Happy New Year to you all. I have had a pretty slow start to the year as I've been feeling under the weather. However, I've been giving some thought to goals for 2012. Note that these aren't "New Year Resolutions". I try to make my goals achievable, even though I'm aware that I only achieved 1 out of the 3 I set myself last year. With my commitment to my degree and its associated low income, overseas travel is pretty much out of the question, so I've retired my goal to go to Australia for now. Likewise, learning to rollerblade is still there but I have to practical about what I can and can't do.
So this is my list for 2012 - and hopefully, this time next year, I'll be able to say I've done them.
1. Use technology more to improve my health and fitness. There are masses of podcasts and free apps out there that I could hook into, but I just haven't done so. I have an iPod and an iPad, and I need to make better use of them.
2. Take up Pilates or yoga. I have done these before, but not in this past year and I think my flexibility has suffered. I have a chronic back problem so need all the help I can get.
3. Make an effort to complete some (at least some!) of the partly completed creative projects I have - there are several half-knitted sweaters and as many partly-made quilts. Even though I am acquiring new interests through my studies and exposure to other arts and crafts (such as the paper clay class I'm going to do later this month), fabric and fibre remain my first loves.
What are your goals for 2012?
I think this is the year I make the trip down the west coast (US) by train happen. There's some coordinating to be done as a niece wanted to be sure we got together in 2012 and has agreed to meet me in southern CA where I can introduce her to some relatives she has not met. The logistics are a bit daunting, but I am determined not to let it stress me out nor keep me from going even if no one else can manage to meet me down there.
ReplyDeleteMy other goal is to continue to re-establish more studio time more consistently. I really got out of the habit in 2010 when I was fighting so many medical and personal issues, and it took me longer in 2011 than I thought it would to really want to get creating again. I have a solo show coming up in April as well as several other exhibits I want to participate in, so now's the time to get back on a schedule. Fortunately, the desire has returned in the nick of time.
Overall, I want to try to maintain a more balanced life in the way I divvy up my time and attention. Too much goes by the wayside that I really do care about simply because I don't manage my time well. There'd be a lot less irritation with myself if some of these piles all over the house were attended to in a timely manner! I've done it before, I must get back into that habit again too. And I need to balance my feelings about relationships too.
I have to say, the New Year looks bright to me, and I plan to keep that bright outlook as much as I can. My yoga teacher talked today about yielding to whatever life sends your way, not resisting or trying to manipulate it but taking a good look at whatever it is and working with it, letting it be whatever it is. Think of yielding as when you merge into traffic: pull back a little and look around to assess the situation, then hit the gas!