Some Goals for 2012

It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. 2011 is now just a memory.

Although it is now just a memory, 2011 was a good memory. So many wonderful moments shared with wonderful people.

I find it is important (and accurate) to view each day as a gift. You don’t know how much longer you have left in this incredible thing we call life. And so as another year comes and goes, I find it helpful to think about how I can use the limited time I have. What goals can I set for the coming year?

Write it down

This has been a practice that I have followed now for many years and it’s encouraging to look back on past goals that I eventually achieved. I think the first step towards any goal is writing it down. Once you’ve got the goal nailed down, you can then start to work out a game plan for achieving it.

Now only do I like to write down my goals, but I find it’s vital to regularly review past goals. If I didn’t make any progress on them, why not? What can I do to change that?

For me some of my goals have taken years to come to fruition, but they all started with me writing them down. Something so very simple, yet with profound implications.

So, what about some goals for 2012?

There is one major goal I would like to accomplish this coming year. It is finally finishing off my Bachelor of Technology degree. This was something I put off for years but finally started working on again during 2011. I made good progress on it throughout last year and as long as I can persevere, I’ll be able finish it this year.

There is a bunch of more minor goals. I want to continue to improve my skills and knowledge as a software developer, maybe learn a new programming language (maybe Haskell?). I would like to blog regularly, not because anyone reads these posts, but so that I can improve as a writer. There are, of course, many books that I want to read.

Finally, on a personal level, I want to spend more time with my family. It during time spent with them that it really hits me how precious life is, and yet it will just pass you by unless you engage. My kids are growing up so quickly and I want to squeeze every moment out my time with them. If I accomplishing nothing else this year apart from this goal, I will consider it a success.