33 Things I Love About My Valentine

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Laura Lee Bloor

Me and my valentine at the Parthenon in Athens, GreeceLove may be in the air, but stress has been on my mind.

The last couple of weeks have been unusually hectic for me, having finally settled into a groove at my new job (they’re still hiring) and starting the Tenacious Ladies Meetups.

Mr. Man has been equally busy with San Clemente Patch, too, with a nuclear power plant leak and, most recently, the devastating shooting of Sgt. Manny Levi Loggins by a sheriff’s deputy.

As the work hours and stress mount, my patience plummets.

Unfortunately, Mr. Man bears the brunt of my short temper. The busier we are, the more crucial it is that we keep the house organized. Alas, he does not share this philosophy.

So, as you might have already guessed, we’ve exchanged a fair amount of snaps and snarls over these last few weeks.

Angry? Write a Love Letter

Then, the other day in the midst of chaos, I remembered an exercise I did within the first few weeks of my health coaching training program. The assignment was to write a love letter to or about someone with whom we were having a rough time. “Why do you love the person you can’t stand at the moment?”

Though I was skeptical at first, upon completing the assignment, I noticed my mood and thoughts toward the person improved immediately. It works because it’s a simple exercise that forces you to look at the bigger picture. It helps you see all the positive things you love about the person that can be easy to forget when you’re angry or stressed.

Next time you’re upset with the one you love, try it.

In my case, rather than write out a full love letter, I modified it into a bulleted list including some of the many reasons why I love my Mr. Man:

33 Things I Love About My Valentine

  1. His phenomenal intelligence and capacity to retain information – Who can tell you everything about the ancient Aztec civilization to how beer is made to modern politics in Russia? Adam Townsend can.
  2. His skill and dedication to journalism – he’d been at it for more than a decade
  3. His artistic and design abilities – have you seen his website?
  4. His musical abilities – he plays the trumpet, piano, harmonica, drums, and mandolin; he has composed original piano and trumpet pieces
  5. That he was in a band – ask him about “Soul Jive”
  6. That he shares my love of “Archer” and “Best of Will Ferrell”
  7. That he also shares my fondness for psychological crime shows, like my recent obsession with “Dexter”
  8. How he supports me in whatever project I concoct – he played piano for all the V-Day 2011 “The Vagina Monologues” performances
  9. His knowledge and appreciation for jazz and blues – he introduced me to Thelonious Monk and John Lee Hooker
  10. His patience — especially with me and my lack thereof
  11. His kindness to strangers – he always has spare change and time for people and causes
  12. His eagerness to feed others – he’s a natural host, filling people’s plates and cups
  13. His sociability – he can talk to anyone
  14. His bonds with his friends – he’s still best friends with his childhood friends
  15. How he gives others the benefit of the doubt – he’s good at remembering other people are doing the best they can, too
  16. His manners – that won my family over as well
  17. How he shows his affection for me often – what girl doesn’t love kisses every day?
  18. How he compliments me on my “around the house” hair or clothes
  19. How he acts around his family – especially his Nan (grandma)
  20. How he interacts with our neighbor kids – they adore him
  21. His exuberance when starting a new hobby – it’s fascinating to watch him meld into whatever he’s doing
  22. His passion for learning – the man reads at least one book a week
  23. His eagerness to travel – we’ve been to Greece and would love to go to Italy next
  24. His willingness to try new things – whether it’s a new food or sport, he’s game (pun intended)
  25. His bilingualism – he speaks fluent Spanish
  26. His incredible cooking – especially omelets and any grilled meat
  27. His ability to improvise while cooking – I always need a recipe
  28. The way he makes perfect bacon – crispy throughout but not burnt
  29. His ambition – he’s never satisfied with the status quo
  30. His newfound love for boxing – watching him demonstrate the latest drills makes me smile
  31. His (obnoxious) devotion to The Steelers – His adoration begrudgingly sucked me into enjoying watching football, even if it is mostly for the social factor of it, and to resurrect my Browns fan status
  32. His calm and even temperament – he rarely yells
  33. How he fights fair and respectfully – no name-calling

Please share: What are some of the things you love about your Valentine?

