This is probably going to be one of my last posts for 2012 so I decided to end with a list of my goals and ambitions for the next year!  Personally, I think its very important to always have goals and something to look forward to, but also as something to continuously drive yourself to improve.  A goal is a destination, and without a destination you’re just travelling aimlessly with no clear direction or indication of where to go so, ultimately, you wind up nowhere (or right back where you started).  I believe it was Einstein who said “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.

That being said, make sure you don’t fall into the trap of creating “guilt piles” as the great Scott Hanselman so perfectly explains in his excellent blog post!  (Basically, don’t have a stack of 5 programming books sitting there on your desk that you’re never going to actually be able to read but that you plan too – because they just stare at you and make you feel awful for sucking at life because you haven’t read them – or the 20 other unrealistic things you have on your to do list).  Make sure your goals are ambitious, but attainable.  Difficult, but not unrealistic.  In the end, make sure your goals will ultimately make you a better (and happier) person – if that means being more marketable in your profession, or just a happier person (and thus people are more willing to want to be around you) in general!

Too many or too unrealistic goals is just setting yourself up for failure.  Too many people say that on January 1st they are going to stop drinking soda, stop eating junk food, start going to the gym, and stop cursing.  Seriously?!?! How about, starting January 1st, you just stop drinking soda.  That’s it.  And then, 30 days later, when you realized you were able to handle that and achieve that goal, you add another!

Finally, with all of your goals, KNOW that you are going to achieve them.  Not IF, but WHEN.  Truly believe that each of your goals is going to get accomplished and you will make great strides towards actually doing so.  (Staring at the first item on your list and constantly saying “I’m never going to finish that!” just doesn’t help!)

My goals and ambitions (so far) for 2013:

  1. Finish and launch [secret_website].com (my primary goal for the year)
  2. Learn and become proficient with Backbone.js so that it becomes second nature.
  3. Continue my commitment to Crossfit and healthy eating in general
    1. Start (and finish) the Crossfit Barbell Club (8 week program)
    2. Reach 155 lbs body weight
  4. Launch the new NextGen.com (if I dont do this I probably be fired!)
  5. Create Kinect powered kiosk/booth for NextGen UGM 2013
  6. Create Android app for UGM agenda (or just proof of concept)

This list isn’t too crazy, too long, or too unrealistic.  Everything on there I could, in theory, achieve before Spring (and hopefully so).  But this way, without spending a ton of time worrying about making the list, I’ve basically set myself up to succeed instead of setting myself up to fail! And, obviously, I will continue to tweak and expand this list throughout the year!

I hope everyone has a great holiday and a terrific new year (the whole year, not just the 1st)!!