of genius? of luck? No, unfortunately, a real one (funny that a word that usually indicates something good also stands for something really bad). My mom had a stroke on December 15th, and it's been rough going since. But, I think there has been progress, and she just got sent to rehab so hopefully I will have good news to report.
Unfortunately, I might not be posting as much as usual, but I hope you will stick with me because I will be striving for even better quality content this year. Events like this do make one step back and think about the what-ifs and wants in life. It's easy to say that one wants health, wealth, and happiness, but what does that really mean?! Well, here are my definitions and goals for 2014 (no more resolutions, they don't last):
Health: a silver lining to my stay with Mom in ICU was that I lost probably 5 to 10 pounds (don't really know, haven't had a chance to weigh myself, but my pants are loose!). I feel better, and I feel as though my eating habits are returning to a good place for me (I was eating way too big portions of my husband's very tasty but rich food). That's the good news; the bad is that I have not been getting any exercise. I hope to address that as soon as I get back on some type of work/visitation/take care of Phyllis schedule. I'm realizing how important it is that I figure out how to keep myself in good shape because I'm not going to be of any use to Mom if I don't (you hear this advice, but it takes a while to really sink in).
Wealth: Money is a great thing to have, and I hope to figure out ways to become enhance my financial wealth of course, but although trite, money can't buy experiences and time. I'm so fortunate to be wealthy with friends and colleagues who are allowing me the luxury of being able to spend time with Mom and to ensure that she's got the best patient advocate she can have and that she's getting what she needs to make the best recovery possible. I really want 2014 to be about spending quality time and effort in making happy memories, it's really all we have.
Happiness: I haven't been able to crochet during this time -- I really don't want to do it at the hospital and have it associated with this terrible experience because I love to crochet so much. But I keep having great ideas pop into my head, which I jot down to think about later. I think once I know that Mom is truly on the mend, I'll be able to get back to my creative endeavors. This experience, though, has gotten me thinking about what activities truly make me happy and which ones should move further down my priority list. Over the next several months I anticipate having to face these cold, hard questions, but I believe if I keep in mind another trite message -- you only live once (at least in this consciousness) -- I'll be able to figure out what I should be doing with my time and what will need to wait.
So, I hope all my readers have had a healthy, wealthy and happy start to 2014 and that it all continues throughout the year! I hope to be blogging more frequently again soon. Thank you for your thoughts and well wishes.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Monday, January 6, 2014
Friday, December 30, 2011
Reflections 2011
Well, here we are again! Another year has gone by, and it's time to look forward to 2012. I went back to the "Reflections" post that I wrote a year ago, in which I tried to articulate some goals for this year, to see if I had actually met any of them :-)
Although I don't have a 1000 followers (yet) and haven't been actively participating in 5 social media forums, I have been doing a lot! I've been designing a lot of new patterns, some of which are now up on my Ravelry page and some of which were featured in Inside Crochet magazine. I also launched my "101 Crochet Tips" Kindle book and adopted a sheep.
So, lessons learned? Put out valuable content and the followers will come. It's really a simple concept but a really hard one to execute. How do you know if you've produced valuable content?! There are analytical tools out there now that help you determine what impact, if any, your content is having, and one of my goals this coming year is to make better use of those tools. But, it is still really important to stay true to yourself as a creator -- don't make anything you don't want to make: your heart won't be in it, and it won't result in something that you will want to share with the world. With limited resources, you need to find your niche and fulfill it to the best of your ability.
Another lesson learned is that, even if you have great content, you have to present it in a compelling and professional way to attract followers (and hopefully buyers). I received a scathing review of my old website -- it was really tough to hear, but I really recommend finding an objective observer who will truly give it to you straight. You don't have to actually follow all the advice you receive (though you probably should try to absorb it, think it through, and adopt a new way of looking at your work, and you have to try to remind yourself that the person is trying to help you), but you sometimes really need help in objectively seeing what you are doing. I haven't yet been able to implement all of the suggestions for the website that I have received, but it's one of my primary goals for 2012 to create a really user-friendly and compelling website, a real basic for any (small) business these days. It was interesting how "trust", a topic we've discussed in the past, kept coming up -- a website that engenders trust, that professionally presents content, and that potential buyers feel comfortable visiting and purchasing from.
