2017 New Year's Resolutions

Well, it is that time of year again.  Every year, I set New Year's Resolutions to help guide me and give me something to shoot for throughout the year.  I hope you will also consider setting resolutions for your own life, sharing them helps to make them real as well as allowing others to help you in the journey.

#1 - Family, Home, and Love -  The world has become a lot angrier over the last year through the election season; sadly, I don't think 2017 will get much better.   So, how do we navigate the world around us?  Well, the best way for me is to take care of my family, to make sure my home is a happy place, and to treat everyone around me with respect, love, and care.  I have no idea how I will assess the success of completing this resolution; however, I think, it is a goal we all need to set.

#2 -  Publish my second book - I took on the National Novel Writing Month competition again in November of 2016 and what came out of it was my first attempt at science fiction.  I am well over the 50,000 words; however, the book needs some work. My New Year's Resolution is to finish it and get it published.  Look out sci-fi fans, I might give you something interesting to read sometime in late summer!

#3 - Learn how to do a dive - Well, this one is a carryover from 2016.  I never learned how to dive as a child, even though the rest of my family can dive just fine.  Now that I have been swimming so much, I need to try and learn to dive.

#4 - Staying Healthy and Strong - Oh, man, do I miss running.  With my permanent knee injury, this isn't an option, but the swimming is going well and I want to incorporate other exercising into the mix.  My goal is working out 3-4 times per week.  Linked closely to exercise is healthy eating.  You would be amazed at how much better my stomach feels now that I have given up gluten and dairy.  Now, I need to learn how to add more variety to my diet.  Maybe I will try to make a new, healthy dish once a week and see how it goes.

I hope these resolutions inspire you to make your own. Setting goals helps us stay on track for the future.  You can do it!

Sending love and happiness for the whole year to everyone who reads this!

-Mike :-)

2016 New Year's Resolutions - Success!

It is always great at the end of the year to check in on my resolutions to see how I did.  So many people give up on their resolutions early; however, if you plan them correctly they can help you to guide your whole year.

Here we go:

#1 - Present Successfully - I have three presentations lined up for the year, one at the HCTM Conference and two at the ISTE Conference.  I want to plan ahead and do the best job I can for the participants attending.

Well, I didn't have a chance to present at ISTE because of lack of funds, but my HCTM presentation went very well!  So, I will call this one a success!

#2 - Get My First Book Published - In November of 2015, I participated in the National Novel Writing Month - http://nanowrimo.org/.  In this personal contest, you attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in one month.  I was successful and finished the word count three days early; however, now the real work begins.  I need to finish the book, get it edited, and try to get it published.  That is my goal for 2016.

I did it!  The book is published!  And, I learned a lot along the way.  If you are interested, you can buy the book here on Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/Faded-Jeans-Army-Greens-Desert/dp/1533631271

#3 - "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." - Gandhi

I am hoping this is the year that I find balance between work, family, and my personal health.  Without the ability to run or play tennis anymore due to my permanent knee injury, I must continue to try and re-invent who I am physically and mentally.

This one is tough to define success; however, I would say that I am getting closer to the harmony I am looking for.  I have changed my diet and gone six months on it.  The changes are real, my knee is stronger, and swimming as my new activity is going well. I have also learned to better balance my life, spending more time with family and learning how powerful stress can be as a factor in living life.

#4 - Okay, this is a weird one.  I want to either learn to do a cartwheel or be able to dive into a pool.  I don't know how to do either of these and 2016 is when I figure one of them out!

Well, this was didn't go so well.  I tried a few times during the year at the beach at the pool to achieve one or the other, but to no avail.  I guess maybe what they say about "old dogs can't learn new tricks" might be true for me.  Anyway, I want to push this one to 2017, but if you want a good laugh, click on the video below to see my final attempt at a dive before the year ends.