Still at the parents-in-law. The cat is settling in better than expected, but still requires a lot of attention. She is demanding, as befits the queen of all she surveys.
I’m getting in a substantial amount of pondering, at least, in-between trying to keep the cat from scaling every tree and destroying everything in sight. Still struggling with my purpose and main goals. That’s okay. Maybe I shouldn’t take it too seriously. Just take a purpose, write it down, see if it works, and change if it doesn’t. Try this one:
Purpose goal 1: Optimize my life and my mind so that I am able to finish one research-level project each month, whilst having more fun working than should be humanly possible.
What makes that resonate with me is that it is very much focused on the how, the process. On the other hand, it has a component that doesn’t seem to be measurable. How do you measure fun? Also, it’s not really “change the world” type stuff, is it? But perhaps that is okay, too. The important thing is to have something to get me going. At the end of the day, I want to look back and go, “That was great! Can’t wait to do it again!”
Something Kotler emphasizes is the need to accomplish more than one thing at the same time. This does not mean splitting focus, but that you should carefully choose your pursuits so they can contribute to more than one aspect of your life. In the spirit of this, I am going to add another purpose-level goal, even though the first one hasn’t yet been formulated properly.
Purpose goal 2: Ski a double black diamond.
This is something that is dear to my heart. I started wrestling at an early age, had to quit because of injuries, took up cycling and Tai Chi, which I am practicing to this day. Additionally, I maintain fitness through various other forms of exercise (e.g., calisthenics and kettlebells, swimming). I am not in peak shape at the moment, but physical activity is such a major part of my life that it would feel wrong if I did not include it on my purpose-level. Additionally, I know how much this impacts my mental capabilities, mood and getting into flow. Neglecting it it inconceivable.
For those of you who ski often, the above might not seem to be much of a goal. Just remember that I am 48 and have spent a total of two days on a snowboard. More than that, I sustained a catastrophic knee injury about five years ago (two torn ligaments, torn tendon, ruptured meniscus, cracked bone). I did tons of rehab, and things were going well – until I re-injured it by pushing too hard. The knee has never been the same, and since I am a 6’4”, 230-pound human, it has a lot of work to do. Even the thought of getting on the snow fills me with a slight terror, but man, I want to ski!
Adding in a torn ligament on the other knee from my wrestling days, plus several ankle tears, it’s going to take a lot of work. Right now, I’m following this guy:
The Flow Diaries 