This gives me a serious sense of contentment.
The thing that really does it for me, though, is the goal-setting. I'm a sucker for a carrot. I can't resist or subdue the urge to move toward something better than who I am at this moment. I revel in the process of evaluating life's areas of greatest importance, analyzing my successes and failures over the past year, envisioning what perfection looks like in those areas, and setting smart goals that move me towards those visions of perfection. I was never a very grounded individual growing up, and this goal-setting is my way of finding the horizon, identifying which way is 'up', making sure that I don't lose my way in the coming year.
My five goal areas this year are faith, family, fitness, education, and community - probably in that order. Generally, I want to become more founded in my faith, a better father and husband to my wife and kids, healthier and stronger, smarter, and more concerned about those around me. What follows is a list of general goals that will be my horizon for the coming year.
Faith
- Read the Bible, cover to cover, following this plan.
- (Re)-Memorize the books of Hebrews and James, by chapter and verse.
- Get involved in a discipleship or mentorship program.
- Continue to become involved at Life Center, on a technical or non-technical level.
Family
- Two weekend getaways with Erin.
- Two camping trips with the family (and maybe the Andersons and Kings?).
- Read a series of books to Ben and Gemma (A. A. Milne? Rudyard Kipling? John White? C. S. Lewis?)
- Teach Ben and Gemma about Genesis, and the God who created everything.
- Teach Ben arithmetic.
- At least 6 dates with Ben at Frank's Diner.
- Monthly dates with Erin.
Fitness
- Run one 6 minute mile.
- Run a half marathon.
- Perform 100 push-ups in a row.
- Perform 15 pull-ups in a row.
- Weigh in at 190 pounds.
Education
- Learn and use 100 new words.
- Read 6 novels, "for fun" (you are welcome, Erin).
- Learn a programming language, probably TCL (for use in routers and such).
- Learn more physics and calculus than I knew in high school.
- Learn French.
Community
- Socialize with twenty-or-thirty-something Spokane folks.
- Help the community in some way once a quarter (soup kitchen, homeless shelter, etc.).
I still need to flesh some of this out, I'll probably need to create smart goals for each item here, but it's a start.
This is going to be the best year of my life yet!
