The start of a new year brings a lot of rejuvenation to people. I guess it's the thought of having a 'new' year to work with.
In reality it doesn't really mean much, besides the fact that we have made another trip around the Sun on this little planet we call Earth. I guess it also means the calendar manufacturers keep themselves in business too... Then again, this year is the year that the Mayan calendar ends - so maybe we are marching on towards our own doom!
Oh well, in the mean time I will keep myself busy with work and everyday chores... I don't want the next humans or aliens or whatever creature inhabits the planet to think I was lazy. I think the best way to go about keeping myself motivated is to come up with some goals for the year, if not longer. In fact, I have a few goals in my head already and they are not exactly anything of excitement for anyone but myself - mostly just running related and then a few miniscule material wealth goals too.
I have a tough time with setting goals beyond that though. I have been reading Facebook posts of friends setting goals and making resolutions for 2012, all-the-while I can't come up with anything to strive for. The other day, while out on my evening run, I had some time to actually stop and thi... Let me rephrase that, I had some time to actually run and think about it. I don't have trouble with establishing goals, I hold high expectations of what should happen. On top of that, I have high expectations for myself and my family... I will refrain from commenting on the latter though, I don't intend to bring personal family views into this online self-evaluation.
Is it really a problem if I have high expectations instead of viewing something as a goal to try to achieve? I don't think so. I'm disappointed occasionally, but who isn't - can I handle disappointment - sure, it's life, deal with it and move on. Part of having high expectations is having strong desire and understanding of sacrifice. It befuddles me to hear people complaining about not having enough money to buy things they want/need, yet they drive expensive cars they don't need and live in large expensive houses they can't afford. "Oh, but it's smarter to buy than to rent! I need a reliable car to drive around town!" Really? I expect to pay for my vehicles the day I buy them. It can be tough to drive around with a car that doesn't look cool, run well, and doesn't make you happy - but a little sacrifice will get you a lot further in life than always getting everything you want. Look at the housing market right now - why are so many homes in foreclosure? It's not the fault of the bank - it's the people that wanted the loans for the house they couldn't afford...but I digress, it's ultimately on ME to do what needs to be done and perhaps my expectations are too high, but it's understanding of the rewards of sacrifice that pay off in the end. I could go on and on about that though, if you want to really get into it, bring it up some time.
So how about a few goals for the year? Well, like I mentioned, running or perhaps personal health is at the top of the list. Yes, lose a little weight is on there. Running faster is pretty easy to say, but I need to actually hammer out some definitive times to shoot for. I did sign up for the Lincoln Half-Marathon again - this will be my 3rd year doing it - so that goal is self explanatory, FINISH! If I can finish under 1:40:00 I will be happy, although after only improving 2 seconds/mile last year, I wonder how likely it is to improve 19 seconds/mile this year? Hopefully my training schedule will help this year - it's much tougher than the version I used last year, I actually have some workouts instead of just logging miles.
I'm sure I will think of some more personal goals while out running the pathways, trails, and sidewalks on these dark and cool winter evenings. It's easy to find motivation when I think about what I'm already doing - something that most people never get started...
Until again
-=Nolan=-
