2010 Life Contract
So I've never been one of those people who makes a list of goals and sets out to achieve them. My life is usually governed by my gut. I'm the type who picks a direction and just off and goes - not entirely spur of the moment, but more intuitive than weighed and measured.
We did this True Colors exercise at work a few years ago, kind of like a bastardized Myers-Briggs test, and I flagged as orange, meaning I'm more of an entertainer and a thrill-seeker than a planner and an organizer. If you knew what I did for a living, you would understand why I often stop in the middle of the work day and shake my head, as it's all about planning and organizing.
All through high school and college, I was honing my creative skills. I was a band nerd and a drama geek. I spent hours every day playing the piano. I would get inspired by an episode of My So Called Life and write pages of bad poetry. God, I miss the way Jordan Catalano could make my heart race.
I was a music composition major before I was an English major with a concentration in creative writing. I probably would have tried my hand at being an art major if I had any skill with a brush or a pencil.
And here I am, standing at the start of my thirties, wondering what happened. Typical story, right? Right.
So what does this have to do with not being a goal setter, and why am I bothering to write this up and post it in a semi-public forum? (I say "semi-public" because, let's be honest, I only know like three of you personally and I only have something like ten friends on LJ in the first place. I guess this is more a cathartic post than anything else.)
I'm writing this up because I've decided to start steering the ship in an entirely new direction. No, I'm not going to try and force myself to be something I'm not - I'm not aiming to turn from an "orange" into a "gold." Instead, I'm trying to force myself back into what I am at my core, something I think I've been ignoring for entirely too long. My inner band nerds needs to breathe, and I need all the help I can get to make sure he can.
This isn't going to be an overnight transformation. I've ensconced myself. There are a lot of bits and pieces in my life that need to be shifted about and righted for this to have a chance in hell of working. I've built up some pretty major walls, like I knew I would reach this point some day, and I wanted to make sure I wouldn't do anything rash. Stupid walls.
The solution? Who the hell really knows. What I'm doing, though, is atypical for me. I've taken the time to seriously think about what would need to happen for me to reach a point where I could make some serious life-altering changes. Like I said, I'm not going to be able to snap my fingers and make things happen, but I do need a solid idea of where I can start hammering away at these walls, so I've written myself a little contract. I'm calling it my 2010 Life Phases Contract. I typed the thing up, printed it out, and signed it. I even have three co-signers whose job it is to bug me about these phases all year long.
Why phases? Like I said, I'm not a goal-setter. I would never succeed if I just wrote up a list of resolutions and tried to stick to them all right from the start. Instead, I've got four main phases for this year, each one with a set of mini-goals and intentions. The logic being that I'm much more likely to not fail and give up if I can see a little bit of consistent progress in one phase or another. In order they are:
1: Financial Stability and Thoughtfulness
2: Streamlining and Simplification of Life
3: Physical Wellness
4: Creative Outlets
I could go in detail about each one, but then what would I have to write about later?
So LJ friends, few that you are (and if you've read this far, hopefully you already feel invested), as I post here over the course of the next year, please feel free cheer me on and bug me with vigor. Lots and lots of vigor. Such a good word...
We did this True Colors exercise at work a few years ago, kind of like a bastardized Myers-Briggs test, and I flagged as orange, meaning I'm more of an entertainer and a thrill-seeker than a planner and an organizer. If you knew what I did for a living, you would understand why I often stop in the middle of the work day and shake my head, as it's all about planning and organizing.
All through high school and college, I was honing my creative skills. I was a band nerd and a drama geek. I spent hours every day playing the piano. I would get inspired by an episode of My So Called Life and write pages of bad poetry. God, I miss the way Jordan Catalano could make my heart race.
I was a music composition major before I was an English major with a concentration in creative writing. I probably would have tried my hand at being an art major if I had any skill with a brush or a pencil.
And here I am, standing at the start of my thirties, wondering what happened. Typical story, right? Right.
So what does this have to do with not being a goal setter, and why am I bothering to write this up and post it in a semi-public forum? (I say "semi-public" because, let's be honest, I only know like three of you personally and I only have something like ten friends on LJ in the first place. I guess this is more a cathartic post than anything else.)
I'm writing this up because I've decided to start steering the ship in an entirely new direction. No, I'm not going to try and force myself to be something I'm not - I'm not aiming to turn from an "orange" into a "gold." Instead, I'm trying to force myself back into what I am at my core, something I think I've been ignoring for entirely too long. My inner band nerds needs to breathe, and I need all the help I can get to make sure he can.
This isn't going to be an overnight transformation. I've ensconced myself. There are a lot of bits and pieces in my life that need to be shifted about and righted for this to have a chance in hell of working. I've built up some pretty major walls, like I knew I would reach this point some day, and I wanted to make sure I wouldn't do anything rash. Stupid walls.
The solution? Who the hell really knows. What I'm doing, though, is atypical for me. I've taken the time to seriously think about what would need to happen for me to reach a point where I could make some serious life-altering changes. Like I said, I'm not going to be able to snap my fingers and make things happen, but I do need a solid idea of where I can start hammering away at these walls, so I've written myself a little contract. I'm calling it my 2010 Life Phases Contract. I typed the thing up, printed it out, and signed it. I even have three co-signers whose job it is to bug me about these phases all year long.
Why phases? Like I said, I'm not a goal-setter. I would never succeed if I just wrote up a list of resolutions and tried to stick to them all right from the start. Instead, I've got four main phases for this year, each one with a set of mini-goals and intentions. The logic being that I'm much more likely to not fail and give up if I can see a little bit of consistent progress in one phase or another. In order they are:
1: Financial Stability and Thoughtfulness
2: Streamlining and Simplification of Life
3: Physical Wellness
4: Creative Outlets
I could go in detail about each one, but then what would I have to write about later?
So LJ friends, few that you are (and if you've read this far, hopefully you already feel invested), as I post here over the course of the next year, please feel free cheer me on and bug me with vigor. Lots and lots of vigor. Such a good word...