Last year, I resolved to:
1. Think and act more positively.
In retrospect, I'm not sure this was a great resolution because it is difficult to quantify. I'm reflecting on the intention behind this goal and I don't think I was more or less positive than usual. We'll call this one a wash.
2. Floss every day.
Possibly the most boring resolution ever but hey, oral hygiene is important. I think I flossed 3 or 4 times on average a week - so roughly every other day. I'm sure my dentist would still consider this inadequate, but for me it was a marked improvement. Like my skincare routine, flossing is one of those things I tend to forgo if I'm exhausted at night, which of late has been almost every night. I think it comes down to mental outlook - I consider not brushing my teeth an act of sacrilege. But skipping flossing is ok because flossing is a bonus. I'd like to change my attitude on this and start making flossing a must have instead of a nice to have. Grade: C
3. Visit ten countries that I have not been to before.
I knocked this one out of the ballpark! Probably because of all the extra time I had from not flossing. Here are the new countries I visited (in order of appearance, with some accompanying posts featuring that visit):
1. Scotland (1, 2, 3, 4)
2. England
3. Netherlands (no blog entries, pictures here)
4. France
5. Spain (1, 2, 3)
6. Turkey (1, 2, 3)
7. Austria
8. Slovakia
9. Czech Republic
10. Portugal (no blog entires, pictures here)
11. Wales (some pictures here, along with the beautiful English countryside)
12. Greece
13. Denmark (pictures here and here)
14. Germany (pictures here)
15. Montenegro
16. Croatia
Not a shabby country to blog post ratio either. A+
In 2015, I resolve to:
Stop working so much. In my first years as a professional, I've always felt the need to compensate for my lack of experience by working extra hard and making my job my number one priority. Over the years, ThoughtWorks has given me opportunities to take on stretch roles so that I can continue to grow. But even with more experience under my belt, I haven't been able to shake off that mentality that work should come first. And naturally, the more demanding roles require more of me. So if anything, I've become more addicted to work. Symptoms include being glued to my work e-mail, feeling intensely guilty when on vacation, missing team dinners or events just to get that one last thing done, and regarding 11 or 12 hour day workdays as normal/acceptable/fine. I'm not feeling burnt out quite yet, but if I continue at this rate, I will be a charred black lump of coal.
This doesn't mean I'm going to sit on my ass, turn on Netflix and eat flaming hot cheetos until I pass out (though that does sound good for one day). I want to still work hard and be proud of what I am doing; I just don't want to become masochistic about it. I resolve to work more smartly, to say no or to ask for help when I'm feeling overwhelmed, and to find some more purpose to my life (volunteering, or maybe tutoring) that pulls me away from the job but still makes me feel accomplished.
Find and promote females who are doing awesome things. I consume a lot. I read, watch, listen, subscribe, follow, pin, retweet, like, etc. And I mean I literally consume a lot too (particularly when I can get my grubby paws on Korean barbecue). You know what the vast majority of the producers of these things have in common? They are men. Men author the books I read. Men defeat the baddies in the movies I watch. Men give the keynote speeches that rock the industry I work in. Hell, even in the food industry, men dominate; of the 2,500 restaurants in the world that are Michelin starred, a measly 10 of them have female chefs.
Whenever possible, I want to look for what women are doing in these areas; I want to hear and amplify their voices, too. As part of the #readwomen2015 movement, I resolve to read 8 books by female authors this year. I also want to consciously extend this gender bias to other areas in which I an a consumer - film, music, sports, politics - and hopefully along the way, discover some positive female role models that I can look up to and elevate.
This is not about being a feminist or blocking out what men have to say. This is about recognizing that much of what I know is narrated by one group of people; there are others out there, ready to be heard.
Run a marathon. I'm turning 26 this year, so it seems a fitting time to run 26.2 miles. The Chicago marathon takes place in October so that gives me plenty of time to train. I'm thinking it'd be neat to travel and races in other places as well - maybe join up with some of my running friends, like Ashley in New York, Yoyo in DC (though maybe soon in SF!) or Scott in Berlin. I don't have a time goal - I'd like to just finish with my dignity intact.
There you have it, three ambitious goals to kick off the new year. 2014 has undoubtedly been one of the best (and crazy) years of my life. It'll be hard to top getting engaged and living abroad in two new countries. But I'm ready to wind down a little, get back home and kick some ass in 2015.
