Keep Yourself Alive

2012 was certainly a pretty sweet year, but I'm gonna take a tip from one of my friends and fellow blogger and write instead about going forward; the year ahead, rather than rehashing all that this past year has brought me.  Not that there wasn't some great stuff there, but, I'm finding myself needing to focus on goals for 2013 to help me move forward in a positive direction. There are numerous things I can think of, but I'll just hone in on a few for now so as to not get overwhelmed.

Pro tip:  I've picked this up in my line of work; good goals are: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and tangible (SMART!). 

So with that, my first set of goals are related to my health. I hate to even start with this, cause this is what EVERYBODY says, (and I have said it before many times) but, truly, I want this new year to be one in which I am in better shape.  2012 ended on a particularly lazy note for me, and I have sufficiently maxed out on the laziness at this point.  Now, narrowing down the idea of "being in better shape" is pretty important, so here goes:
Goal #1 - Run a mile in 9:30 by March 1
Goal #2 - Finish the Shamrock Duathlon in 2:20  - May 19th
Goal #3 -  Be able to do 1 full pull-up.    J now does 20 at a clip on a regular basis... I'll settle for one for now.
So what you don't see on here is a number of pounds lost, or clothing size I'd like to get down to.  Truth is, these types of goals don't work for me, so it's not on here.  My hope is, that in working to accomplish these goals, I will be also simultaneously lose some weight, or possibly fit into smaller clothes.

Professionally, my goal is to get more serious, more informed about how to start a private practice by the end of the year. 

Personally, my goal is to be a homeowner by the spring time.  And if a trip to Ireland can happen somewhere between spring and summer, that'd be cool too.  

A more immediate personal goal, however,  is to find some sort of organization or cause to spend my free time on.  I volunteered quite a bit with a MoveOn a few years back, and though it didn't end well, I realize that I need something like this back in my life, to connect me to something meaningful, to help effect some kind of social or political change, or even just to be helpful to people.  I am totally open to suggestions on this; unless of course you suggest I join up with the NRA or the Christian Coalition. 

I guess more generalized, not so tangible or measurable goals for the new year would be to be more honest with people about what I really think of them, and to be more assertive.  

So, the reason behind the title of this blog post (other than just paying homage to the best band of all time, Queen) is that, I think that setting goals, always looking forward to ways to improve, is a way of keeping yourself alive; to resist the urge to become complacent.  For me, 2012 ended with me being in a place of complacency and stagnation on a few fronts, and I want to snap out of that.

What are your goals for the new year?

Oh, and I know you're dying to know.... "Keep Yourself Alive" is the title of Queen's first single, a Brian May creation from their 1971 debut album.