My Resolutions for 2014

Janus, the god who looked both backward and forward inspires us to do better in the future, reflecting both on what we liked about the past and thinking how we could enjoy life more in the future.  Two key factors are to keep it simple and make it public.

First the measurable goals.

1.  Get the elliptical reading up 2000 km (to 3165) {+1000 for a new reading of  4165} along with doing 50 pushups and 50 situps each day.

2.  Read 70 books (20,000 pages) and watch 250 movies.


3.  For blogging I would like to average over 2 page views per hour ie.  get total views up to 39,600.

For the important goals that are hard to measure

1.  Get more into mindfulness which can also include meditation, yoga, Tai Chi.

2.  More music in my life.  More enjoyment--giving and taking.

3.  Arrange my affairs to make another trip to New Zealand and to help Heather also make a trip.

These are all habits and are mostly to replace habits that haven't been so helpful.  As a guide for myself and anyone else who might be interested I recommend you read "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg and you can read my review at http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/06/power-of-habit.html

My 2013 Resolutions

Time can drag on when you are sorting out your priorities in life and how best to achieve goals.  A public declaration is part of my strategy.

Habits run my life.  I have spent over 64 years developing them and some of them are helpful but others have constrained not only how much wealth I control, but also more importantly my enjoyment of life.  A lot of thinking and preparation went into this set of resolutions

I am not without discipline and willpower, but not enough. Wean myself off of binging on chocolate--made difficult with gifts of chocolate.  Problem apparently is caffeine, but also I like the taste so much I end up eating more cream, sugar, etc.

The specifics listed below are intended to be something to be aimed for and then something to be built upon, but not to the point of becoming obsessive.  Now that I bought myself an egg timer I can use it for meditation and exercises.

Pushups minimum 4 times per week doing 100 pushups within a 20 minute period

Situps minimum 4 times per week doing 80 situps in a 20 min period

Meditation min 5 days per week of 10 min.  Mindfulness to expand.

Idle time--exercise, rest, learning, enjoying (relaxing) NOT aimless surfing Double stepping

Sales effort--minimum average of 40 efforts per day with 15 direct contacts

Reading--still more non fiction (improvement, business, biography, history), but increase fiction that is enjoyable

Enjoy music as much as the news.

Start the year with attention to organizing.  Like most people I have enough resources to make my life better.

Be nicer, listen more deeply

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MY 2012 RESOLUTIONS?

Back on January 3rd I made some resolutions and posted them.  That prompted one suggestion I put into place.  Still it has been a struggle.  There is always a reason to improve yourself  This post may be more egotistical than usual, but it is based on the idea that the more people aware of my commitments, even if only in my imagination the more determined will be my efforts.

If a resolution is to make a real difference it can't be too easy.  Ultimately my resolutions boil down to wanting to be a better person and enjoy life more.  How about you?

Physical fitness is a basic.  Over the years I have gone from an active youth to a sedentary adult and even more so in the last year.  Fitness can be thought of in three aspects:  strength, cardio-vascular, and flexibility.  Being slim is not being fit, but it sure helps and motivates.

Mental health is part of physical fitness and vice versa.  A sound mind in a sound body.  You make choices every minute.  Mental health includes both intelligence and emotions.

Multi tasking is a problem.  I crave too many things and feel I am missing.  I realize life is about choices.  Choices all the time.  Many of the choices are really distractions from things that move you forward to make life more enjoyable and purposeful.

Work gives a purpose in life and the means to enjoy it.  Ideally you want to do something that makes the world a better place in one way or another.  I have felt often the results of any effort is partly due to luck.  One day I remember being embarrassingly praised by one customer and walking across the street and getting lambasted because one order wasn't processed to their liking.  I have had people thank me just for showing up at the right time and more often did not show up at the right time.  The thing you have more control over is the effort.  If you shy away from an effort inevitably you will not get results.  The results will not happen when you make a single effort. so you not only have to brave an effort, but be patient for the results.

I am still doing pushups, but not situps so much as they seemed to aggravate a sore back.  I am now doing a few minutes of meditation most days.  I am mindfully eating a bit more, but it still amounts to a fraction of my meals.  As my pants are falling down, but weight is similar fat is slowly disappearing.