Posted in Patch, Relationship Goals, Stress Management Goals | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What’s Your Plan to Achieve Your Goals for 2012?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Laura Lee Bloor

What's your plan to achieve your goals?Last week, I did my first in-person workshop on How to Conduct Your Own Personal Annual Review at “The Coop” — the headquarters for the San Clemente Community Market. It went fantastic! We followed these four basic steps:

  1. Decide what categories within your life you’d like to examine and create evaluation criteria.
  2. Reflect over the previous year and take stock of your accomplishments and shortfalls.
  3. Make goals for the new year to change or improve upon whatever is keeping you from living your best, most authentic life.
  4. Create a detailed plan for how to achieve your new goals.

Everyone left inspired and eager to put their detailed plan for how to achieve their goals to work — including myself.

While I was preparing the workshop, I realized that while I had followed steps one through three for myself, (see my posts on step 1, step 2 and step 3), I had not completed step four.

And step four is the most crucial step! Eighty-eight percent of New Year’s resolutions and goals fail because people don’t do step No. 4! Most people just state their goal (a simple version of step 3), but they don’t take any steps to plan and prepare a map for success.

Upon this grave error, I set to work immediately outlining my detailed plan to achieve my 2012 goals.

The key to a detailed plan is that you answer all the major questions of your goals: the who, what, where, when, why and how. The “why” is most important because it’s your motivation foundation. It should be addressed in the stated goal. For example: Excel in New Job (Why?) To Grow Professionally

Here’s my plan:

Excel in New Job to Grow Professionally

  • Be proactive in assisting with projects and asking for help as much as possible
  • Participate in Labs group before the end of the year
  • Absorb as much information as possible

Graduate From the Institute of Integrative Nutrition® to Be a Formally Trained Holistic Health Coach

  • Follow syllabus
  • Schedule a minimum of half an hour every day in the evenings or afternoon for school
  • Complete all graduation requirements by May deadline

Get 5 New Clients to Grow My Holistic Health Coaching Practice

Join Toastmasters to Reduce My Public Speaking Anxiety

  • Go to a Toastmasters meeting on Tuesday night at the community center
  • Participate in meetings biweekly

Start and Run a Monthly Meetup Group to Meet New Fun, Ambitious Women

Conduct 6 Teleclasses or In-Person Workshops to Grow Holistic Health Coaching Practice

  • Offered first workshop
  • Offer one teleclass or workshop (in person or online) every other month

Write 1 Guest Post or Freelance Article Per Month to Grow Health Coaching Practice

  • Seek appropriate media channels accepting submissions
  • Submit at least three pitches/proposals per month

Stick to a Weekly Posting Schedule to Grow Holistic Health Coaching Practice

  • Submit week’s post by Sunday of each week (Sundays are my deadline day)

Relationship Goals

Take at Least 2 Mini Vacations With Mr. Man to Spend Quality Time Alone Together

  • Go on one in February (It’s booked!)
  • Go on one in July or September
  • Turn off all technology on each trip

Call Out-of-State Friends More Regularly (as in More Than Once or Twice Per Year) to Stay in Touch

  • Call one friend per week on the weekend

Financial Goals

Continue to Reduce Credit Card Debt to Eventually Eliminate All Debt

Build an Emergency Savings Fund to Be More Financially Secure

  • Establish an automatic biweekly deduction to my ING Direct account
  • Don’t touch the money in that account — money should only go in, not out
  • Start a separate savings account for holiday/travel expenses so I won’t be tempted to dip into the emergency savings account

Eat 1 ‘Raw’ Meal Per Day to Improve Energy, Vitality and Digestion

  • If I haven’t had a “raw” meal all day, dinner automatically becomes the raw one
  • Create an arsenal of fast, easy raw food meals

Cut Meat Consumption by 50 Percent

  • Hmm, this one is hard. First off, I have no idea how much meat I eat now. Some days I don’t eat any meat, other days I eat meat twice a day.
  • I guess cutting meat by 50 percent would mean that I would go from at least one meatless day a week to two meatless days per week.

Drink the Recommended 8 Glasses of Water Per Day to Stay Properly Hydrated

  • Drink one glass in the morning as soon as I get up
  • At work, fill and drink from my four-cup mug
  • Have a couple glasses when I get home from work
  • Have a glass of water with dinner
  • On weekends, go heavy on the water at breakfast and lunch

Exercise and Fitness Goals

Exercise at Least 5 Days a Week to Stay Healthy and Minimize Stress

Here is my typical workout schedule, provided I don’t have clients or Toastmasters meetings. Most of the time I am going to the gym right after work. (All these classes are available at 24 Hour Fitness):

Obviously, I won’t be able to do everything every day, but I know what my plan is for each day of the week. As long as I do five of the seven, I’m good.

