I listened to a podcast interview with Irish author and filmmaker, Philip McKernan a few months back in which he said one of the world’s deepest tragedies is that we don’t believe in ourselves. “We don’t put value on our own skin,” he said. Giving back to people and giving back to the world is a profound way to make change and grow, but you can’t grow if you ignore the impact that giving makes. In this interview, Phillip talked about how giving is a way to help find out more about yourself and why we need to create less busyness and distractions in our lives. It was a great motivator for me.
By the time you read this, I am sure some of you have made your New Year’s Resolutions. We all talk about them. What we can do to become better people, healthier people, etc. A friend of mine and I came up with a game to mock New Year’s resolutions. We have to come up with the most outrageous resolution/goal for the other person. According to him, it was hilarious to tell a grown man he needed to get a pedicure and a facial. I didn’t care about the facial, but the Pedi was awesome. Just so you know.
I wanted to share my goals and reflections list with you. I do this every year to try and make little course corrections in my life. So, this year I wanted to share 18 ideas with you if you haven’t made any goals for 2018.
- LEARN TO RIDE BETTER. I will be taking an advanced rider course this year. I am sure I have some bad habits I need to break.
- READ (at least) 12 BOOKS. My book list continues to grow, and I know I have at least 100 in my wishlist on Amazon.
- EARN A NEW CERTIFICATION/DEGREE. While I know I won’t finish a new degree this year, I can do something towards a new certification. I earned 3 this past year in Grassroots Activism.
- CULL OUT THE NEGATIVE PEOPLE. I am going to start on social media.
- IMPROVE MY EATING HABITS. I have the tendency to forget to eat when I get busy then end up eating junk food.
- COMPLETE A NO SPEND CHALLENGE. This is a way to live frugally for a period of time in order to save up for something bigger. A way to cut out the non-essential spending.
- MEDITATE ON A DAILY BASIS. I do this now for inner peace and mental clarity.
- EXPLORE THREE NEW PLACES. I would like to ride to 3 places I’ve never been to before. I’ve never been to Nowhere. It’s a way to enjoy Arizona and see it for the first time.
- ATTEND TWO CONCERTS. I can tell one will be the Backyard Biker Bash in April.
- UP MY WATER INTAKE.
- LEARN ONE NEW THING. I don’t know how to needlepoint or crochet. I’m not saying I want to learn but I do want to learn one new thing.
- GO TO A NEW RESTAURANT OR COOK A NEW MEAL ONCE A MONTH. This may go hand in hand with #11. I’d like to learn to cook better.
- ADD $100 TO MY SAVINGS ACCOUNT EVERY MONTH. See #6
- SPEND MORE TIME WITH PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT.
- VOLUNTEER MY TIME TO A CAUSE THAT MATTERS. And I mean outside of motorcycle rights. For me, I think this year will be veteran suicides.
- GO TO ALL OF MY DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS. I really dislike going to the doctors, but it is my goal to actually go to ALL of my doctor appointments.
- LET GO OF ANYTHING THAT DOES NOT SERVE ME. This pertains to things that are draining the peace and joy out of life. Those succubus type of things and people that do nothing but bring you down and drain the energy right out of you. This will be my way to stay positive.
- RESPECT THE SILENCE. I learned this past year that silence is good at times and I need to respect that more.
Those are my 18 goals for 2018. I hope you make some for yourself. Frank Ostaseski has noticed that we as a society obsess about death. We spend a great deal of time trying to prepare for it and hope that we are “ready” for it when the time comes. But according to him, the best way to prepare for death is by living your life the best way you possibly can.
Be good to one another.