As 2011 comes to a close, I can't help but look back at this year with a mix of frustration and pride.
On the more frustrating end, I was unable to follow through with the writing game plan I had set for myself and I barely made it past the 10,000 word mark in NaNoWriMo this year. I was so busy with my life outside of my creative pursuits that my writing suffered. I went through a creatively-depressed period that was so bad, I couldn't bare to even look at a copy of Writer's Digest for fear it would send me into a pit of self-hating guilt.
Okay, I'm being mellow dramatic, but I really couldn't read anything about the creative process without feeling poorly about myself.
But I'm happy and proud to report that I'm on a an up swing right now. I've been reevaluating my interests and have found that while writing stories isn't my primary driver in life - as I've always secretly wished it would be- it is something I still feel the need to do. I would be lost without my journal to pour myself into and board if I no longer told myself stories. What I'm working out now is what I want to write and share with others.
I think my primary misstep in 2011 -perhaps my greatest misstep about writing in general - was not sharing my work. By always being convinced that what I had was too rough or not of interest to others stunted whatever growth or motivation I could have gotten had I been more open about my work. I'm lucky enough to be a part of a great writing group, but have barely been a participant for the last year. That saddens me and I want it to change in 2012.
While I have many half written stories I could work on, what I'm most interest in pursuing at the moment is writing a personal essay about my experience with food. I love reading food writing, so I'm excited to try my hand at it. Admittedly, I'm not quite sure how to go about food writing or about personal essays, but I plan on just going for it!
2012 is a blank page that I'm looking forward to filling. There will be many challenges - I plan to start culinary school possibly as soon as March while still working a full time job - but I feel more confidant than ever that I will find the time and discipline to accomplish what I want in 2012.
Let's toast to the end of good ol' 2011 and raise our glasses to 2012! Cheers to you all and thanks for reading!
Showing posts with label new years resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new years resolutions. Show all posts
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Year Goals
Happy new year, everyone! I hope you have had a fun, festive, and safe holiday season and are ready for things to go back to business as usual. Or unusual, depending on what you do for a living/with life. As much as I hate for the lazy days of vacation to go, I know that as soon as I get back into the groove of work I'll be fine. Do you feel the same, or do you wish vacation would never end?
I'm currently working on my goals for 2010. Note that these are not resolutions. Resolutions, to me, are promises that start as lucid ideas that become opaque over time until you lose sight of them completely. Goals, on the other hand, are long term and supple. You can change or bend a goal, seeing as they are an anytime thing. New years resolutions are brittle, as you make them only once a year and it feels like cheating to change them after January. Anyway, my goals for 2010 currently consists of a rambling list in my new Moleskine calendar-notebook (plenty of space to make to do lists and take notes!).
Here's what I have so far:
Write at least 3x each week (at least 2x in journal)
Check to do list daily
Act on my kind thoughts, even if they make me self conscious
Save $X overall/for a car/etc.
Go to the gym 3x each week
Be less of a perfectionist
As I said, this is just my first draft. The only one I know I'll keep for sure is the "be less of a perfectionist" because I'm slowly learning that perfectionism is limiting. It's much more productive to make the first run of anything rough and loose and get the details down later when you have more to work with. I'm applying this both to my personal life and work; I'm prone to sweating the small stuff before they become an issue. Thinking a head prevents major issues from popping up, but worrying is like paying interest on something you may never need!
Have you written any of your new year goals? I'd love to hear some of them!
Formally yours,
Darth Formal
I'm currently working on my goals for 2010. Note that these are not resolutions. Resolutions, to me, are promises that start as lucid ideas that become opaque over time until you lose sight of them completely. Goals, on the other hand, are long term and supple. You can change or bend a goal, seeing as they are an anytime thing. New years resolutions are brittle, as you make them only once a year and it feels like cheating to change them after January. Anyway, my goals for 2010 currently consists of a rambling list in my new Moleskine calendar-notebook (plenty of space to make to do lists and take notes!).
Here's what I have so far:
Write at least 3x each week (at least 2x in journal)
Check to do list daily
Act on my kind thoughts, even if they make me self conscious
Save $X overall/for a car/etc.
Go to the gym 3x each week
Be less of a perfectionist
As I said, this is just my first draft. The only one I know I'll keep for sure is the "be less of a perfectionist" because I'm slowly learning that perfectionism is limiting. It's much more productive to make the first run of anything rough and loose and get the details down later when you have more to work with. I'm applying this both to my personal life and work; I'm prone to sweating the small stuff before they become an issue. Thinking a head prevents major issues from popping up, but worrying is like paying interest on something you may never need!
Have you written any of your new year goals? I'd love to hear some of them!
Formally yours,
Darth Formal
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