Eric's 2012 Goals Recap

Oh man! Here's where I eat a big piece of humble pie. I started out with the greatest intentions for 2012. And while I did accomplish a lot, in a few areas I totally missed the mark. I'll openly admit that having a baby changed everything. I'm proud to say I met all my goals relating to my family, but I fell short when it came to my spiritual journey and lost focus on the No. 1 priority: God.

A rough busy season at work also left me drained and in the dumps for the better part of two months, creating some lasting setbacks in my personal growth. I'm starting to correct course with fundamental habit changes that hopefully will set me up for a great 2013.

Here's a look at what I did and didn't accomplish:

  • Memorize the Bible verses in my Life Plan by Dec. 31, 2012. Not even close. I didn't even open my Life Plan after I completed it. Failure all around.
  • Spend five minutes of quiet time in prayer each day of 2012. I did pretty well reading the Bible this year, but didn't make any strides toward daily quiet time.
  • Exercise at least three times a week for 30 minutes or more. I made this a priority when I ran the Dam to Dam. After that, I had a few lingering injuries and never got back to a regular routine.
  • Eat nutritiously most of the time. Meh... I think I've gained a lot of knowledge in this area, and have cut out some really bad eating habits, but still a lot of room for progress.
  • Read 12 books in 2012 by reading, on average, 20 minutes before going to bed each night. I'm on track to have read eight books this year. And I left two started and unfinished.
  • Plan a date night once a month where we are alone for at least two hours.
  • Cuddle, kiss and tell my daughter I love her every day in 2012.
  • Live in the NOW moments with our daughter by unplugging for at least one hour every day. This was pretty easy, actually. Probably because Rooney sleeps so much. When she is awake she has our full attention. We play hard for as long as she is able and make the most of her wake time.
  • Change my daughter’s diaper once a day. Kelsey claims I missed one day.
  • Write at least one blog post a month in the following categories: faithmarriage and money. I didn't go back to check, but I'm crossing this one off because I think I probably did it. One of the sweet features of our Wordpress Standard Theme is the quote post format. It makes it easy to share inspiring quotes, and also Bible verses.
  • Facetime with Garrett at least six times this year. I failed my friend on this one. We certainly talked on the phone six times, but only talked via Facetime a few. We should be better at this. Ug! Maybe next year...

Am I disappointed in myself for not metting all of these goals? Not really. I think I was pretty ambitious and my have challenged myself too much. I think I learned my limits and can set some more realistic goals for 2013. I also have to find a way to keep these goals visible and top of mind. This post has some great advice and one that resonated with me was to celebrate effort, not outcomes.

We have our annual family meeting on Dec. 31, so I'll have to have my new goals ready before then.

How are you doing on your 2012 goals? Anything your working to check off your list in the next few weeks?