-term memory bank. The broader one's knowledge of any given subject, the more easily new information can be considered, processed and mentally filed. For this reason, once one has well-developed communication skills and cognitive thinking skills, it is quite useful to develop a large breadth of knowledge, with at least a little bit of familiarly with each subject that is encountered in daily life.
5. Specialized Body of Knowledge
While possessing a sound foundation of general knowledge is quite useful, it is also essential for a person to possess at least one specialized body of knowledge, with a greater depth of understanding and familiarity of that subject. Having a large quantity of specialized information in a field highly demanded by the modern economy will ensure that good jobs are relatively easy to acquire and simple to retain. Specialized knowledge is also something that is naturally developed related to a person's hobbies or personal interests. The more effort that is put into learning about any specific topic or pursuit, the broader one's knowledge of the topic and the greater one's mastery of that topic will be. One of the goals of education is to prepare a person for life by helping them develop sufficient mastery over fields that are applicable to their life.
Before considering the best and more useful methods and means of providing education, it is necessary to consider these five goals of education, and how each aligns with the overall purpose of education.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Year-End Resolution Review - 2009
I always find that I make the most progress in my life when I set clearly delineated goals for myself. As such, at the beginning of this year, I decided to set a lot of goals for myself. In July, I took at a look at all my goals and identified how much progress I had made on each. Here was my mid-year summary:
Here is my final update on all twelve resolutions:
1 - Listen to the entire New Testament
This goal was completed during the first 40 days of the year.
2 - Read at least 15 new books
Reading is something that I tend to do in bursts. Often I'll race through several books and then not read much for a month. During the first six months of this year I read: Better Off, How to Get a Date Worth Keeping, The Case for a Creator, The Broker, Digital Fortress, Sway: The Irresitable Pull of Irrationl Thinking, The Appeal, The Power of Positive Thinking, and The 4-Hour Workweek. During the second half of the year I read: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Mystery Method, Amusing Ourselves to Death, The God Who Is There, and The Paradox of Choice: Why Less Is More. Also, I re-read Orthodoxy, Out of the Silent Planet, Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality, Stick To Drawing Comics, Monkey Brains and He Is There and He Is Not Silent. That's a grand total of 17 new books read and 5 old books re-read.
3 - Deepen at least two close friendships
This goal has been slightly trickier than I originally expected, and I have made some interesting discoveries regarding friendships this year. I will probably write a blog about some of my thoughts on relationships in general and friendships in particular during the next month. Concerning my goal, I can definitely say that I have significantly deepened my friendship with my best friend, whom I love dearly, and with my sister, who is a thoroughly enjoyable person to be around. My life is much richer and fuller because of both friendships. Having my best friend gone for the first six months of the year definitely helped me realize how much difference it makes not just to have friends, but to have close friends who are present. Being able to go on spontaneous adventures, talk through various thoughts and dilemmas and having someone who you can completely be yourself around is a blessing of the highest order. Close friendships are of much more practical value than ordinary friendships, by several orders of magnitude.
4 - Connect with at least one person every day
As a naturally social person, this goal has been quite easy to complete. This year I have expanded my social circle significantly. I have made a lot of new friends, met a lot of interesting people, had a lot of fun adventures, and gone on a good number of dates. Mission accomplished!
5 - Exercise at least 2 times per week (except when sick)
Catching colds this month and last month definitely threw a bit of a monkey wrench in my exercise schedule. For most of the year I've been pretty consistent about exercising, although I also think that this goal is probably one that I haven't met as solidly as I could have. Though I didn't play quite as much tennis and basketball as I wanted to, I hit the gym a bit more than I expected. My arm strength, leg strength and endurance have improved by a small margin, and my abs are much stronger and more toned than they were earlier in the year. Also, I've increased my pull-up capacity somewhat. I really miss running, though...
