Goals for 2012

Big Life Stuff
My theme for 2012 is moderation and simplicity. I've found that I just carry too much stuff around...physically and mentally. I overpack my briefcase and overthink my ideas and concerns. Someone, I think Jack Kornfield said, "Our minds are like busy tourists. Shopping for things unnecessary to pack into closets already full." In 2012 I will strive to minimize, cut back, simplify, and bring clarity to situations. I also will purge closets, file cabinets, and online folders. And clean my desk more often.

Food & Fitness
During 2011 I discovered a new joy in being outdoors. Once a fan of treadmills and television, I now run outside almost every day. On days when weather is just too nasty, I run the indoor track, but even that takes a lot of patience (and good company!). To more fully take advantage of this new found appreciation of being outside, I'm going camping in 2012. Perhaps a long weekend with a destination run as the centerpiece.

I need to drop some pounds. Calorie Counter says I should weigh 124, which seems impossibly light to me. I'm aiming for 140, which means losing 17 lbs. A breakdown of a healthy plan would look like this:

Daily Calorie Goal: 2041
Carbs: 1020
Protein: 510
Fats: 510

To accomplish this goal I will eat at least one fruit or low-starch vegetable at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I'm making a commitment to "three-days dry" per week...probably Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays will be no-booze days. The pounds and puffiness are just not worth it.

I'll also drink at least 2 cups of green tea 5 days a week. It's supposed to boost metabolism and has a bunch of other good qualities...and it's easy. So, I'm in!

I need more Omega-3. And since I can't eat fish, I'm going for walnuts. But just a basic serving size, which is 1 ounce or 14 halves.

And more milk. I rarely drink milk, although I like it. I just need to get in the habit. Maybe every night before bed.

Finally, I'm going to lift or do some sort of weight training at least twice a week. Gaining muscle boosts metabolism and helps shed pounds.

I will run at least 3 5Ks, 3 10Ks, and two longer races--probably half-marathons. I'm already registered for the Fifth Third River Bank Run which is a 25K. And, along with Jeff, I've set a finish goal of 2:28. I'm also aiming for at least one destination run...maybe San Francisco next December so that we can see our friend, Kien and get back to the homeland.

Thinking and Writing
I am striving to write more...and have at least one manuscript published.

I also will get more organized at work. This past year I had a change of assignment, which expanded my responsibilities. I can do everything I've been asked, but the changes really disrupted my rhythm...so I will implement a better plan that blocks out time for the most essential  tasks. I can control my calendar.

I have a great stack of books to read...I'll get those done one-by-one.

Being Present
I'm not as thoughtful as I could be about spending money or anything to do with financial planning. During 2012 I will be more attentive to spending wisely, saving money and being frugal. Sorry, American Express.

My morning runs have become my time for meditation. But, while I am delighted with the changes in running, I need to set time aside to meditate and to listen to some of the great podcasts on Zencast.

I also need to see Jack...so a trip to Lakeland is on the list, too.

Finally
I'll keep at least bi-weekly posts on my progress with these goals. And I look forward to some coaching!

Notes to myself for the first day of March, 2011

photo taken at the Kiwanis Club in Marion, IL sometime in the early 80s. I had played the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody no. 11.

I am approaching my birthday and so am setting some personal goals:

1. Walk away from situations that aren't truly yours. No orchestra needs another player when it hasn't yet figured out what it's playing.
2. Give folks a little room. You may be more compassionate than you know.
3. Being compassionate is not the same as being passive. You can be caring and still have boundaries.
4. Be patient with others. They will come around to their own personal truths in their own time and in their own ways.
5. Trust others to ask for what they want.

Tuesday, May 18

I began the journey toward accomplishing some of the summer goals yesterday. A grueling spin class that was made enjoyable by Jeff's leadership. Still reeling from the all-day lawn work session on Sunday, the muscles ache! But, a bit of progress was made.

Last evening I worked just a bit on the Chopin Impromptu, which is predictably tricky, but not terribly difficult. The Scriabin Prelude--Op. 11, No. 1 is treacherous. Big sonorous waves of sound with few notes. But the notes that are there challenge the hands to stretch in his trademark intervals of perfect fourths and fifths.

