Things morphed in 2018 as they always do. Here are my SMART goals (with trips in parentheses) from last December, color coded in green if completed and red if not.
January (into February): Reach Level 2 in the Krav Maga self-defense course (See family in Roanoke Rapids and friends in Raleigh)
February (into March): Write a 1-day course on obstetrics, prenatal care, and neonatal resuscitation I will be teaching for Equip International's Missionary Medicine Intensive course 4 times per year starting in March (2-day marriage conference in Charlotte)
March: Focus on cultivating my marriage and applying concepts from the marriage conference (Camp in Uwharrie National Forest)
April-May: Design and build the library, build a barrel composter, help Mindy build the chicken coop (3-day weekend with college friends, kayak trip #1)
June: Work on my kayaking skills (Kayak trip #2, camp in Elkmont, TN)
July: Start growing oyster mushrooms, experiment with new dishes in the kitchen using home-grown produce (Goble family beach trip)
August: Morning meditation, practicing presence, positivity (Camping trip near Brevard, kayak trip #3)
September: Build a plyo box, lifting platform, and prowler (Trip with Mindy's family)
October: Do the ketogenic diet. It's time. (Backpacking trip with college friends)
November: We may be having puppy grandchildren around this time. If not, I'm sure something will have come up. (Travel to see Mindy's family in Oklahoma and maybe Colorado and Wichita)
December: Do Christmas here and plan for 2019. No trips (hopefully)!
In lieu of the things in red, we built a fence around our 6.5 acres for the dogs, had Lula spayed, bought two rabbits (only one of which survives to this day), biked the Creeper Trail, I did the swim portion of a triathlon, started a leadership seminar at the hospital, visited my friends Sam and Lee in Raleigh, went on a couple personal retreats, and started biking regularly. All in all, the number of projects and trips I ended up completing was the same as the number I hoped to complete at the beginning of the year. So on that measure, the year was a success!
I also feel pretty good about how I explored my dual themes of Creativity and Connection. Mindy and I have grown by leaps and bounds, and I've also cultivated a couple close friendships outside of work. I tried to write a short story but lacked the vision to finish it which was a bummer. But I was inspired to write a poem on Connection after a counseling session, which turned out very well. My many reflections on books and ideas reflect the kind of content I feel most interested in creating at the moment. So on the measure of exploring my key themes, 2018 was also a win!
But the most important metric of a year is personal and relational growth. The activities and themes above were all geared towards these ends, and I couldn't have asked for a richer year of growth. As we wrap up 2018 like a Christmas box and set our sights on 2019, I'd encourage you to outline some projects and themes to focus on, write them down, and review them as they come to mind to see how you're doing. At the end of next year, you'll be thankful for the course you've charted and the progress you've made.
January (into February): Reach Level 2 in the Krav Maga self-defense course (See family in Roanoke Rapids and friends in Raleigh)
February (into March): Write a 1-day course on obstetrics, prenatal care, and neonatal resuscitation I will be teaching for Equip International's Missionary Medicine Intensive course 4 times per year starting in March (2-day marriage conference in Charlotte)
March: Focus on cultivating my marriage and applying concepts from the marriage conference (Camp in Uwharrie National Forest)
April-May: Design and build the library, build a barrel composter, help Mindy build the chicken coop (3-day weekend with college friends, kayak trip #1)
June: Work on my kayaking skills (Kayak trip #2, camp in Elkmont, TN)
July: Start growing oyster mushrooms, experiment with new dishes in the kitchen using home-grown produce (Goble family beach trip)
August: Morning meditation, practicing presence, positivity (Camping trip near Brevard, kayak trip #3)
September: Build a plyo box, lifting platform, and prowler (Trip with Mindy's family)
October: Do the ketogenic diet. It's time. (Backpacking trip with college friends)
November: We may be having puppy grandchildren around this time. If not, I'm sure something will have come up. (Travel to see Mindy's family in Oklahoma and maybe Colorado and Wichita)
December: Do Christmas here and plan for 2019. No trips (hopefully)!
In lieu of the things in red, we built a fence around our 6.5 acres for the dogs, had Lula spayed, bought two rabbits (only one of which survives to this day), biked the Creeper Trail, I did the swim portion of a triathlon, started a leadership seminar at the hospital, visited my friends Sam and Lee in Raleigh, went on a couple personal retreats, and started biking regularly. All in all, the number of projects and trips I ended up completing was the same as the number I hoped to complete at the beginning of the year. So on that measure, the year was a success!
I also feel pretty good about how I explored my dual themes of Creativity and Connection. Mindy and I have grown by leaps and bounds, and I've also cultivated a couple close friendships outside of work. I tried to write a short story but lacked the vision to finish it which was a bummer. But I was inspired to write a poem on Connection after a counseling session, which turned out very well. My many reflections on books and ideas reflect the kind of content I feel most interested in creating at the moment. So on the measure of exploring my key themes, 2018 was also a win!
But the most important metric of a year is personal and relational growth. The activities and themes above were all geared towards these ends, and I couldn't have asked for a richer year of growth. As we wrap up 2018 like a Christmas box and set our sights on 2019, I'd encourage you to outline some projects and themes to focus on, write them down, and review them as they come to mind to see how you're doing. At the end of next year, you'll be thankful for the course you've charted and the progress you've made.
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