goals

although we're a month into 2013, i've decided it's still a great time to publicly proclaim my unattainable and ambitious goals for the year!

a prompt: over the past year and a half during residency and the 4 years preceding that in medical school, i've slacked off in many areas of my life. there's always a push and pull -- in all the years pouring over studies, endless hours at the hospital, agonizing over clinical decisions, i have lost the drive to really take care of myself properly. this is not to say i haven't showered or changed my underwear regularly, but i truly have gone too long without true self-evaluation. for this reason i sat down with henry and made some goals. we were quite comprehensive in this endeavor, and some goals pertain to our collective finances and the state of our apartment. the rest of the goals we personalized and are mainly within two categories: 1. nutrition/exercise and 2. personal growth. i wanted to share some of these with you both for external accountability and personal reference going forward. ahoy!

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1. nutrition/exercise. 

okay, let's face it: this is the most cliche of all 'new year's resolutions.' even so, i think it's a lot more important than some of us give it credit for, and it's something we should all consider on a much-more-frequently-than-yearly basis. 

as a card-carrying member of the female sex, i have struggled with issues related to diet, exercise and weight for most of my teenage and adult life (damn you, skinny little kid i used to be!). although i would like to say most of these issues were cast on me from society around me, i have clearly internalized them over the years and too often find my waning self-worth (at least from an appearance-perspective) in my inability to reach my own 'ideal' weight. 

now as a budding adult with a working frontal lobe, the importance of this issue has shifted towards healthfulness. over the years, i've established unhealthy eating habits and have not made time to exercise, and as a result, packed on some pounds (especially since i've been married -- what's up with that?). i have made a few feeble attempts to address this issue during the past few busy year, but have generally failed miserably. 

last summer, henry and i decided to really take charge of the exercise aspect. we joined a local gym and paid for several weeks of personal-training sessions. i learned so much and am excited to continue to get my muscles in shape. i'm not a marathon-runner or olympic athlete, but getting the body moving in different ways and toning muscle is a great start. nutrition is the major area in which my goals are focused this year: would love to finally put into practice healthy eating habits that i can maintain and that will help me head gracefully towards a more healthy weight. this has proven tricky with my ridiculous work schedule in the past and will continue to be hard this year, but in being purposeful in making changes, i'm hoping i can be successful. 

2. personal growth

how often have you taken a step back, looked into the mirror, and said (with your best ben stiller in zoolander impression): "who AM i?" i can tell you my answer is not often enough. 

as a child, i was an intensely creative, loud, always-on-the-move creature, causing both my siblings and parents a lot of strife (but i like to think with some joy interspersed!). i created craft projects, read every book in the library, made mix-tapes, played musical instruments (violin, flute), built forts in the woods, wrote extensive short stories and made elaborate scrapbooks, had epic barbie play sessions with my sister, rode bikes, roller-skated, and had an intense love for (depending on the week): ancient egypt, humpback whales, infectious diseases, archeology, american history, early scientists, etc. if you had asked me who i was, i could have proudly declared to you multiple adjectives and activities which identified me. 

now? i'm a medical resident. my routine varies little and changes really depend on the rotation i'm on. there's a tremendous lack of personal growth from activities in which i can explore my own interests and opinions. this is not to say i haven't learned SO MUCH about myself while practicing medicine -- i truly have. however, i have no idea what 'medical resident sharon' likes to do in her free-time, what she thinks about major issues going on in the world (are there major issues going on in the world?) and what activities i might finally pursue when i have the time to do so.

so, accordingly, my goal this year is to explore my own interests in various ways. i have a list of books, movies, and magazines i'd love to dig into. at the prompting of my grandmom, i bought some yarn and a crochet hook and plan to make a gigantic zigzag multi-colored blanket! henry and i received a membership to the metropolitan museum of art for christmas from my dad, and we found a groupon deal for a membership to the natural history museum -- we plan to become quite savvy in the knowledge of art and anthropology. we are actively searching out opportunities to see our favorite bands in concert when they come to NY. ultimately, the plan is to take the short amount of 'free-time' we have each day and use it deliberately towards things that will allow us to grow personally. 

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so here's hoping 2013 will be a year of pursuing goals purposefully -- and becoming a better person both inside and out. looking forward to the journey!