Be Able to Do 10 Regular Pushups With Proper Form to Stay Toned

  • Stick to my weightlifting classes to build strength
  • Do pushups after cardio workouts

Run a Half-Marathon to Build Endurance

  • Build up to running the beach trail and back, which is five miles
  • Move up to new trail runs
  • Continue to build using different paths around town
  • Follow a training guide from Runner’s World magazine
  • Consult with friends who have experience running half marathons

Volunteer/Service Goals

Write My “Sister” From Women for Women International at Least 3 Times to Keep Connected

  • Call Women for Women International to figure out who my sister even is at this point in time. (Yes, I’m ashamed to admit that I lost my information packet about my sister.)
  • Write one letter per season: a spring letter, summer letter and fall letter

Donate Items to Laura’s House or Salvation Army to Reduce Clutter and Help Others

  • Scan our closests for stuff to donate once a season to Laura’s House
  • Create a pile of stuff to donate
  • Make a weekend run to donate once a season

Spiritual Goals

Meditate for 10 Minutes at Least 3 Days Per Week to Build Mindfulness

  • Meditate at the gym right after my workout
  • Use the Insight Timer app to assist me
  • If that doesn’t work, meditate right before bed

Home Goals

Deep Clean Our Apartment to Reduce Clutter and Maintain Home

  • Tackle one area per season
  • Break the process down into tasks
  • Do a few tasks each weekend

What are a few of your steps and plans to help you complete some of your 2012 goals?

Posted in Career Goals, Diet and Nutrition Goals, Financial Goals, Fitness and Exercise Goals, Freelance Work Goals, Goals, Habits, Home Goals, Patch, Relationship Goals, Spiritual Goals, Stress Management Goals, Tenacious Ladies, Volunteer and Service Goals, Writing Goals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Introducing the San Clemente Tenacious Ladies Meetup Group

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Laura Lee Bloor

San Clemente Tenacious Ladies Meetup Group (iStockphoto) Last year, I remember wishing for a way to meet inspiring, remarkable women working on tangible projects that would improve themselves and the world around them. I enjoyed challenging myself and tackling big projects. (Hello, benefit performances of V-Day San Clemente 2011 “The Vagina Monologues”!) Certainly there must be other women like me within or near my town looking to swap support and advice?

I was curious: How did other ambitious working women juggle their desires and goals without sacrificing their health and wellness, family time or social lives? How did they find the energy and courage to move forward when they hit walls and obstacles?

Certainly, we could learn from one another. But how could I find such women?

Meet Meetup

My search brought me to Meetup, where anyone can start or find a group of people with similar, positive interests. A quick search revealed that San Clemente lacked a group like what I envisioned.

So, I added it to my list of goals for 2012 and created one.

I’m pleased to introduce the San Clemente Tenacious Ladies Meetup Group.

We meet at 6 p.m., on the last Wednesday of every month at The Cellar in San Clemente.

I designed Tenacious Ladies to be part focus group, accountability group and support group. The main purpose is to have fun while promoting the personal and professional growth of other like-minded women.

We are a small group of remarkable women striving to achieve a variety of personal and professional goals aimed at improving our health and happiness. We support and encourage one another in creating and executing big dreams and projects.

We provide invaluable accountability to help each other stick to our goals and resolutions. Perhaps most important, we believe that these activities are performed best while drinking delicious wine and artisan cheeses and having fun.

Tenacious Ladies is for you if:

  • You are ready to get serious about achieving your goals in 2012.
  • You want to meet other ambitious ladies who like to dream big and convert those dreams into reality.
  • You wish you could connect with a group of women who understand the challenges of juggling careers with family and friends while maintaining a healthy, purposeful life.
  • You want support in reaching your goals in a fun, friendly atmosphere.
  • You love wine and cheese.

Be a Tenacious Lady! RSVP Today!

Come get support, encouragement and advice – and have some fun! Join us at our inaugural meeting at 6 p.m., Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at The Cellar in San Clemente.

What’s that? You don’t live in Southern California or can’t do Wednesday evenings? Don’t sweat it. I plan to create a virtual community of Tenacious Ladies later this year. Stay tuned! 

Posted in Goals, Tenacious Ladies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Goals for 2012

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Laura Lee Bloor

Goals (iStockphoto)Now that the New Year is fully underway, how are you coming along with your resolutions?

