Digital Wilderness

Michael Hyatt writes about “Seven Questions to Ask About Last Year”.
I thought this would be an interesting and thought-provoking exercise, so here’s my attempt at answering off the cuff. What about you? Post your answers in the comments.

If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be? Drama, romance, adventure, comedy, tragedy, or a combination?

It would be a combination for me, starting out as drama (for the early year heartbreak and struggle with God), then turning into an adventure (white-water rafting and solo trip to the Northeast) followed by romance (meeting, pursuing and wooing a very special girl).

What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?

–God’s grace and mercy
–Personal growth
–Traveling

What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
These can be in any area of your life—spiritual, relational, vocational, physical, etc. Be as specific as possible.

–Being offered a leadership position in the church
–Working up the nerve to call Kristy
–Taking a solo trip to the northeast US
–Getting a promotion at work

What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?

Honestly and selfishly, there are times where I want acknowledgment of the sacrifices I make. That defeats the purpose of making the sacrifice if I expect to be acknowledged for it, though, and they pale in comparison to the sacrifices others make, and the ultimate sacrifice Jesus gave.

What disappointments or regrets did you experience this past year?
As leaders, we naturally have high expectations of ourselves and others. Where did you let yourself down? Where did you let others down?

–Letting a breakup affect me for too long
–Diabetes
–Not communicating/keeping in touch/encouraging others as much as I should
–Rushing my trip to the Northeast, cramming it into only 5 days, most of it spent driving rather than enjoying God’s creation.

What was missing from last year as you look back?
Again, look at each major area of your life. Don’t focus now on having to do anything about it. For now, just list each item.

–Didn’t read as much as I wanted
–Should have memorized more verses
–Needed more quality vacation time
–Didn’t run a 5K/10K

What were the major life-lessons you learned this past year?
Boil this down to a few short, pithy statements.

–It’s not about what I do; it’s about God’s grace and mercy
–Don’t let worry about the future distract/unfocus you from the present
–Don’t be afraid to take risks
–No one can make you feel a certain way; you have control over your own feelings, and can’t control other’s feelings.

Is 2009 really over? I cannot believe how quickly it has passed! It’s been quite a year, with a lousy first half but an truly awesome, action-packed and busy second half.

High/lowlights from the year include:

• Seeing a good friend get married/bachelor party fun
• Much personal and spiritual growth; learning about and experiencing God’s grace and mercy
• Being trained as a challenge course instructor
• Gillispie out/Calipari in as head coach of UK’s basketball team
  (starting off the season with a 13-0 record…so far, and getting UK’s 2000th win)
• Being given the opportunity to serve in a leadership position at my church
• Being diagnosed with diabetes
• Meeting and getting to know a very special girl
• Solo road trip to the Northeast and Acadia NP
• Return trip to Catalyst
• Getting an unexpected promotion

My goals for 2009 were as follows, with my grade for that goal:

Goal for the year: Cook more!
Grade: C+
I have cooked more than in previous years, but not as much as I expected when I set the goal. Baby steps…

Goal for the year: Complete 10 credit hours towards my M.B.A.
Grade: F
I only completed 2 credit hours before putting my pursuit of a M.B.A on hold for various reasons.

Goal for the year: Develop habit of tithing at least 10% and be giving to charities/others at 5% of my monthly income.
Grade: B
I’m tithing at 10%, but haven’t been consistent with other giving.

Goal for the year: Memorize the Biblical book of James.
Grade: F
I got 10 or so verses memorized before becoming unfocused… I did memorize other verses throughout the year, but not as much as in the previous year.

Goal for the year: Do something with my passion for creative ministries, puppets in particular.
Grade: F
There was some talk about getting a team together, and a friend started writing a script, but other priorities took over and there wasn’t enough time left to pursue this.

Goal for the year: Quantify/qualify my strengths and find the sweet spot where these can be applied to my career.
Grade: D
I’ve learned more about my strengths and weaknesses in a job setting thoughout the year, but have yet to fully apply these to my career path.

Not a very good year in terms of reaching my goals, but I still consider the year a success based on the growth I’ve had and lessons I’ve learned. Quite the year overall, with many memorable experiences. 2010 should be just as memorable, if not more so!

Time for my yearly goals! After the success of achieving last year’s goals, the bar has been set high. Last year’s goals were good – important, applicable to where I was, good for personal growth, stepping stones to future plans, etc. This year, I’ve chosen some goals that also meet that criteria, but will greatly push me and stretch me beyond my comfort zone. Hopefully the ends results will be worth it and reflect the change that results from achieving each of these.

Cooking
This will be a tough one as it’s hard for me to be motivated to cook a “real” meal (i.e. not frozen pizza) when it’s only for me, when I’m hungry and want to eat right then (cereal, anyone?) and when I don’t get home until after 9. Now that my schedule is lighter with more free time and have added motivation (someone I can cook for ), I have more reason to want to find the time to prepare meals. I actually already have a jump on this goal, as I cooked Italian Baked Chicken and Pastini for LC on New Year’s Day. From here, I’ll take baby steps by finding simple recipes for dishes I like (well, more accurately, I should say that LC likes ) and go from there.
Goal for the year: Cook more!

School
As other things take priority in my life, my pursuit of an M.B.A. is getting pushed aside. While I don’t feel I should force things and sacrifice what I feel is more important to take classes, I still need to stay focused or I’ll never finish school.
Goal for the year: Complete 10 credit hours towards my M.B.A.

Charitable Giving/Tithing
I’m very frugal as a general rule, and this applies to my tithing and charitable giving as well. I need to loosen up, quit being such a tightwad and become a cheerful given when I tithe, and go above and beyond that by giving to my favorite charities. God has blessed me with a paycheck. I need to change my perspective to one where he’s giving me 90% rather then me giving him 10% or less.
Goal for the year: Develop habit of tithing at 10% and be giving to charities/others at 5% of my monthly income.

Memorize Scripture
You may remember I had a goal of memorizing 200 verses a couple years ago. While I reached the goal, it didn’t turn out so well in the end. It was overkill, forced and very exhausting. I don’t remember a good chunk of those verses and it really soured me on doing any more memorization. The positive about that goal is that it got me into a consistent, daily quiet time and habit of reading scripture. I need to get back into memorizing scripture, rather than just reading/studying it, though. James is one of my favorite books of the Bible, is very meaningful and applicable to where I currently am, and will be my target.
Goal for the year: Memorize the Biblical book of James.

Creative Ministries
I loved being a part of a creative ministries team (puppets, sketches, interpretive movements, etc.) in college and afterwards, but haven’t done any more with it since then. My passion for it is still there, though, and while I did contact someone at my church, I didn’t follow up when I was told there currently was no creative ministry team.
Goal for the year: Do something with my passion for creative ministries, puppets in particular.

Strengths/Sweet Spot
Related to the above goal about Creative Ministries, I don’t feel like I’m in my sweet spot, where my paycheck meets my passions. I need to change that up and make my job one where I can use my strengths and do what I’m best at to make a difference in the company while at the same time loving what I do. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I need to change jobs, but at least will require that I change my perspective of my current job, turning it from merely something I wake up each more and have to do into work that I look forward to doing.
Goal for the year: Quantify/qualify my strengths and find the sweet spot where these can be applied to my career.