Decade Resolutions!

My father, sister and I were discussing the turn of the decade (and yes, it may not be PC to say that 2010 is the start of a new decade, but that's how I see it, so I'm going with it!)... I decided to take some time to post about the highlights and lowlights of the past decade, as well as some aspirations for the next decade!

Last decade:
2000-2009 was defininitely great in a lot of ways. I became a lot closer with my sister and dad. I met Michael, love of my life, and his wonderful family who welcomed me with open arms. I earned my high school diploma, my bachelors degree, and my PhD. I learned to row, and proceeded to compete in rowing at the division 1 level for 4 years and coach for 2 years. I met a great group of men and women through rowing who I am confident will always be considered my "best friends". I ran some races faster than I ever thought I could. I joined the Greater Springfield Harriers and formed a lot of running friendships. I got a great job at Holyoke Community College and sincerely look forward to work each day. I coached some wonderful teams of rowers who are fun and inspiring.

Of course great things are sometimes accompanied by great loss. I lost my beautiful mother to cancer. I paid dearly for abusing my body in high school and college by suffering a string of bone related sports injuries. I literally got kicked out of my own home by a man who "Just didn't love me any more". I switched advisors and topics for my dissertation 3 times! I struggled through my first two years of teaching as I tried to navigate this series of personal catastrophes.

All in all, I feel very blessed for this great life I have fallen in to. What I am most thankful for this past decade is my friends and family who have been there to laugh with me and cry with me and act as crutches for me when I was about to fall (both literally and figuratively!). My one and only regret of the decade is that I spent so much time working on improving myself intellectually and physically that I sometimes failed to show people how much I cared about them or help others move towards their potential as well as I could have.

Helping others improve has always given me more personal satisfaction than improving myself. I believe my true purpose is to help others reach their full physical, career, and life potential in my role as a coach, teacher, and couselor. In the next decade, I plan on living according to this paradigm.

So, as I look towards 2010-2019, I aspire to:
1. Focus on activities that relate to helping people discover and work towards their potential
2. Make an effort each day to tell someone in my life how much I appreciate him/her
3. Take risks, get out of my "comfort zone" in my personal and professional endeavors

These, of course, are not "SMART" goals, but some aspirations of how I want to live the next ten years! I'm not quite ready for the specifics :-)

Take some time to reflect on your successes in the past decade about your goals and/or aspirations for the next. It really solidifies how far you have come and helps you look forward to how much farther you can go!