Hopefully, you carved out some time to conduct your own personal annual review and reflect upon all that you did in 2011.

Now it’s time to look ahead for this year. What do you want to accomplish in 2012? What are your big goals?

If you want to accomplish some challenging goals, the best thing you can do is make them public. The more people you have asking you about what you’re doing, the less likely you will be to throw in the towel.

As with my personal annual review, I will be using the same categories for my 2012 goals.

This year, I’m trying to focus more on fewer goals. I want the theme of this year to be “consistency.” So, if I want to be consistent, it’s best to start small and build from there.

Professional Goals

Excel in My New Job
In November, I accepted a new job as a copywriter for Ignite Health. While the phrase, “Excel in my new job,” may seem vague, I plan to use my yearly employee evaluation as a way to assess my progress.

Graduate From the Health Coaching Program
In May, I am scheduled to complete my holistic health coach training program through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). I’m more than halfway there and am on track to pass with flying colors.

Get 5 New Clients
I have two clients right now, but I’d like to have at least five new clients by the end of the year.

Join Toastmasters
I hate public speaking and, naturally, tend to avoid it. However, I recognize that this aversion is holding me back from doing better in my full-time job as well as in my health coaching work. I want to improve my public speaking skills and have heard joining Toastmasters is one of the best ways to do this.

Start and Run a Monthly Meetup Group
I’d like to start and maintain a monthly Meetup group for women who want to support and encourage one another in creating and executing big dreams, goals, and projects. The group will provide invaluable accountability to help its members stick to their goals and resolutions while having fun.

Conduct 6 Teleclasses or In-Person Workshops
I only offered two free teleclasses last year, so I’d like to try that again this year. I’d also like some of those to be in-person workshops.

Write 1 Guest Post or Freelance Article Per Month
I didn’t do this at all last year, and I wish I would have. I love writing and need to be better about seeking opportunities.

Stick to a Weekly Posting Schedule
As I mentioned in my personal annual review, I was haphazard in my posting schedule last year. This year, I’d like to stick to one post per week.

Relationship Goals

Take at Least 2 Mini Vacations With Mr. Man
I didn’t do this last year, and we recognized that its important for us to get away and spend more time together. So, I want to try again this year.

Call Out-of-State Friends More Regularly (as in More Than Once or Twice Per Year)
Again, this is another goal that was on my list from last year that I’d like to try and improve upon this year.

Financial Goals

Continue to Reduce Credit Card Debt
We’re doing well with this long-term goal, but we found a way we may be able to get out of credit card debt even faster. I can elaborate later, but even if that falls through, as long as we stick to our debt management program through AAA Fair Credit Foundation, we’ll be fine.

Build an Emergency Savings Fund
This has been a goal of mine for years, and every year I manage to save a little and then spend it all. This time I think I’ll create a separate “Do Not Touch” account within my ING Direct savings account.

Diet and Nutrition Goals

Eat One “Raw” Meal Per Day
This goal was inspired by my friend Liz, who has become a passionate raw foodist. I have no desire to go all raw, but I do believe in the benefits of a raw food diet. One meal a day sounds realistic for me.

Cut My Meat Consumption by 50 Percent
I’ve cut back on my meat consumption, but I know I can do better. This year, I’d like to cut the amount of meat I eat in half. I don’t plan to go vegetarian, but again, I believe we could all benefit from reducing the amount of meat we eat.

Drink the Recommended 8 Glasses of Water Per Day
I drink more water now than ever before, but I know it’s not the recommended eight cups. I’d say I’m somewhere between four and six right now.

Exercise and Fitness Goals

Exercise at Least 5 Days a Week
This is another repeat goal from last year. I’m almost there now. I’d say I exercise at least four days a week; many times last year I exercised six days a week. The problem is that I was sporadic in my workout schedules. That whole “consistency” theme is big on this one.

Be Able to Do 10 Regular Pushups With Proper Form
As of now, I can do three regular/guy-style pushups with proper form.

Run a Half-Marathon
I ran my first 10K last year. I’d like to challenge myself to a half-marathon this year.

Volunteer/Service Goals

Write My “Sister” From Women for Women International at Least 3 Times
I love being a sponsor for Women for Women International, but I haven’t been as involved as I could.

Donate Items to Laura’s House or Salvation Army
I do this at least once a year. This should be an easy goal to accomplish. Got to have at least one freebie, right?

