Life goals for 2019: It's way easier on an incremental, repeat mode

The other day, my engineering batch-mate shared an interesting article on goal setting and the importance of habits via a LinkedIn post. That encouraged me to do a stock-take on 2018 around my conscious (and continuous) battle of not allowing work to crowd out my entire waking life. So, for what it's worth, if it inspires someone, here's the list of what I could pull off outside of work by deliberate plan. I'm not into mega-goals like solving world hunger or running for public office, however, I respect such folks greatly and support them in whatever ways I can. These are simple and hence I believe doable ones - you, the reader, would need to find similar ones that push you, but are still achievable.

1. 6 original LinkedIn articles (not posts, but articles - all available here). I thought writing one in 2 months would be something I can pull off, but then I didn't start until mid-March, so the pace had to pick up. While all of them got the eyeballs from people who like my writing, a couple of them (article #4, article #6) went way beyond and that was a bit of a thrill. This has confirmed my view that in an outrage-filled world full of binary fights and taking offense for every random inconsequential thing, there's still a place for work-related humor right here at LinkedIn. I also got back into subject-based publishing in 2018, with three of them making the cut (here, here and here). For 2019, I am still distilling my thoughts on off-work writing, so will put down something as the year moves forward.

2. 12 books. Book reading and the sense that stuff is piling up (tsundoku) is putting enormous pressure on folks who are reading oriented. So what I'd suggest is not to endlessly click on every book recommendations post ("10 books you MUST read before you die" - really?) and let the books sort of discover you instead. Let shiny new books beckon you daily, ignore them, they're not for you, stick to the one in your hand till you're done. Mine in 2018 was a mix of everything, old and new, fiction and non-fiction, business/management and culture/history etc., so without further ado, here is the goodreads link of what I could finish.

3. 4 treks/hikes in hills around Bangalore (aimed for 6, but happy with 4 wonderful ones we climbed - Madhugiri, Savandurge, Antargange, Skandagiri). All were grueling and provided their own unique flavors of adventure (rain on monolithic rocks during a descent is quite something else - challenge-wise - for amateur climbers). Just in case you're in Bangalore and you need to choose one, I'd recommend the caving trek at Antargange (get a guide though!) due to the sheer novelty of sliding down the rabbit hole into pitch darkness and figuring your way out.

4. Learn an instrument for 3 months (did keyboard for 4, need to restart!). I have a better-than-average skill for picking a musical note/key, so having learnt (and long since forgotten) some guitar formally during college days, I thought keyboard would be a no-brainer. It wasn't! This was a surprisingly challenging ordeal for my middle-aged brain, specifically to make my two sets of fingers behave differently while playing a song. The books I read on human brain (see the goodreads link above) about coating our brain's myelin-sheath via repetition somehow got me going. Now, gotta hit restart in 2019!

5. Participate in the Spirit of Wipro half-marathon and be a finisher. I actually have been doing this every year since 2012, but had missed the year before due to foot troubles, hence was keen for a repeat from a personal challenge perspective. Years of under-trained race participation has given me some perspective (tips & tricks) on how to squeeze out more from the body, which I had shared in an FB post back in September. Also, the operative word here is "participate" since saying "run" would not be exactly accurate! Considering I started training 22 days before the run, what with asthma blues to boot, my sole objective was to leverage my muscle memory and run/walk/crawl (swim?) to the finish line somehow, which I did in a none-too-bugle-worthy 2.5 hours!

Along the year, there were some I missed (like incorporating a bit of yoga and meditation into my daily routine), but we all remain Work-In-Progress (WIP) pieces in many ways, so I'll look forward to 2019 than wallow in regrets and beat myself up. There were also many other wonderful things that came along the way unplanned (watching Level-42 live in Amsterdam for instance - that bass madness called Mark King is real!), so serendipity should have a front-seat in your life at all times.

It becomes a lot easier when you sustain what's close to your heart while mixing up a few new things. Like that quote usually misattributed to Aristotle, we are what we do repeatedly and excellence is but a habit. As I polish my thoughts on SMART goals for 2019, suggestions are wholly welcome and most appreciated!

I would love to hear what you've set for yourself for 2019, especially off-work and from a personal development standpoint. If you haven't put down anything yet, don't despair, with 50 weeks left, the bus is still waiting for you to board!

PS: I decided not to put my family goals or giving goals in public (LinkedIn) domain since those are best left to each of us to manage based on our relationship complexities and financial abilities. That said, they should both be up there in your priorities.

Happy New Year!

#goals #resolutions #newyear #2019 #habits #forward