Luke says Moo!

So, I’ve had issues setting goals (generally for career oriented things) – for the last few years.  After graduation I just knew I needed a job and work and needed to keep my job so I could live like I wanted, so I did that & continue to do that.  

I threw myself into my various Masonic activities. All of which I have enjoyed and have learned a great deal from.  However, I never had any real tangible goal.  I showed up and was helpful and eventually was elected into various positions – fulfilling a goal of reaching the status of  Past Master & soon to be Past President of NexGen.  Getting these positions wasn’t really so much a goal as it was a expected – a goal, but not a goal. I met those goals because I was needed when I showed up – I just assumed I’d make my way into those positions.  Anyway, that’s beside the point.

A major problem I had/have was being drawn in too many directions – too many good causes that I thought I’d be able to help with.  This made me extremely busy, which was nice – until I stopped to take stock in what I was doing.  I was overextending myself and doing a half-ass job in too many places.  So once I realized my life was cluttered with too many good causes, I began to back out of things as gracefully as I could & without compromising commitments I had made.

Last summer, I started by looking at the organizations I was actively involved in – my love for the Blue Lodge kept me active (and I was Worshipful Master), but I knew with upcoming commitments elsewhere I was going to reduce my activity level leaving a promise to return in the near future. The Scottish Rite required a few weeks of rehearsal twice a year, so a little planning could keep that in line.  The Shrine is my bastion for social interaction and a place I love to just hang out (plus, I was nearly President so my activity level was growing and has been my main focus this year). Finally I came up to the York Rite – I was an officer, but not far enough in the line to be particularly important, so I resigned all positions and announced I wouldn’t be helping with any degree work the following year.  This cleared up a day each week & has greatly reduced my busy-level. I figure I’ll reassess where things are and go back in a decade or so.

Anyway, change started and I’ve been able to reduce the extra activities pulling me in many directions.  So we end up with where we are tonight – life is different and I’ve learned to say no, and am in a much better place to evaluate what I can and can not participate in.  Be expecting to not see me at various activities in the near future.

And my mindset has seen some change.  I have felt lost without a direction and have been looking for a goal to obtain – particularly something I need to work for and that would help advance my career.  I’ve always wondered how people determined their goals, their passion – why was it people could say “I’m going to do….whatever” and then launch into it with gusto and go for it.  I struggle with pulling a goal out of thin air – consciously anyway. My goals tended more towards something I fell into; rather than something I selected and then pursued. So I’m going to start choosing a goal. 

Randomly, if I have to, in order to force myself to grow.

So I have a few goals – mostly short term items and long term goals will be coming eventually – no need to be complicated now…well any more complicated than necessary.

I’m going to try and set my goals as achievable as possible, and even set timelines to accompany them to help get in the habit of selecting & achieving my goals.

Goals for now:

1) Write & post a blog post every day for November 2009. (Kinda like http://www.nanowrimo.org/ but not as I don’t have the fortitude to force myself to try to write a novel…)   Due: Nov. 30

2) Obtain Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) http://bit.ly/2wEE3X  Due: June 5, 2010

3) Obtain Project Management Professional (PMP) certification http://bit.ly/2GlzNT Due: December 2010

4) Obtain Six Sigma Green Belt certification Due: December 2010

5) Play (not practice just play) my Trumpet once a week Due: Every Saturday

6) Learn the KS part in the MM degree Due: July 31, 2010

7) Visit the IMA http://www.imamuseum.org/ Due: January 2010

That’s enough for now, but I’ve put these goals in writing and am have made myself aware of my own goals. More importantly I’ve made myself accountable to anyone reading this which should help me to get better at meeting my goals.

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