Triumph in a Deadline

When I was a kid, our tradition on New Year’s Eve was to write down our new year’s resolutions and store them in a “time capsule” that we wouldn’t open until the following year. Each year, I would anxiously return to the capsule to find out what goals I had set the year before, and how many of them I had achieved. Year after year, I was let down. I began to experience feelings of defeat, derived from a combination of things: Looking through past resolutions, I came to the realization that I had been setting precise goals too high for myself. Because they were set so high, I often felt that they were unattainable. Overwhelmed by the attempted feat, I lacked the determination to turn my failures into success. Finally, tucking that sheet of paper away throughout the year didn’t lend me any reminders that I was not achieving what I had put my mind to early in the year.

Though, we don’t get together as a family on New Year’s Eve anymore, I have individually continued this tradition on my own, and plan to pass it on to a family of my own, someday. This year, I intentionally left my list of goals out on my dresser where I would see them every day, and where they would serve as a reminder to me, to improve in those areas of my life. I also set goals for myself that I was likely to achieve with a little determination. As a result, I have already accomplished over half of my goals, and we are just approaching the second half of the year.

JoAnn and I have been intently working on gathering material to include in Pork Business Journal, the magazine. I completed the article I will be contributing for today’s deadline, just hours ago. After being immersed in research, brainstorming, writing, and editing all week, I am about to enter into the weekend with a sigh of relief, and satisfaction.

One of the goals I had set for myself at the start of the year was to have either some of my writings or my photographs published. Today, I will submit my article to JoAnn that will be sent off and put into print in the days to come.

Before I begin celebrating the much anticipated weekend ahead, I am going to go home, and check off the most recent goal that I have accomplished!