Work has been very frustrating.  Part of it is because I am waiting for things to happen.  Things I have been led to believe would happen, but haven't.  I have whined a bit and made known my frustrations.  BUT I have not been as pro active as I could have been.  I need to do a lot more and waiting is just delaying the results.  When Plan A is not available move to plan B and if necessary Plan C, etc.  However getting back to Plan A is  important.  Starting to pick up some slack.

At this part of the year I am going to keep doing what I can and establish new plateaus for resolutions around early January.   Look for something more definite in January.

RESOLUTIONS FOR 2012 MADE JANUARY 3RD

I just had ten days off work with an opportunity to reflect on the past year and think how I might do better or be happier the next year. I did ponder a little, but actually feel more empowered now that we are a few days into 2012.

Resolutions should not be too complicated, but another key thing is that the more people know your enthusiastic good intentions the more likely you are to follow through.

I am over weight, poorly fit, and sleep poorly (from stress and too many other priorities). To get a handle on all that my intention is to get more exercise. Being too time and money stressed I have thought of only 3 ways--take one morning off (I work 2-3 evenings each week) and walk to the library and back (that is about 2 kilometres in total and there are extensions and alternatives plus I normally walk that route twice on weekends). Second when watching the news or DVD's get on the elliptical machine that has been put right beside my home desk, an hour plus per week would be helpful. Third, get more serious about doing pushups when I come in early to work--measure myself and build from there. I have been trying to get to 25 for a long time, but not every day. I will look for other ways to exercise, but need these 3 as a base.

In general to get more out of life you have to manage your time. The exercise is intended to help relieve stress and to gain a feeling of accomplishment. Along the same line I wish to get more involved with meditation starting with mindful eating (I am a notorious fast eater who doesn't know when to stop).

I remember a time in my life when I tried to cram in as much effort as I could to do a better job. At one time an employer commented that I didn't seem to take much of a breath between phone calls. Lately I have gotten a bit jaded and let rejections discourage me from making enough efforts. Although sales seem more difficult the old rule that the more honest calls you make the better the results is still very true. I have been simplifying my measuring calculations and have decided that only two measurements really count; the number of efforts I can make and the number of decision makers I contact in a two way contact. Other details are important, but if I can reach my goal here they will likely fall in place. My goal is to average 50 efforts per day and 15 decision makers per day. I don't expect anyone to understand the details, but will confess I have not achieved these goals very often in the last three years, but believe they are attainable and will make a difference.

Preparing to make all those efforts and reach decision makers requires a lot of time sorting through many details. I have been getting bored and taking short cuts. Have to make a greater and smarter effort to make my contacts more effective.

While I am trying to re-arrange my life to be more productive and get more enjoyment I will from time to time infringe on other people's priorities. I will make a greater effort to respect their concerns and hope that we can work towards mutual benefit.

I am not ready for it, but retirement is both alluring and scary. I have some savings, but do not believe I could maintain reasonably close to my current living standard, especially with the frightening economy. I would like to build up a bigger cushion and for several years carry on some meaningful work which could be an extension of some things I have been doing. What would I do with extra time? Two things are attractive--one is to learn things (interesting, meaningful things) and to teach (one of the most satisfying things in my life was teaching my two children to read).

I have been tweeting, blogging and doing a newsletter and realize there are a lot of you out there that I can learn from and that in some small way might learn from me. During the holidays I became a little more conscious of facebook (one special person brought me up to 10 friends, a motivating tipping point) and intend to use it to boost both my business and social awareness. One of the key things I hope to get out this is to at least keep my own resolutions. From time to time I will let you know how I am progressing perhaps at the bottom of some of my blogs and/or on facebook. Some of you can ask me in person if I am sticking to the program and the rest of you are welcome to question however you can.

I have many interests and do not expect everyone to find every word I say worthy of much attention. I have found there is a reason for every interest and I am open to learning more about other people's interests so I can at least appreciate them better and perhaps expand my own interests.

The photo above is of the most important people in my life, my wife Sharon and my children Heather and Michael. The occasion was when Michael was home from Korea and shared some of his experience with us--ordered in Korean and chose our meals--a new experience for me and much appreciated.