Re-reading the Dhammapada: "He abused me, attached me, Defeated me, robbed me!" For those carrying on like this, Hatred does not end."

The Buddha reminds us that remaining in a mindset of victimization halts our ability to notice the wonder of the present. That accepting all things--good and challenging--are part of our path.

Goals for Summer, 2010

First, some fitness goals:
Run 5 5Ks, 5 10Ks, and the Metro Health Grand Rapids (Half) Marathon. I'm also joining RunGR. I have to drop about 12 lbs and work on proportionality.

Summer reading:
I've become increasingly interested in John Muir, so I will read at least one book of his collected essays. On the stacks right now are: Geography of Bliss, At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream, the Dhammapada (again), and Walden.

Summer music:
A nice set of Chopin, probably the "Harp" Etude, and the first Impromptu, Op. 29. Review and finish up the Scriabin set: Etude Op. 8, No. 5, Etude F#, Op. 8, No. 2, and the great Prelude in C major, Op. 11 No. 1. And finish with the Liszt, Les Jeux d'eaux a la Villa d'Este.

And one painting...probably of the interior of the Castillo San Cristóbal.

Kierkegaard wrote, "There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming." So, there's a good reminder!

Reconsidering Resolutions

I'm taking some time to move lists originally posted on Facebook to this blog. Most of these lists were created in response to requests from friends to participate in those "25 Random Things" things. I know some people find these things to be immature, or a waste of time, or invasive, or something else not entirely productive or good, but I like them. They offer a chance to reflect.

Which leads me to thinking about resolutions. I am finding the difference between clinging to goals and being with goals very helpful. It's as if I were taking a walk with a great friend, feeling in harmony and tandem with their energy--that is being with. But, if I and my friend each hold one end of a piece of string and then promise ourselves to continue our walk while holding the string taught--I am clinging. We are suddenly three: he, I, and our distracting relationship with the string.

Setting a goal or a resolution allows one to explore the present and its actions in the unpressured context of the preferred. When one forces commitment to a resolution, the joy of the moment is sacrificed for the lure of the future.

Here are some things about myself I notice:

1. Almost every day I think about how fortunate I am to hear and know the music of Rachmaninoff.
2. I have an extremely sensitive affective memory. I remember how I felt at every musical performance I've given or been a part of since childhood. I remember riding a firetruck in 4th grade because I won a poster contest. All things that promote intensity of feelings seem to stay with me forever.
3. I rarely cry, but I ALWAYS cry during the overtures to operas and musicals--all of them--Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Rent, Boheme--anything.
4. I saw a shooting star this morning and thought of wishing for world peace, but went for single-digit body fat instead.
5. I find people who take themselves too seriously tedious.
6. I rarely get angry.
7. I can have as much investment in casual acquaintances as I do best friends. I strive to not take anyone for granted.
8. I often love the journey more than the destination.
9. If someone is witty and intelligent, I can be with them for hours.
10. I find sarcasm tedious.
11. I wish I had been more athletic earlier in life.
12. I would rather give than get gifts and host than be hosted. I am socially awkward as a guest, but completely confident being a host.
13. I am shy and strive to gain confidence through learning as much as possible about everything I do.
14. I can't relate to children at all--not as a child, nor now as an adult.
15. I could live on pasta and Cabernet.
16. I used to live in a pink trailer--all pink--even the appliances, toilet, and sinks.
17. I was a great waiter and sometimes miss it.
18. I love having such a strangely diverse set of real life and virtual friends--staunch, hard core Republicans and over the top liberals--it's what makes everything interesting.
19. I rarely feel pressure to be agreeable.
20. I love my chihuahuas and will forgive them for anything.
21. I sometimes think about becoming a Buddhist monk.
22. I don't like desserts very much.
23. I probably, no almost for sure overthink everything.
24. I love the unconventional life John and I lead. This past Saturday we went to Buffalo Wild Wings, then the Met Opera simulcast, then pizza and Cosmopolitans. I live in a conservative suburb....nothing makes a dime of sense, but it's all fun.
25. I don't procrastinate, but I do linger sometimes...