Goals

I’m going to change my way of thinking for 2009.  I’m going to become a person of routine.

I’d be an idiot not to contribute my new way of thinking to my brief stay in the hospital and my new diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes.  The thing is, instead of getting me down, it has only inspired me to become a more disciplined and effective person.  I think Diabetes has given me this mindset because 1) I have no choice, routine will be very important to me and my eating habits/future health and 2) I’m too shallow to contemplate my mortality or how this will effect my life forever.  So since I’m not focusing on the downside, the only choice I have is to be focused on the only thing I can control in my life: routine.

I realize that routine is not for everyone.  Some people are great at being productive in general without planning out a single thing, discipline is built into their personalities.  I’m not one of those people.  So I’ll need to set goals that will stretch me, and then set routines to help me achieve those goals.  See below for my new set of goals, including explanations and how I’ll reach them.  I’ll try to be as specific as possible.  You’ll notice the underlying theme of “just be freaking disciplined” to all of them.  I figure that, while no one actually reads our blog, having these out on the internet for anyone to see will help motivate me to keep my goals.

1)     Diabetes

What:  When I was diagnosed I had a blood glucose level of 542. A healthy diabetic should average between 100-140 or so.  I was a little off.

Goal:  My obvious goal is to get to that range and stay there with as little deviation as possible.

How:  Test my blood sugar before and after meals and before bed.  Keep a chart of those so I can see trends.  Stay disciplined when it comes to eating (eat right)

2)    Organization

What:  Now that Kristen and I have completed our first calendar year together, I realized that living jointly is a little different than living as a bachelor.  Now we have to keep track of joint bills, joint expenses, joint schedules and joint messes.  There’s also the new barrage of prescriptions, doctors appointments, daily vitamins, and sugar vs. sugar free snacks, oh and throw in work, and there’s the potential to go crazy keeping track of our lives

Goal:  Get and stay organized

How:  Go through mail, follow up on and file bills, immediately. Keep track of all medical expenses, appointments, and prescriptions in an excel spreadsheet so there are no surprises. Continue to keep track of bills and budget in Excel. Do something to clean the apartment everyday to avoid overwhelming messes

3)    Fitness

What:  Exercise is so important for so many reasons.  It helps my confidence level, gives me energy, keeps me healthy, and with diabetes it is even more important.  Also, one side effect to the months of me living with Diabetes and not knowing it was that I lost some weight, and while not a healthy or preferred way of doing so, this is proof that every cloud has a silver lining.  While I’m ok with gaining some of it back, I kind of like being a little slimmer and (I’m superficial ok!) I’d like to keep my weight down

Goal:  Get and Stay fit

How:  Go to the gym 4-5 times a week before work (we’ll see if the “before work” part lasts). Do cardio for at least 30 minutes. Develop a weight lifting plan.

4)    Spiritual Life

What:  This encompasses a lot, but in general I want to be more disciplined when it comes to this part of my life

Goals:  Spend more time reading the bible Spend more time listening Spend more time praying for others Spend more time preparing for Epic and things I’m involved in

How:  Set aside time every day to pray, listen, read, etc

5)     Marriage

What:  Obviously, I already kick butt as a husband to Kristen (no need to ask her directly, just take my word for it…).  Though I am humble enough to realize that I’m not perfect and 9 months isn’t enough time to perfect our relationship

Goal:  Be a better husband

How:  Ask Kristen about her day and then set aside time to list to her. Talk more about my “feelings” and “emotions”. Pray together every day. Try to figure out how she likes to be served best and do that.

This past year has had a lot of highs and lows (apparently more highs than lows when it comes to blood sugars), but I have a feeling that 2009 is going to kick ass!