be smarter

As promised on our last podcast of the year, I’m posting my resolutions for 2014 publicly, so I have to complete them.

Here’s the thing: I really had some trouble coming up with resolutions for 2014, and that concerns me a little because it makes me think that I must think there’s nothing to work on! Which is certainly not the case. 😛 There are a lot of tiny things to be done, but they’re not all “goals”, per se, and they’re definitely not all S.M.A.R.T.

It’s a really good idea to make S.M.A.R.T. goals because a S.M.A.R.T. goal is designed to be reached. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound. If you follow these guidelines it’s basically a shoe-in. 🙂 Some people say, “I’d like to go to the gym more.” and then never really do because “more” is relative. They haven’t made it easy for themselves at all. There’s no impetus behind it, no definition, no rules. So here are my resolutions for the year 2014:

My S.M.A.R.T. goals:
Buy a car (actually this was a goal for 2013, but that did not happen.)
Read the bible portion every week (this has always been my goal it just slips through the cracks so easily).
Cook at least twice [preferably thrice] a week.
Post once a month.
Write and record new music – ideally every 2-3 months.
Publish my photography site and shoot at least once a month.

Not so S.MA.R.T. goals:
Read more.
Work on character flaws.
Do something that scares me more often.
Keep family relationships healthy and happy.
Find a way to make the company (Quo Vadis Inc.) more efficient, productive, and organized.

Alrighty then! That looks good to me – I resolve to hold myself accountable to these goals and try my hardest to complete each and every one of them.
I’d like to encourage you all to make resolutions of your own (even if you don’t really do anything for the new year, now is as good a time as any to examine your life and make some changes!), and be sure to write them down. That way it’s binding, and you can reference it easily. Make S.M.A.R.T. goals this year. Finish them this year.

I believe it is in our power to make every year better than the last – it’s a big blank canvas and we’re all starting fresh so make the best of it!