6 - Record at least 12 music tracks
This year was an interesting year musically. During the late spring and early summer, some friends and I formed a jazz band and played a few shows. It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the cohesiveness of the group. I have live recordings of twelve different charts that we played. Six of them are up on my website: F Minor Blues Jam, Anthropology, Cantaloupe Island, Chameleon, Bulletproof, and Girl From Ipanema. Anthropology is one of the charts that I'm the most proud of. Sadly (for us, not for him), our amazing trumpet player has moved to Texas, since he now plays for the Air Force Band, which is pretty much a musician's dream job. Apart from playing bass in the jazz band, I've done several complete pieces of music myself. I recorded remixes for two small music competitions and placed first in both of them. Also, I wrote and recorded three original compositions, one of which (Digit Game) was featured on Nevar Say Die, Volume 3 and will also be featured on my upcoming album, which should be finished sometime in the next two months. On top of all that, I am presently recording another remix for Dwelling of Duels, which typically gets between 30-50 entries in December's competition. Rather than going with my usual progressive metal/rock sort of sound, I'm throwing together a really smooth piece centering around bass and keyboards. All in all, that constitutes 18 new tracks of music recorded this year. This resolution is an unqualified success!
7 - Play bass in a band or orchestra (minimum 4 performances)
Though I didn't play a lot of shows this year, the ones that I did play were thoroughly enjoyable. I played bass with our jazz band in three different shows, and I played bass with a worship band twice. Also, I played guitar three times this year, which was a bit unexpected; twice was with the same worship band that I played bass for, and once was at a small Christmas dinner party. This next year I will probably be playing a lot more. Though the jazz band pretty much fell apart since our trumpet player left, we have reformed as a pop band with my best friend as the singer. Also, another worship leader at a nearby church is looking for a regular bass player and wants me to come play with them once or twice sometime in the next month, to see if we click musically. This next year should have plenty of musical opportunities for me. I'm excited!
8 - Graduate from college
In the spring I finally completed the last class that I needed to earn my degree. Now I have graduated from college with a BA in Humanities (emphases in music, literature and philosophy) from Thomas Edison State College. In the next month or so I will post a blog on the most important things I learned from earning a college degree.
9 - Move out of my parents' house
This one was accomplished immediately upon starting the year. I've now been living on my own for nearly a full year. It's been a very satisfying experience.
10 - Get rid of extraneous possessions
When I moved to my apartment in January, I pared down my possessions significantly and got rid of numerous extraneous things that I did not need.
11 - Establish and maintain a consistent bedtime and daily schedule
This resolution was abandoned halfway through the year. Arbitrary restrictions are things that I need less of. Someday it might be useful to change my schedule, but presently it's working quite well to be partially nocturnal.
12 - Keep a progress/goals journal and write in it weekly
This resolution was abandoned halfway through the year. I have no regrets about discarding such a timesink.
Summary:
Now that the year is finished, I am quite proud of myself. I completed ten resolutions and abandoned two of them. Of the ten that I completed, only one of them was slightly below satisfactory, while three of my goals were surpassed by a sizable amount. While twelve goals initially seemed like a bit of a challenge, most of them happened fairly automatically, which means that the goals I set were attainable, measurable and fairly well aligned with the ways I wanted to grow personally this year. While continually sharpening the saw is a valuable thing, for my next year's resolutions I am thinking of setting only four goals total, two major ones and two minor ones. But, I still have 48 hours before I have to decide--which is more than enough time!
To date, I have completed 3 resolutions, abandoned 2 goals, and am on track for completing the other 7 resolutions. The only one that I am technically behind on is number 7, which would be very easy to finish with a tiny bit of focused effort. Overall, I think that, with the exception of the abandoned 2 goals, all of the resolutions I set are very achievable, easily measurable, and well-aligned with my values and direction in life. I am quite happy with my progress and look forward to the remaining half of this amazing year!
Here is my final update on all twelve resolutions:
1 - Listen to the entire New Testament
This goal was completed during the first 40 days of the year.