Spiritual Goals

Meditate for 10 Minutes at Least 3 Days Per Week
Since I failed at my “meditate daily” goal for last year, I figured I’d better take it down a notch, and try again this year.

Home Goals

Deep Clean Our Apartment
We need to purge a lot of clutter. As long as I break this big goal down into smaller ones (clean out this drawer, go through this closet), it will be manageable. Granted, I still expect this to take all year.

Well, now that I’m looking over my list of goals for this year, it still looks like a lot to accomplish — even with paring down the list. I feel good about it though — it feels appropriately challenging. It also feels exciting and a little intimidating, which is a strong sign I’m on the right track.

If I had to pick the top three goals I want to accomplish for 2012, they would be:

  1. Excel in My New Job
  2. Get 5 New Clients
  3. Run a Half-Marathon

How about you? What are your three major goals that you want to accomplish for 2012?

Posted in Career Goals, Diet and Nutrition Goals, Financial Goals, Fitness and Exercise Goals, Freelance Work Goals, Goals, Home Goals, Relationship Goals, Spiritual Goals, Volunteer and Service Goals, Writing Goals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

My 2011 Personal Annual Review

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Laura Lee Bloor

Cheers to all the goals you accomplished in 2011. Happy New Year!

I hope you enjoyed spending time with loved ones during the last week or two and are as eager and excited as I am to make 2012 your best year yet!

Before we go full steam ahead though, it helps to take some time and look back at 2011. What went well? What didn’t? What did you learn or gain from your mistakes and stumbles?

Answering these questions is why I love doing a personal annual review. This exercise allows me to look back at all of my goals and see clearly where I excelled and where I fell short. I can then put that knowledge to use moving forward for 2012.

Here’s how I did on my 2011 goals:

Professional Goals

Get a New Job – Nailed It
While I loved (and still do) WebMD, I reached a plateau, and it became clear it was time for me to move on. I learned that just because my skills were not appreciated at one company did not mean that they were not valuable skills.

When I found a company that looked like a good fit, and I submitted my resume, they responded back enthusiastically. It was a good reminder on several levels:

  1. If you’re unhappy in your job, create an exit strategy.
  2. Always believe in yourself.
  3. Wait for a partnership that is as equally excited about you as you are it.

(If you were wondering, I am now a copywriter for Ignite Health.)

Enroll in the Holistic Health Coaching Program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition – Nailed It
I’m learning so much from IIN, and I’m glad I started when I did.

I’ve lost weight, improved my relationship with my husband, increased my energy, reduced my stress and improved my eating habits — and I’m not even finished yet!

Get 1 Client – Nailed It
I have not one but two clients currently enrolled in my six-month program!

I learned that talking enthusiastically about what you love to do really does attract people. I love, love, love health coaching and helping people amaze themselves. Keeping this in mind will help me help even more people.

Write One Post Per Week – Not Good Enough
I have been haphazard in my posting schedule. I learned that when my priorities are self-care, family, work, clients, school, blog, that what’s on the bottom of the list tends to fall off the plate. If I want to return to a weekly posting schedule, then I need to do a better job of blocking off a specific time to ensure this happens.

Create and Send Monthly Newsletters – Fail
I signed up with Aweber but am now considering switching to MailChimp because it is less expensive for newbies like me.

Create and Teach a Monthly Teleclass – OK
I spent a lot of work on this and was really proud of what I created. I did teach a couple of classes with a handful of participants. However, I fell below expectations at promoting the course and finding time to teach it. This is definitely something to work on for 2012.

Create Marketing Materials – OK
This goal is coming along, but it won’t be finalized by the end of the year. I did not plan on the marketing materials taking as long as they have. My designer and I both have full-time jobs in addition to our side work, so that should have been an indicator to take whatever my timeframe was and double it.

Relationship Goals

Go on a Mini Vacation With Mr. Man – Not Good Enough
All of our vacation days this year were allotted to weddings and family visits or vacations. While we had a blast at each event and some alone time, we did not go anywhere just the two of us. The lack of just-us time lead to some tension build-up that could have been avoided.

Visit My New Nephew – Nailed It
I was able to go out and see my newest nephew earlier this year. So glad I did – he is adorable!

Call Out-of-State Friends More Regularly (as in More Than Once or Twice Per Year) – OK
The good news: I have many wonderful, amazing friends. The bad news: I did not call all of them as much as I would have liked.

