December is the time of finals for the students, putting final grades for the faculty, and finishing all administrative tasks for the higher education administrators. But the one the thing that everyone likes to start doing in December is to reflect and set goals for themselves to become a better person. Here are my reflections of myself and the goals I am setting for the start of 2017.
Picture of Patrick Proctor. Smiling because he is happy at this new milestone he is hitting.
Reflections of PJ
This December brought a feeling back to me that I had lost for a while. That feeling is faith. By faith, I am talking about having faith in the world, the future, and most importantly myself. Funny fact about me – I truly believe in Santa Claus. Now I know what you may be thinking, “How silly.” Even though Santa may be fictional, “seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see” (Polar Express). I can’t see what tomorrow holds for me, but I believe it will be a great day.
One big area of improvement I need to finally change is that I should stop caring so much about getting people to like me. I am trying too hard to do a good job and worrying about putting on an image for people. I actually had a great conversation with my supervisor during my semester evaluation meeting. We realized that I am “in the closet” as an overall person and professional.
I actually laughed at the comment because of how true it is. I appreciated her being honest with me and helping get a wake up call to stop being scared. This semester was not the most successful for me directly, but I believe that is all going to change starting right now. I am going to hit the reset button and things are going to be different in 2017.
Goals for the 2017 year:
1. I am going to journal at least 1 hour a day starting December 22nd, 2016.
2. I am going to revisit my staff expectations to create a more permanent set of expectations that will remain with me throughout my professional career.
3. I am going to get back into running every day for at least 1 mile a day. I look to increase my endurance again to start running 5Ks and 10Ks.
4. Stop being scared of what people think of me. I will do so by remembering that I am great at what I do and I am a kind person.
5. I will sign up for some courses through ACUHO-I. Specifically, I am going to be taking the Social Media and Student Mental Health Course starting in Spring 2017 semester.
6. I am going to get back into reading books more often. I want to finish reading “Brain Rules” and “Emotional Intelligence” by April 21st, 2017.
7. I am going to take better notes to help me keep track of tasks to complete. This will also help me remember my thoughts about my own performance and the performance of others around me. I’ll use Microsoft Word and Evernote to keep constant updated notes.
8. Finally, I will stop procrastinating on the work that I know scares me. I’m going to face it head on. I’ll also ask for help with that work when I need it.
Winter holidays have a great way in bringing out the best in people and helping people believe in themselves. I am glad the winter holiday has done that for me. I look forward to moving forward and getting on track to who I am really am, not as how others define me. Happy Holidays to you all!