In December's newsletter, which really wasn't a newsletter as much as it was a "thank you" to all of you who have found and stuck with me this past year, I really tried to think about and outline the new content I want to create and how I will deliver it in the new year. This goes back to the two words that I plan on making my mantra for 2012 -- content and focus.
So, what do you want to accomplish this upcoming year? What are your two words that will be the driving force behind your actions in 2012? Please share them here or on my Facebook page as a way to help you visualize them and to give me the opportunity to encourage you to embrace them!
Happy New Year!!
Although I don't have a 1000 followers (yet) and haven't been actively participating in 5 social media forums, I have been doing a lot! I've been designing a lot of new patterns, some of which are now up on my Ravelry page and some of which were featured in Inside Crochet magazine. I also launched my "101 Crochet Tips" Kindle book and adopted a sheep.
So, lessons learned? Put out valuable content and the followers will come. It's really a simple concept but a really hard one to execute. How do you know if you've produced valuable content?! There are analytical tools out there now that help you determine what impact, if any, your content is having, and one of my goals this coming year is to make better use of those tools. But, it is still really important to stay true to yourself as a creator -- don't make anything you don't want to make: your heart won't be in it, and it won't result in something that you will want to share with the world. With limited resources, you need to find your niche and fulfill it to the best of your ability.
Another lesson learned is that, even if you have great content, you have to present it in a compelling and professional way to attract followers (and hopefully buyers). I received a scathing review of my old website -- it was really tough to hear, but I really recommend finding an objective observer who will truly give it to you straight. You don't have to actually follow all the advice you receive (though you probably should try to absorb it, think it through, and adopt a new way of looking at your work, and you have to try to remind yourself that the person is trying to help you), but you sometimes really need help in objectively seeing what you are doing. I haven't yet been able to implement all of the suggestions for the website that I have received, but it's one of my primary goals for 2012 to create a really user-friendly and compelling website, a real basic for any (small) business these days. It was interesting how "trust", a topic we've discussed in the past, kept coming up -- a website that engenders trust, that professionally presents content, and that potential buyers feel comfortable visiting and purchasing from.
In December's newsletter, which really wasn't a newsletter as much as it was a "thank you" to all of you who have found and stuck with me this past year, I really tried to think about and outline the new content I want to create and how I will deliver it in the new year. This goes back to the two words that I plan on making my mantra for 2012 -- content and focus.
So, what do you want to accomplish this upcoming year? What are your two words that will be the driving force behind your actions in 2012? Please share them here or on my Facebook page as a way to help you visualize them and to give me the opportunity to encourage you to embrace them!
Happy New Year!!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
It's Only Thursday
What a long week! But at least it is the home stretch...
Last night was a lot of fun, though made for a long day. I started a crochet group in my condo building, and we met in the community room from 8 to 10 PM. We had about 10 people (we even welcomed the knitters ;-). Everyone brought their projects to show off and work on, and a few of the crocheters said they are interested in doing some charity projects as well. I'm really excited about that part because I've really been wanting to do something of that nature on a bigger scale for a while now. I now need to do some research to see what the possibilities are. At this point, we're planning on meeting just one night a month, but it's a start!
Otherwise, I'm finishing up some hats and mittens for friends and a really cool (if I do say so myself!) car seat blanket for an expecting mom -- pictures and pattern to be posted soon.
So I leave you today with an action item to follow up from last week's post: you should now have a list of 3 or 4 specific goals you're going to focus on this year. Now, start planning and writing down your first step towards one of those goals. For example, I set as one of my goals to get 1000 followers. Ok, so how am I going to go about accomplishing that? One manageable step I can take is to go to three forums this weekend and comment on posts of interest to me so that people out there can meet me and start to get to know me, check out my site, and hopefully like what they see and "like" my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter.