2 - Read at least 15 new books
Reading is something that I tend to do in bursts. Often I'll race through several books and then not read much for a month. During the first six months of this year I read: Better Off, How to Get a Date Worth Keeping, The Case for a Creator, The Broker, Digital Fortress, Sway: The Irresitable Pull of Irrationl Thinking, The Appeal, The Power of Positive Thinking, and The 4-Hour Workweek. During the second half of the year I read: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Mystery Method, Amusing Ourselves to Death, The God Who Is There, and The Paradox of Choice: Why Less Is More. Also, I re-read Orthodoxy, Out of the Silent Planet, Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality, Stick To Drawing Comics, Monkey Brains and He Is There and He Is Not Silent. That's a grand total of 17 new books read and 5 old books re-read.
3 - Deepen at least two close friendships
This goal has been slightly trickier than I originally expected, and I have made some interesting discoveries regarding friendships this year. I will probably write a blog about some of my thoughts on relationships in general and friendships in particular during the next month. Concerning my goal, I can definitely say that I have significantly deepened my friendship with my best friend, whom I love dearly, and with my sister, who is a thoroughly enjoyable person to be around. My life is much richer and fuller because of both friendships. Having my best friend gone for the first six months of the year definitely helped me realize how much difference it makes not just to have friends, but to have close friends who are present. Being able to go on spontaneous adventures, talk through various thoughts and dilemmas and having someone who you can completely be yourself around is a blessing of the highest order. Close friendships are of much more practical value than ordinary friendships, by several orders of magnitude.
4 - Connect with at least one person every day
As a naturally social person, this goal has been quite easy to complete. This year I have expanded my social circle significantly. I have made a lot of new friends, met a lot of interesting people, had a lot of fun adventures, and gone on a good number of dates. Mission accomplished!
5 - Exercise at least 2 times per week (except when sick)
Catching colds this month and last month definitely threw a bit of a monkey wrench in my exercise schedule. For most of the year I've been pretty consistent about exercising, although I also think that this goal is probably one that I haven't met as solidly as I could have. Though I didn't play quite as much tennis and basketball as I wanted to, I hit the gym a bit more than I expected. My arm strength, leg strength and endurance have improved by a small margin, and my abs are much stronger and more toned than they were earlier in the year. Also, I've increased my pull-up capacity somewhat. I really miss running, though...
6 - Record at least 12 music tracks
This year was an interesting year musically. During the late spring and early summer, some friends and I formed a jazz band and played a few shows. It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the cohesiveness of the group. I have live recordings of twelve different charts that we played. Six of them are up on my website: F Minor Blues Jam, Anthropology, Cantaloupe Island, Chameleon, Bulletproof, and Girl From Ipanema. Anthropology is one of the charts that I'm the most proud of. Sadly (for us, not for him), our amazing trumpet player has moved to Texas, since he now plays for the Air Force Band, which is pretty much a musician's dream job. Apart from playing bass in the jazz band, I've done several complete pieces of music myself. I recorded remixes for two small music competitions and placed first in both of them. Also, I wrote and recorded three original compositions, one of which (Digit Game) was featured on Nevar Say Die, Volume 3 and will also be featured on my upcoming album, which should be finished sometime in the next two months. On top of all that, I am presently recording another remix for Dwelling of Duels, which typically gets between 30-50 entries in December's competition. Rather than going with my usual progressive metal/rock sort of sound, I'm throwing together a really smooth piece centering around bass and keyboards. All in all, that constitutes 18 new tracks of music recorded this year. This resolution is an unqualified success!
7 - Play bass in a band or orchestra (minimum 4 performances)
Though I didn't play a lot of shows this year, the ones that I did play were thoroughly enjoyable. I played bass with our jazz band in three different shows, and I played bass with a worship band twice. Also, I played guitar three times this year, which was a bit unexpected; twice was with the same worship band that I played bass for, and once was at a small Christmas dinner party. This next year I will probably be playing a lot more. Though the jazz band pretty much fell apart since our trumpet player left, we have reformed as a pop band with my best friend as the singer. Also, another worship leader at a nearby church is looking for a regular bass player and wants me to come play with them once or twice sometime in the next month, to see if we click musically. This next year should have plenty of musical opportunities for me. I'm excited!
