Just over a year ago, I listed 3 resolutions for 2010: Exercise more and the right way, be more strategic in life and work, and get to the root of problems to grow closer to God.
I did manage to make some progress for each of them, but with varying degrees of success. Here’s a report card:
Exercise more. I recall beginning my first Monday morning of 2010 with enthusiasm, waking up on my own at 6am (no alarm clock needed!) and going to my club’s gym. However, the place where I exercise is very hard to exit in the mornings due to rush hour traffic. So that was the last time I attempted an early morning exercise session. I now do exercises at home.
My latest health screening shows an improvement in my cholesterol levels, largely due to a more careful diet, but it can still be better. So the doctor’s advised me to build muscles to lower cholesterol further. Now, I lift weights at home and even have a pair in the office. I also went to the gym regularly during my stay in Adelaide in Nov.
However, these are done in spurts and not sustained regularly. In fact, my best stretch was when I was on holiday and used the hotel gym almost every day. After that, I discovered I was still not fit enough, after having massive cramp while jogging 2.4km. On the bright side, my knee has mostly recovered, which means I can take on heavier activities.
Since there are positive signs but much more can still be done, I would like to keep this resolution for 2011. This means that I need to set some boundaries, end work earlier and make time for exercise, and put myself in situations that encourage exercise.
Be more strategic. The word ‘strategic’ has been bandied about so often, that sometimes we take it for granted. However, it takes a lot of effort to think through the situation and consider all possibilities, especially when gut feel, or group sentiment, points you in one direction already.
Quite certainly this resolution will also have to stay with me through 2010 because you can never reach an end point with this. It’s more a continuous process.
However, I’d like to take it a step further and put these thoughts into action. 10 years ago, as a young designer, I would experiment and develop prototype websites, code, writings and so forth. As a closet composer-producer I used to spent hours making music, although that activity has also died down over the past few years.
I’ve stopped doing these things, because my interests and priorities have changed and I haven’t quite found a new passion yet. Different people have advised me to find a new passion, and I will take this seriously. This will be one of my new resolutions, though it may take time to develop.
Address root issues. God has shown me the light for various things – what’s caused some things to keep happening the same way, how to read behaviour and intentions better, and so forth.
Even more exciting has been how He has led me to help other people address their issues too. Of course, counselling is a skill that typical ENFJs have. I am happy to use my skills to improve relationships by advising them on better ways to communicate with their partners. In addition, I am reading new books on related subjects, after learning that this is only the beginning of a learning journey. It will also be useful for managing my own relationships.
Hmm, perhaps that will be one of my new-found passions!
So, in summary, my 2010 resolutions met with some success. 2011’s resolutions will build on them:
- Exercising more regularly, exercising the right way, and eating right
- Finding new passion(s) and doing something about them – or rejuvenating old passions?
- Helping other people improve their relationships, and therefore, their lives