It’s Monday and I’m Living Large

It’s a mellow Monday, since I’m kinda pooped after a long weekend covering NASCAR events up in Fort Worth at the Texas Motor Speedway for Motorsport.com and Fast Machines. I feel like kicking back and thinking Big Picture.

That brings me to Phil Gerbyshak, who writes at Make it Great! and is also attending SOBCon 07 in Chicago, one of two blogging conferences that I plan to attend in the next few months (after all the fun I had a SXSWi.) He’s challenging readers to think about their big goals in life and post about them.

I know I sort of thought about this a few months back, and it isn’t New Years Resolution time, but I get so focused on my writing and blogging work that I slip up on the basics — keeping myself in good health, enjoying my family and not being a drone. It’s a blessing to have work that you like so much, it doesn’t feel like work, but it’s become all-consuming.

Here’s what I’d like to do to Live Larger:

1. Move into my house. We shifted from Florida to Texas last summer and got our household goods in September. I still have boxes to unpack and can’t stand that. I don’t mind having a lot of stuff (good thing, since I do!) but I want to use and enjoy all of it and not have it sitting in a box. I know other people say they’re in the same boat, but it’s not good enough for me. I can’t think when I’m surrounded by chaos and can’t find stuff.

2. Take better care of myself and family. I used to work out, I used to conform to Navy active duty weight standards. Umm….not much any more.

Just FYI, to get the highest possible Navy physical readiness test score for my age group for women (45-49) you need to do 88 sit-ups in 2 minutes, 40 pushups, run a mile and a half in 10:58 or swim 500 yards in 8:15. Certainly not easy but not impossible. Max weight for my height? 160 pounds, which is actually pretty generous. I’m not grossly above that now, but for optimum health I need to be way below it (in my best shape I was about 135 lbs.)

Look, I’m not psycho about personal appearance, but the average American is overweight and many are obese and it’s not because we all have some exotic hormone problem. We can yak all day about why, but gargantuan portion sizes, eating crap and not exercising are the reasons. I feel so much better when I’m in shape, and that includes mentally. It needs to become a priority. Like, yesterday.

3. Not be a nagging harpy. I expect a lot of myself, so I expect a lot of my family. My kids get tired of Miss Bossy and I can’t say that I blame them. There’s nothing wrong with high standards, and I firmly believe that “to those whom much is given, much is expected,” but I should focus on the positive a lot more than I do. No, I still think that leaves room for item 2 above.

4. Get back to following my budget. Like a lot of folks, until a few years ago I just spent, paid bills and didn’t pay any mind to my cash flow, or set any financial goals. The arrival of kids and a hard look at my bottom line changed that. I still have cleanup to do, and need to get back to following my financial plan, otherwise known as a budget, and growing my net worth.

5. Quit navel-gazing and just do it. You know what’s depressing? I found my 1986 New Year’s resolutions awhile back, and I could Xerox them and call them my 2007 resolutions. That’s pathetic!

Look, the full-time freelance writing and blogging are going really well, I’m in good health and have a great family. I have no excuse not to be “living my best life,” as Oprah would say. Thanks for the nudge, Phil.

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, blogging, BHAG, Living Large, goals, goal setting