8 - Graduate from college
In the spring I finally completed the last class that I needed to earn my degree. Now I have graduated from college with a BA in Humanities (emphases in music, literature and philosophy) from Thomas Edison State College. In the next month or so I will post a blog on the most important things I learned from earning a college degree.
9 - Move out of my parents' house
This one was accomplished immediately upon starting the year. I've now been living on my own for nearly a full year. It's been a very satisfying experience.
10 - Get rid of extraneous possessions
When I moved to my apartment in January, I pared down my possessions significantly and got rid of numerous extraneous things that I did not need.
11 - Establish and maintain a consistent bedtime and daily schedule
This resolution was abandoned halfway through the year. Arbitrary restrictions are things that I need less of. Someday it might be useful to change my schedule, but presently it's working quite well to be partially nocturnal.
12 - Keep a progress/goals journal and write in it weekly
This resolution was abandoned halfway through the year. I have no regrets about discarding such a timesink.
Summary:
Now that the year is finished, I am quite proud of myself. I completed ten resolutions and abandoned two of them. Of the ten that I completed, only one of them was slightly below satisfactory, while three of my goals were surpassed by a sizable amount. While twelve goals initially seemed like a bit of a challenge, most of them happened fairly automatically, which means that the goals I set were attainable, measurable and fairly well aligned with the ways I wanted to grow personally this year. While continually sharpening the saw is a valuable thing, for my next year's resolutions I am thinking of setting only four goals total, two major ones and two minor ones. But, I still have 48 hours before I have to decide--which is more than enough time!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Mid-Year Resolution Review
Given that I am someone who is dedicated to personal growth, I decided to be especially ambitious by setting 12 resolutions for myself this year. With the first-half of the year now past, I thought it would be a good idea to look at my various goals and see how well I have done at meeting them.
1 - Listen to the entire New Testament
My church set a goal to do this in 40 days at the start of the year and I am happy to say that I listened through the whole New Testament. It was quite an enriching experience. Usually I just read the Bible, so listening to it was a very different sort of experience. In some ways I found that the various books of the Bible felt more contiguous than they normally do. It was much easier to get a macro-level perspective, rather than the verse-by-verse focus that reading lends itself to. I would definitely enjoy listening through the entire Old Testament at some point.
2 - Read at least 15 new books
Reading has definitely been something I've been much enjoying. I typically have at least one or two books with me and I have learned a lot from the various books that I've read. I have finished reading: Better Off, How to Get a Date Worth Keeping, The Case for a Creator, The Broker, Digital Fortress, Sway, The Appeal, The Power of Positive Thinking, and The 4-Hour Workweek. I am currently in the middle of: Out of the Silent Planet, 1984, The Way of the Wild Heart, and Liberal Fascism. In summary, I have already read 9 new books, which means I am well over halfway into completing this goal.
3 - Deepen at least two close friendships
This goal is a lot harder to gauge, and I really won't be able to fully determine whether I have completed this until the end of the year (which is what I expected and planned for when I made the resolution). For one thing, my best friend was in Australia until a couple of weeks ago and another very close friend has been away at college. However, one of my friends graduated from college and is now back in the Bay Area, so we've been spending regular time together for the past couple of months.
4 - Connect with at least one person every day
This one comes easily to me since I love conversing with people, spending time with my friends, hanging out with my family, and meeting new people. Not a single day has gone by this year that I haven't had some meaningful connection with someone. People are awesome!
5 - Exercise at least 2 times per week (except when sick)
Though I haven't perfectly kept this goal, I can honestly say that nearly every week I have exercised at least twice, and some weeks I've exercised more than that. When the year began, I decided that running and tennis would be my main forms of exercise. However, after running sporadically for three months, I have decided that I cannot seriously continue running. I really enjoy it both for the endurance-building aspect as well as the visceral feeling of going places and enjoying the fresh air. But, my knees cannot take the constant impact and I am not willing to injure them, since I want to be able to walk and run painlessly for as much of my life as possible. For that reason, with sadness, I have given up running. Instead of running I am now doing basketball and strength-training, with other occasional athletic activities thrown into the mix. Overall, I have stayed well on target for this goal and I have no doubt that I follow through until the end of the year.
