New Goals for a New Year

So starts another year filled with who knows what.  The last two years I have started off with a list of goals to accomplish, some of which I never accomplish.  Others, I find I am quite successful at. I've found that the goal setting in general or on an annual basis is a great means by which I can achieve things I find important.  So here are my goals for 2015--I hope it is another stellar year!


Start a Doctoral Program

Applications have been sent and am awaiting to hear back on my top choices.  I have a list of secondary choices too but feel pretty strong about my chances.  We all know I've been heading down this track for years, so I'm pretty excited to actually starting a program.


Break 2 hours on the half-marathon.

I came close this past year with time of just over 2:03.  But I long to break the two hour mark.  In the end, I know it is a bit arbitrary, but like much of my running, it represents a marker of significance in the literal and metaphorical distance I've come with running.


Break 4:20 on the marathon.

Picture of a Finish Line.  Source:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Flickr_-_Official_U.S._Navy_Imagery_-_Racers_cross_finish_line_in_5K_run_for_Navy_Chief_birthday..jpg
Given this past year's high hopes of breaking 4 hours and recovering from a non-running injury, I also realized this might be a bit ambitious given everything else I'm doing and that 4:20 is a more realistic aim.


Publish a Book

This is a goal that I have been kicking around for a few years now, but I do have two things going for me this year.  The first is that I now have a book contract to write a book, which is often a great motivator to actually writing one.  The second is that I'm finishing up self-publishing a book currently that does not meet with my expectations of publishing a book (it's an edited collection of classic horror stories),  but certainly does inspire the writing bug within me for this year.


1000 Blog Posts

I have been blogging for quite a while now and though the first few years, I usually went for one or two posts a week at most, this past year, I went for a post a day.  This put me in close to 700 when all is said and done.  I'm hoping I can continue this with another 365 Challenge to get me here.


Photo a Day

Reading a book a day or reading and reflecting on a short-story a day were uber-time consuming and don't seem like the ideal project for 2015, given all the other things that I am doing.  However, I do think that a photo a day with some reflection would be an interesting project to pursue.  In part, I think the idea of focusing on looking and viewing might prove useful to the types of projects that I am pursuing this year.  They will all take a certain amount of examining and viewing in different or new ways, so mayhaps this will help me do that.


A Book a Week

There is an article that I'm writing that requires a substantial amount of reading.  Additionally, I will be hopefully starting my graduate program this year.  Both will require some discipline to read physical books that are not available in audio.  Therefore, it might be useful to start the year off by getting into the habit of reading a book a week.  It might also help me to clean up my "To Read" shelf.  To that end, I am likely going to cease requesting new graphic novels to read and stick to only reading those series that I have already been reading and invested in.  

So that's what I'm aiming for in 2015.  My guess is that I shall meet some of these goals, exceed in others, and fall short on some.  But regardless, I'm sure it will be another year of growth and learning.




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