Last night was a lot of fun, though made for a long day. I started a crochet group in my condo building, and we met in the community room from 8 to 10 PM. We had about 10 people (we even welcomed the knitters ;-). Everyone brought their projects to show off and work on, and a few of the crocheters said they are interested in doing some charity projects as well. I'm really excited about that part because I've really been wanting to do something of that nature on a bigger scale for a while now. I now need to do some research to see what the possibilities are. At this point, we're planning on meeting just one night a month, but it's a start!
Otherwise, I'm finishing up some hats and mittens for friends and a really cool (if I do say so myself!) car seat blanket for an expecting mom -- pictures and pattern to be posted soon.
So I leave you today with an action item to follow up from last week's post: you should now have a list of 3 or 4 specific goals you're going to focus on this year. Now, start planning and writing down your first step towards one of those goals. For example, I set as one of my goals to get 1000 followers. Ok, so how am I going to go about accomplishing that? One manageable step I can take is to go to three forums this weekend and comment on posts of interest to me so that people out there can meet me and start to get to know me, check out my site, and hopefully like what they see and "like" my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Reflections
Ah, it's the day before a new year yet once again. This one especially seems to have come quickly. I mean, really, where did 2010 go?! We were digging out of a Snowpacolypse at about this same time last year, and here in DC, we were on the verge of another one (just dodged it, and our thoughts are with our friends on the Northeast corridor who did not!).
Of course, it's hard not to get reflective during this time of year. What did I accomplish this past year? What didn't quite get done? What am I going to try to do in the upcoming year? I've been trying to figure this out all this past week while it's been quiet at home and work, and I think I'll share some of my thoughts with you so that, next year, I can come back to this post to double check myself :-) Also, hopefully, it will help you think this through for yourself and help you set some goals for 2011.
Goal setting does seem to be the first step. Setting goals is important because you need something to try to achieve and to measure your success by. And, when I say success, I mean whatever you decide you want it to mean. It does NOT have to be a money thing (so unfortunate that a lot of people measure success by the amount of money you make) -- it's about what will make you feel like you have taken some steps forward. You'll want your goal to be something that can be achieved but that will make you stretch a bit. For example, one of my goals for the upcoming year is to have 1000 followers, either here, on Facebook or Twitter, or through whatever channels followers want to connect with me. And, I really want to make a connection with people and get feedback from them, so another goal is to actively participate in at least 5 social media/forums (I've been laying back, reading about others, and enjoying the conversations and thoughts, but as they say in NY "you gotta be in it to win it!"). I also want to do a lot more article writing and publishing this coming year, but haven't yet fully nailed down the specifics (that's the other thing -- you need to be specific about your goals, once again so that you can figure out whether you succeeded in accomplishing them).
So, I leave you today with wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2011!! And start working on your own list of specific goals you want to accomplish in the new year :-)
Of course, it's hard not to get reflective during this time of year. What did I accomplish this past year? What didn't quite get done? What am I going to try to do in the upcoming year? I've been trying to figure this out all this past week while it's been quiet at home and work, and I think I'll share some of my thoughts with you so that, next year, I can come back to this post to double check myself :-) Also, hopefully, it will help you think this through for yourself and help you set some goals for 2011.
Goal setting does seem to be the first step. Setting goals is important because you need something to try to achieve and to measure your success by. And, when I say success, I mean whatever you decide you want it to mean. It does NOT have to be a money thing (so unfortunate that a lot of people measure success by the amount of money you make) -- it's about what will make you feel like you have taken some steps forward. You'll want your goal to be something that can be achieved but that will make you stretch a bit. For example, one of my goals for the upcoming year is to have 1000 followers, either here, on Facebook or Twitter, or through whatever channels followers want to connect with me. And, I really want to make a connection with people and get feedback from them, so another goal is to actively participate in at least 5 social media/forums (I've been laying back, reading about others, and enjoying the conversations and thoughts, but as they say in NY "you gotta be in it to win it!"). I also want to do a lot more article writing and publishing this coming year, but haven't yet fully nailed down the specifics (that's the other thing -- you need to be specific about your goals, once again so that you can figure out whether you succeeded in accomplishing them).
So, I leave you today with wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2011!! And start working on your own list of specific goals you want to accomplish in the new year :-)
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