6 - Record at least 12 music tracks
Although it feels as though I haven't recorded much music this year, I have actually recorded 6 tracks to date. Right now I have 2 original compositions, 1 remix and 3 live jazz recordings with a jazz trio I'm playing in. In addition to those tracks, I have 2 tracks that I am currently recording with Decay of Entropy. One of those tracks should be finished by the end of the week, since Andrew is going to come in and lay down the vocals on Thursday night. Also, I have a couple of music tracks in the works for two different compilation albums that The Shizz is working on. I'm working on an original Progressive Metal piece which will be featured on Nevar Say Die, Volume 3, and I am collaborating with Hale-Bopp to record a cover song for a Michael Jackson tribute album, which will be released on his birthday, August 29. This resolution is precisely halfway complete, and I should have no troubles recording the other 6 tracks before 2010.
7 - Play bass in a band or orchestra (minimum 4 performances)
I haven't yet played any live performances. With Decay of Entropy we've been having trouble finding a suitable guitarist, so we haven't been able to play any shows. This week we just lost our drummer, so now we're looking for both a drummer and a bassist. I'm not sure if we'll really get off the ground any time soon. However, with the jazz trio I'm in, we are scheduled to play Saturday after next. Since we have a whole bunch of charts ready, we are starting to send out our press package and schedule gigs. I wouldn't be surprised to play at least 4 gigs in the next 2 months. Some of them will probably even be paying gigs, which makes this a productive as well as fun goal!
8 - Graduate from college
I have completed all the units that I need to graduate with a B.A. in Humanities from Thomas Edison State College. However, I still have to finish working through the administrative end, submitting my final transcripts and actually receiving my degree. Given that the hard part of this is done, it should take no more than a few hours of errands and phone calls to finish the process. I am perfectly on track for accomplishing this goal.
9 - Move out of my parents' house
Right out of the starting gate, I knocked this one off. My current roommate, Dom, and I had been looking for an apartment even before the year began. After making this resolution I kicked the search into high gear and found an amazing place to live within the week. January 10th, we moved into our apartment and I have loved every minute of being here. The location is absolutely great since I'm near all the major freeways, very close to church, closer to work, closer to school and even closer to a grocery store. I really love having a place of my own. Not only is it always peaceful, but it stays clean with very little effort. Besides, I'm happy that my fridge always has whatever food and drinks I leave in there. After living with my 10 younger siblings, that's not something I take for granted. Having my own kitchen has inspired me to do more cooking and to start creating my own recipes. What a joy it is to live in an apartment!
10 - Get rid of extraneous possessions
Moving is a time that easily lends itself to streamlining. As I prepared to move into my apartment I went through all my bookshelves, drawers and closets and pared down significantly. I made significant donations to a local thrift store. For the purposes of this resolution, I have completed my goal. Although, I will probably take one more Saturday sometime this year and pare down excess possessions again. At the moment, I think I still have too many needless pieces of clothing. If I haven't worn it even once this year, then it definitely needs to go.
11 - Establish and maintain a consistent bedtime and daily schedule
I was doing fairly well on this one for the first three months. After losing my USB Flash Drive sometime in April, I realized that I felt more restricted by this resolution than I felt freed. Though having a disciplined schedule can be good for certain periods of life, I have decided that at this point in my life I value having a freeform schedule and not arbitrarily restricting my evening activities simply for the sake of consistency. As such, I have intentionally chosen to abandon this goal, sine it does not align with my current values.