The reoccurring problem I face is that when we go a long time without talking, there’s always so much to catch up on, whereas if we talked regularly, there wouldn’t be a gob of information to share. I’m unsure of how to break this cycle …

Financial Goals

Continue to Reduce Credit Card Debt – Kudos
We have reduced our credit card debt from more than $25,000 to about $16,000. It would be right around $12,000 if I hadn’t registered for school using a credit card. However, I know that was worth going into a little more debt temporarily.

We’re also still reducing our student loan debt, although that is going much more slowly.

Build an Emergency Savings Fund – OK
We created a savings fund, but then we used the money to help fund trips and Christmas shopping. So, while we didn’t go into more debt, we also still don’t have an emergency savings fund established.

Diet and Nutrition Goals

Drink More Water – Kudos
I’m definitely drinking more water than I ever have in my life, but I know I could be doing better.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables – Kudos
I credit my health counseling program with helping me have some of the best eating habits I’ve ever had in my life. I am eating a lot more fruits and vegetables, especially now that I started having my smoothies for breakfast regularly, and I am much more aware of how my food choices affect my body, mind, and spirit.

Creating meal plans, found here, has also been a big help.

Reduce Meat Consumption – Kudos
I’ve definitely cut back on my meat consumption. I eat vegetarian or pescetarian about three to four days a week now. However, I still have a substantial wings addiction that I’m sure is not healthy.

Exercise and Fitness Goals

Run a 10K – Nailed It
I ran my first 10K this year at the Dana Point Turkey Trot. My goal was simply to finish the race pain-free, which I did. (I had been in and out of physical therapy at Body Awareness to recover from IT band syndrome and a pulled groin on separate occasions.)

My time was: 1 hour 10 minutes and 53 seconds. In my age group of 25- to 29-year-old women, I finished 242 out of 293. So, it was nothing spectacular, but it gives me a benchmark for my next 10K.

Exercise 5 Days a Week – OK
Some weeks, I was totally on; I exercised not just five, but six days a week! Then other times, I would go a week or two without exercising at all.

Try a New Exercise Class – Nailed It
This year, in an effort to shake up my exercise routine, I tried three new classes at my gym 24 Hour Fitness. Here are my mini reviews of each one:

Zumba didn’t really feel like exercise or fun, just awkwardness.

Granted, it could have been that the instructor was having an off day, but Turbo Kick felt as if I could have gotten the same workout results if I had just constantly jumped and thrashed around for an hour straight.

The Kick Butt Boot Camp was by far the best; it certainly upheld its name. I’m looking forward to this class more in 2012.

Volunteer and Service Goals

Put on a Sold-Out Show of “The Vagina Monologues” and Donate Proceeds to Charity – Nailed It
This was such an incredible experience. It blew away my expectations – we filled Knuckleheads to capacity Friday night and had to turn people away Saturday night. We raised more than $5,000 for Laura’s House and V-Day non-profit foundations.

Write Sponsor Sister Through Women for Women International Once a Month – Fail
I’m a proud sponsor of Women for Women International, but I was a terrible “sister” to my match in Iraq. I didn’t write her a single letter the whole year. At least I’m still involved, and I know my money is going to good use.

Volunteer With Hospice – Fail
As much as I loved this passion project, I had to let it go so that I could devote more time and energy to the other projects on my plate.

On the positive side, it allowed me to say “no” to something, which I often have a hard time doing.

Spiritual Goals

Meditate Daily – Not Good Enough
Again, I was intermittent in this. I’d meditate four days in a row and then go 10 days without doing it.

Home Goals

Deep Clean the Apartment – Not Good Enough
The only room I entirely deep cleaned (dusted, swept, mopped, cleaned out drawers, threw out unused/old stuff, etc.) was our main bathroom. I think the entire apartment was too ambitious.

Wow, looking back, 2011 was a busy, productive year!

Sure there were some letdowns, but the important thing is that I learned something from each failure. Now I can put those lessons to use when I plan and set my goals for 2012.

What surprises – good or bad – did you encounter in 2011?

Posted in Career Goals, Diet and Nutrition Goals, Financial Goals, Fitness and Exercise Goals, Goals, Happiness Goals, Home Goals, Life Lessons, Relationship Goals, Spiritual Goals, Volunteer and Service Goals, Writing Goals | Tagged , | 2 Comments