Doing Big Things

At the beginning of every year I try and set some goals for myself.  A few years ago that goal was "to do something big".  I know, that breaks the "SMART*" rule of goal planning, but it seemed to be the right thing at the time.  Well the key phrase there was "at the time", because in reality it wasn't the right time to do anything big.  In point of fact I probably haven't done anything big in my life in something like 10 years, when I last had a change in job responsibilities.  This is not a good thing.

It's time now to revisit that goal.

In time all of the details will no doubt come out here, as this is the place where most of my mental flotsam and jetsam end up anyway, although in all fairness I usually try and work things out just a bit before I start pounding the keys.  Note the word "usually" in that last sentence. Anyway, it's time now to start making some changes.

Why now?  There are probably a dozen reasons including...

• Two of my three children are now legal adults, and my youngest is only a few months shy of that herself, so I no longer can hide behind them as an excuse to reside in the land of the lethargic.
• I'm starting to see 50 on the horizon, which can be the beginning of the best part of my life or the beginning of my death.  I'm going to chose the former.
• I'm more self-aware now than I ever have been in my entire life. 
• I have, for the first time in my life, finally started to really learn the value in friendship.  Another frightening concept, huh?  Took me this long to figure out something that most 12 year old girls have a decent handle on these days.

 Mostly I'm just ready.

What change?  I'll be talking more about that as time goes on.  Is this some kind of ego-laden teaser designed to entertain the 3 people that might read this?  No.  I've always said this blog thingie is 100% about my own personal enjoyment, and in retrospect it has been something of a help over the past two years.  A good friend said "you know those blogger things are really good for you Steve", and they are right.  Interaction with other members of the species is healthy in the same way that strenuous exercise is...for me both are a strain, and straining is good for the soul, provided that it produces some kind of result

It's ironic that I called this blog "Not Cease from Exploration:" at a time when I was probably not all that ready for any kind of exploration.  Then again maybe this has been the first step.

Here's to having the courage to do big things in life.






(*) SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Timely