New Year's Resolutions

Hi!

It's been over a month, but a lot has happened since my last update. This time it's emphasis on "new." I won't change what I wrote in January, but I will change how I'm thinking about it...

1) Get back into martial arts as a family activity. After listening to Jeff Sabo speak at the Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference last weekend, I realized that this wasn't about my family. It was about me. I was trying to to get my family to follow my passions. I'm willing to support them no matter where their passions lead, even if they lead away from what I love to do... One of the true joys of parenting is to see your child fully engaged in something they love to do. It can be quite perplexing when it's something you don't understand or enjoy, but it's still wonderful...

2) Successfully complete my courses at Thunderbird. When I wrote this in January, I was defining "success" as earning an A. I didn't explicitly state this, but that's what was on my mind. I earned a B+ in Global Financial Management. It was my first non-A in a non-science, non-engineering course post-high school (undergrad and two+ graduate degrees). At first, I as pretty bummed. Now, I think it's liberating. I'm taking three courses now and it's a LOT of work. (Thunderbird moved a 1.5-credit course that was supposed to be in the second half of the term to the first half because of the instructor's availability.) Having already blown my "perfect" GPA, I can focus on learning and balance...

3) Establish better communication with friends and family. Communication is a two-way street. I'll claim that I'm doing well because I'm writing a blog, posting on Facebook, and maintaining a web site...but until I work to understand better what my friends and family have to say then I'm not really doing a good job. It has to be more than just reading the blogs and status updates of others... I'm working on it...

4) Establish and maintain good exercise and financial habits. I've been sick and stressed, which is a bad combination for maintaining health. I've also made two trips to California in the last month, which is hard on our finances. Fortunately, I'm in pretty good overall health and YNAB has helped us plan ahead so we're not getting deeper in debt to pay for these trips. We still have work to do, but we're on the right track. As for exercise habits, a good friend and personal trainer, James Godin, has helped me create an exercise routine that will fit my schedule and goals. Now, I just need to get started...

Well, that's my update for now. I feel like I took a step backwards, but only because I have a different perspective. That's okay. I think that new year's resolutions are meant to do that from time to time. We'll see how the last three months of 2009 go and start again in 2010...

Take care!
Matt