I was sooooo busy, I had to wait till I finished my series on using dreams and symbols to navigate your productivity before I could do my update.
So although I reviewed my second quarter in July, I did not write up this report till now. The first thing I noted was that I needed to drop several of my previous goals. Secondly, that several of my goals were essentially completed. And lastly, and this one is a biggie, I have substantially changed trajectory and I need to re-evaluate all my remaining annual goals.
I review my Long Term Goals every quarter. But I review my annual goals every single week. And the slow change in focus has been obvious to me for a while now. So of the goals that are left, I need to consider just how many of them reflect my current focus.
I could go back to my original annual goals list and modify it as needed. Or I could restart the process and determine new goals for the last six months of 2008. I have decided to do a little of both. First I have updated my annual goals list with the current status. Below are the remaining open goals.
Remaining 2008 Goals
I have added two major additions to my annual goals
- Teaching at Cherry Hill Seminary
- Active collaboration with P (a web guy) to produce major web site designs
Which when added to my existing major projects of …
- Psychology & Magick book proposal, final draft and literary agent
- 2009 weekend intensive for Presidents Day weekend 09
- Reflections Mystery School (+Plan 2009 school year & school portal upgrade)
- Connect DC (+Complete web site upgrade)
… gives me a rather full plate for the last half of 2008.
I am thinking with these major items on my already full plate, these two goals may be too much for me this year.
- Answer requests for short term Drupal assistance on local job boards
- Let more folks know that I am available for out of town classes, workshops, festivals and conferences.
But I will hold on to the following goals, since they represent items that could be generally seen as representing home, health and finances. And those three areas usually represent a challenge for me in terms of motivation and focus. Although I may trim back my list of home projects for this year.
- Walk 30 minutes three times a week
- Baseline weight closer to ~200 lbs
- Build up my cash reserves
- Will and Power of Attorney documents
- Repairs and reorganization – Maybe three items from the list below.
- Kitchen (3 projects),
- Bedroom (3 projects) and
- Closet (2 projects)
The remaining goals concern advertising my classes, workshops and intensives. I will most likely advertise the annual intensive as planned, but I will reconsider advertising my regular classes. I will review this area again in September.
- Create a Reflections Mystery School brochure
- Advertise classes and rituals in local newsletters such as the Hill Rag, DC North, Takoma Voice, etc.
- Advertise annual Reflections intensive in regional and national publications
I have already dropped goals that represented my old business focus and goals that would be difficult to accomplish with the upswing in business and a full teaching schedule.
So now all that is left is rescheduling the remaining items and updating my project files.
Conclusion
I have accomplished an awful lot this year already. But if I did not review my annual goals and drop ones that no longer serve me, I would be setting myself up for disappointment. Because things have change substantially in my life compared to earlier in the year, re-examining my goals helps me to refocus the second half of the year.
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sweet! :-)
You are usually able to annunciate what I do not have words for. Thank you!
Much love,
-Eridanus
INTJ here. I hear what you are saying.
"what is remembered, lives". It was with sadness that I read of Wilma Mankiller's passing. She won't be forgotten.
"...Weaver, Weaver weave this thread, whole and strong into your web...Healer, Healer, heal our pain...In love may she return again..."
While student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I became friends with Carl Rogers, who was respected as one of the leading psychotherapists of his time. He taught me much about the art of listening.
Dr. Rogers said that when we listen, and people know we are listening, it shows we truly care about them. In turn, they will respond by caring about you. It opens communication and also opens hearts. When we accept them as a person, unconditionally, they will be more kind to you.
We should listen without preconceptions, without anticipation and without judgement if we want others to portray what they truly feel. We listen with all our senses, not just to the words which are said. Some people cannot fully express themselves while speaking, so we must try to see them as they see themselves. We should watch for non-verbal clues as to what they really mean: facial expressions, body movements, etc.
While we should show positive regard for the other person, we should also demonstrate our own positive self-regard. We do not react to their negative comments, verbally or physically, even when we disagree with them. When they do ask for our opinion, however, we should respond with our true thoughts and in specifics rather than generalities. We offer our own perspective as other options rather than as contradictions.
Listening might seem quite passive as opposed to speaking. It is actually very active. To paraphrase Bobby Kennedy, “I learn while listening. When I talk I don’t learn too much.” If you think talking helps to spread your own wisdom, you are not really wise.