1. Think and act more positively.
In retrospect, I'm not sure this was a great resolution because it is difficult to quantify. I'm reflecting on the intention behind this goal and I don't think I was more or less positive than usual. We'll call this one a wash.
2. Floss every day.
Possibly the most boring resolution ever but hey, oral hygiene is important. I think I flossed 3 or 4 times on average a week - so roughly every other day. I'm sure my dentist would still consider this inadequate, but for me it was a marked improvement. Like my skincare routine, flossing is one of those things I tend to forgo if I'm exhausted at night, which of late has been almost every night. I think it comes down to mental outlook - I consider not brushing my teeth an act of sacrilege. But skipping flossing is ok because flossing is a bonus. I'd like to change my attitude on this and start making flossing a must have instead of a nice to have. Grade: C
3. Visit ten countries that I have not been to before.
I knocked this one out of the ballpark! Probably because of all the extra time I had from not flossing. Here are the new countries I visited (in order of appearance, with some accompanying posts featuring that visit):
1. Scotland (1, 2, 3, 4)
2. England
3. Netherlands (no blog entries, pictures here)
4. France
5. Spain (1, 2, 3)
6. Turkey (1, 2, 3)
7. Austria
8. Slovakia
9. Czech Republic
10. Portugal (no blog entires, pictures here)
11. Wales (some pictures here, along with the beautiful English countryside)
12. Greece
13. Denmark (pictures here and here)
14. Germany (pictures here)
15. Montenegro
16. Croatia
Not a shabby country to blog post ratio either. A+
In 2015, I resolve to:
Stop working so much. In my first years as a professional, I've always felt the need to compensate for my lack of experience by working extra hard and making my job my number one priority. Over the years, ThoughtWorks has given me opportunities to take on stretch roles so that I can continue to grow. But even with more experience under my belt, I haven't been able to shake off that mentality that work should come first. And naturally, the more demanding roles require more of me. So if anything, I've become more addicted to work. Symptoms include being glued to my work e-mail, feeling intensely guilty when on vacation, missing team dinners or events just to get that one last thing done, and regarding 11 or 12 hour day workdays as normal/acceptable/fine. I'm not feeling burnt out quite yet, but if I continue at this rate, I will be a charred black lump of coal.
This doesn't mean I'm going to sit on my ass, turn on Netflix and eat flaming hot cheetos until I pass out (though that does sound good for one day). I want to still work hard and be proud of what I am doing; I just don't want to become masochistic about it. I resolve to work more smartly, to say no or to ask for help when I'm feeling overwhelmed, and to find some more purpose to my life (volunteering, or maybe tutoring) that pulls me away from the job but still makes me feel accomplished.
Find and promote females who are doing awesome things. I consume a lot. I read, watch, listen, subscribe, follow, pin, retweet, like, etc. And I mean I literally consume a lot too (particularly when I can get my grubby paws on Korean barbecue). You know what the vast majority of the producers of these things have in common? They are men. Men author the books I read. Men defeat the baddies in the movies I watch. Men give the keynote speeches that rock the industry I work in. Hell, even in the food industry, men dominate; of the 2,500 restaurants in the world that are Michelin starred, a measly 10 of them have female chefs.
Whenever possible, I want to look for what women are doing in these areas; I want to hear and amplify their voices, too. As part of the #readwomen2015 movement, I resolve to read 8 books by female authors this year. I also want to consciously extend this gender bias to other areas in which I an a consumer - film, music, sports, politics - and hopefully along the way, discover some positive female role models that I can look up to and elevate.
This is not about being a feminist or blocking out what men have to say. This is about recognizing that much of what I know is narrated by one group of people; there are others out there, ready to be heard.
Run a marathon. I'm turning 26 this year, so it seems a fitting time to run 26.2 miles. The Chicago marathon takes place in October so that gives me plenty of time to train. I'm thinking it'd be neat to travel and races in other places as well - maybe join up with some of my running friends, like Ashley in New York, Yoyo in DC (though maybe soon in SF!) or Scott in Berlin. I don't have a time goal - I'd like to just finish with my dignity intact.
There you have it, three ambitious goals to kick off the new year. 2014 has undoubtedly been one of the best (and crazy) years of my life. It'll be hard to top getting engaged and living abroad in two new countries. But I'm ready to wind down a little, get back home and kick some ass in 2015.
