Review of Year 2010 goals

Three weeks into the new year and it is time for a quick review of the goals I have set myself to achieve this year:

• 2010.1 - Lose weight: No progress yet. I have been out for a few walks and have made some forays into dieting, but nothing consistent. I can blame a lot of things - the weather in Adelaide (we had a run of 4 days over 41C), a few parties, quality TV (!) - but it is down to me. I have to pick this up sooner rather than later as I have an intermediate slimming goal to reach by early April. I need to fit into some clothes I had made when I was thinner in time for my sister's wedding.
• 2010.2 - Belajar Bahasa Indonesia: I have made some progress with this goal. I pulled out some flash cards I bought more than a year ago and have been working through them. Of the 440 odd cards I can translate better than 420 on sight and without error. The remaining 20 I can sort of squint and probe my memory for the translations that don't match any of the other 420 cards and guess right most of the time. My wife has been helping my when we drive by quizzing me on the cards verbally. My listening skills still need a lot of work. But, I have been able to read more of the posts our Indonesian friends make on Facebook.
• 2010.3 - Search for my 'ikigai': The process of studying Indonesian has revealed to me that I really enjoy learning. I went through those flash cards for about four days and the information stuck. The reward of being able to read more Indonesian text felt great. However, I don't think I am going to make a great living just reading through Wikipedia and amazing people at parties with my tidbits of trivia (although, that's an interesting idea for a blog). I could step into academia now that I am a PhD graduate but it would be a step back financially and I'm not in a position where I am able to take that cut. Not that I am unhappy with my current job which has great scope and support for learning and development as well. I think this blog and my Know Thy Tools website provide a good avenue for turning my learning into output and perhaps I can earn some money from advertising and affiliate links.

A slow start to the year but there is promise. This post has been kicking around in my mind for a while and I am glad I have written it down. Goals are only meaningful if they are kept in sight and regularly reviewed. I'll have more posts like this in the future.