Setting Goals

Over the last two years, it has helped me immensely to periodically sit down and ask myself where I want to be going with my life and how I can get there.  Generally this takes the form of writing down some specific goals, identifying some of the specific kinds of things I need to do in order to reach those goals, and reminding myself of both the assets I have available to me and the progress I've previously made in order to help myself believe that achievement of these new goals is possible.

Even when I throw my specific plans out the window, the exercise helps to shape my thinking and provides a rough guide of where I want to be going and how I might get there. 

It's quiet around the house today.  M. is in Santa Fe filming some bits of the March Against Monsanto, my mom is always quiet, and it's too hot during the peak hours to do anything outside.  So I'm pondering my goals, just as I was the other day.  Now, though, I'm thinking more broadly about several different areas of my life in which I have goals.

Here's a rough outline of what I'm thinking:

Goal Area:  Food 

• Become mainly vegan, except when eating away from home (then, if vegan and tasty isn't possible, eat vegetarian).  
• Quit drinking soda; substitute water and non-caffeinated teas.
• Become a good cook (meaning: have a standard repertoire of vegan/vegetarian recipes using whole foods that is broad enough to be interesting and varied, and accommodating to ingredients I commonly will have around the house).
• Successfully preserve food from this year's garden. 
• When practical, purchase food from local suppliers.

Goal Area: Fitness

• Engage in consistent, regular exercise, most days of the week, regardless of my physical status.  When possible, strive to increase endurance and strength. 
• Include weight training, cardio, and flexibility exercises. 

Goal Area: Housing

• Purchase a homestead with manageable monthly payments that can be made sustainable and relatively self-sufficient with respect to housing, power, water, animals, and a garden.

Goal Area: Financial

• Maintain and increase a cushion of money for emergencies and retirement.
• Get student loans forgiven.
• Refinance or sell Maryland house.

Goal Area: Mental Health

• Spend time outside every day, regardless of weather or mood.  
• Go for at least one walk every day. 
• Periodically document progress and successes

Goal Area: Intellectual and Artistic Growth

• Write in my blog or journal at least 4 times weekly. 
• Post pictures in blog or journal at least 4 times weekly.  

Goal Area: Relationships and Social

• Engage my mother in conversation about things she's interested in and mutual interests.
• Maintain regular contact with my father and brother.  Go beyond pleasantries.
• Maintain regular contact with my son. 
• Make specific time each week to do something new and interesting with M.
• Be a regular participant in at least two different social settings. 

Goal Area:  Activism and Community Engagement

• Find and engage in at least one ongoing civic activity in the local community. 
• Engage in at least one non-local cause on a regular basis.  Find a way to mobilize my specific talents for this cause.

It's a start.