12 - Keep a progress/goals journal and write in it weekly
The goal of this resolution was simply to ensure that I stay on track in meeting my other goals. Though it was moderately useful in helping to track goal completion, upon losing my Flash Drive I lost some of my motivation to continue keeping a record, since all my previously records were unrecoverable. Additionally, since the only goals that I regularly needed track were resolutions number 4, which consistently happens even without conscious effort, number 5, which is easy enough to monitor without a log, and number 11, which I decided to abandon, I decided that the time and effort put into keeping a log and a weekly goals journal did not make sense on a pure cost-benefits basis. Due to the counter-productive nature of this goal, I chose to eliminate it. Obviously, not keeping a log has not hurt my goal accomplishment in any way.
Summary
To date, I have completed 3 resolutions, abandoned 2 goals, and am on track for completing the other 7 resolutions. The only one that I am technically behind on is number 7, which would be very easy to finish with a tiny bit of focused effort. Overall, with the exception of the abandoned 2 goals, I think that all of the resolutions I set are very achievable, easily measurable, and well-aligned with my current values and direction in life. I am quite happy with my progress and look forward to the remaining half of this amazing year!
1 - Listen to the entire New Testament
My church set a goal to do this in 40 days at the start of the year and I am happy to say that I listened through the whole New Testament. It was quite an enriching experience. Usually I just read the Bible, so listening to it was a very different sort of experience. In some ways I found that the various books of the Bible felt more contiguous than they normally do. It was much easier to get a macro-level perspective, rather than the verse-by-verse focus that reading lends itself to. I would definitely enjoy listening through the entire Old Testament at some point.
2 - Read at least 15 new books
Reading has definitely been something I've been much enjoying. I typically have at least one or two books with me and I have learned a lot from the various books that I've read. I have finished reading: Better Off, How to Get a Date Worth Keeping, The Case for a Creator, The Broker, Digital Fortress, Sway, The Appeal, The Power of Positive Thinking, and The 4-Hour Workweek. I am currently in the middle of: Out of the Silent Planet, 1984, The Way of the Wild Heart, and Liberal Fascism. In summary, I have already read 9 new books, which means I am well over halfway into completing this goal.
3 - Deepen at least two close friendships
This goal is a lot harder to gauge, and I really won't be able to fully determine whether I have completed this until the end of the year (which is what I expected and planned for when I made the resolution). For one thing, my best friend was in Australia until a couple of weeks ago and another very close friend has been away at college. However, one of my friends graduated from college and is now back in the Bay Area, so we've been spending regular time together for the past couple of months.
4 - Connect with at least one person every day
This one comes easily to me since I love conversing with people, spending time with my friends, hanging out with my family, and meeting new people. Not a single day has gone by this year that I haven't had some meaningful connection with someone. People are awesome!
5 - Exercise at least 2 times per week (except when sick)
Though I haven't perfectly kept this goal, I can honestly say that nearly every week I have exercised at least twice, and some weeks I've exercised more than that. When the year began, I decided that running and tennis would be my main forms of exercise. However, after running sporadically for three months, I have decided that I cannot seriously continue running. I really enjoy it both for the endurance-building aspect as well as the visceral feeling of going places and enjoying the fresh air. But, my knees cannot take the constant impact and I am not willing to injure them, since I want to be able to walk and run painlessly for as much of my life as possible. For that reason, with sadness, I have given up running. Instead of running I am now doing basketball and strength-training, with other occasional athletic activities thrown into the mix. Overall, I have stayed well on target for this goal and I have no doubt that I follow through until the end of the year.
6 - Record at least 12 music tracks
Although it feels as though I haven't recorded much music this year, I have actually recorded 6 tracks to date. Right now I have 2 original compositions, 1 remix and 3 live jazz recordings with a jazz trio I'm playing in. In addition to those tracks, I have 2 tracks that I am currently recording with Decay of Entropy. One of those tracks should be finished by the end of the week, since Andrew is going to come in and lay down the vocals on Thursday night. Also, I have a couple of music tracks in the works for two different compilation albums that The Shizz is working on. I'm working on an original Progressive Metal piece which will be featured on Nevar Say Die, Volume 3, and I am collaborating with Hale-Bopp to record a cover song for a Michael Jackson tribute album, which will be released on his birthday, August 29. This resolution is precisely halfway complete, and I should have no troubles recording the other 6 tracks before 2010.
7 - Play bass in a band or orchestra (minimum 4 performances)
I haven't yet played any live performances. With Decay of Entropy we've been having trouble finding a suitable guitarist, so we haven't been able to play any shows. This week we just lost our drummer, so now we're looking for both a drummer and a bassist. I'm not sure if we'll really get off the ground any time soon. However, with the jazz trio I'm in, we are scheduled to play Saturday after next. Since we have a whole bunch of charts ready, we are starting to send out our press package and schedule gigs. I wouldn't be surprised to play at least 4 gigs in the next 2 months. Some of them will probably even be paying gigs, which makes this a productive as well as fun goal!
8 - Graduate from college
I have completed all the units that I need to graduate with a B.A. in Humanities from Thomas Edison State College. However, I still have to finish working through the administrative end, submitting my final transcripts and actually receiving my degree. Given that the hard part of this is done, it should take no more than a few hours of errands and phone calls to finish the process. I am perfectly on track for accomplishing this goal.
9 - Move out of my parents' house
Right out of the starting gate, I knocked this one off. My current roommate, Dom, and I had been looking for an apartment even before the year began. After making this resolution I kicked the search into high gear and found an amazing place to live within the week. January 10th, we moved into our apartment and I have loved every minute of being here. The location is absolutely great since I'm near all the major freeways, very close to church, closer to work, closer to school and even closer to a grocery store. I really love having a place of my own. Not only is it always peaceful, but it stays clean with very little effort. Besides, I'm happy that my fridge always has whatever food and drinks I leave in there. After living with my 10 younger siblings, that's not something I take for granted. Having my own kitchen has inspired me to do more cooking and to start creating my own recipes. What a joy it is to live in an apartment!
10 - Get rid of extraneous possessions
Moving is a time that easily lends itself to streamlining. As I prepared to move into my apartment I went through all my bookshelves, drawers and closets and pared down significantly. I made significant donations to a local thrift store. For the purposes of this resolution, I have completed my goal. Although, I will probably take one more Saturday sometime this year and pare down excess possessions again. At the moment, I think I still have too many needless pieces of clothing. If I haven't worn it even once this year, then it definitely needs to go.
11 - Establish and maintain a consistent bedtime and daily schedule
I was doing fairly well on this one for the first three months. After losing my USB Flash Drive sometime in April, I realized that I felt more restricted by this resolution than I felt freed. Though having a disciplined schedule can be good for certain periods of life, I have decided that at this point in my life I value having a freeform schedule and not arbitrarily restricting my evening activities simply for the sake of consistency. As such, I have intentionally chosen to abandon this goal, sine it does not align with my current values.
12 - Keep a progress/goals journal and write in it weekly
The goal of this resolution was simply to ensure that I stay on track in meeting my other goals. Though it was moderately useful in helping to track goal completion, upon losing my Flash Drive I lost some of my motivation to continue keeping a record, since all my previously records were unrecoverable. Additionally, since the only goals that I regularly needed track were resolutions number 4, which consistently happens even without conscious effort, number 5, which is easy enough to monitor without a log, and number 11, which I decided to abandon, I decided that the time and effort put into keeping a log and a weekly goals journal did not make sense on a pure cost-benefits basis. Due to the counter-productive nature of this goal, I chose to eliminate it. Obviously, not keeping a log has not hurt my goal accomplishment in any way.
Summary
To date, I have completed 3 resolutions, abandoned 2 goals, and am on track for completing the other 7 resolutions. The only one that I am technically behind on is number 7, which would be very easy to finish with a tiny bit of focused effort. Overall, with the exception of the abandoned 2 goals, I think that all of the resolutions I set are very achievable, easily measurable, and well-aligned with my current values and direction in life. I am quite happy with my progress and look forward to the remaining half of this amazing year!
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