Sunday, January 4, 2009

10,000 Days (and counting)

Last week I was doing research on a project for work when I stumbled upon a website (though not a design specimen by any means) that calculates your "Decimal Birthday." Since I spent much of my day clicking randomly around the web, it easily could have been a forgettable stop on my roundabout search. Curious, though, I entered my information and discovered that only twenty days ago - sometime in the middle of my hectic December - I turned 10,000 days old.

Ten Thousand. Something about that number hit me - that's a lot of days. Often, I still think of myself as young. And being 27 years old, I suppose in the grand scheme of things I absolutely am quite young. But the concept of 10,000 days had me stirring in my seat, and it's popped in my mind a few times since...

How have I spent all of those days?
Have I really lived and enjoyed each one?
Being on the brink of a new 10,000 days, and at the start of a brand new year, is there anything I could be doing better?

Without too much hesitation, I already knew my answer.

These past two months have disintegrated, and I've found myself tromping through each day blindly, like an Eskimo in a snowstorm, trudging ahead through gusts of whiteout nothingness, mind fixed on the warmth and comfort that lies ahead, somewhere in the distance. It's almost like I've gone on auto-pilot, pausing to make to-do lists that map out my days, and pushing myself until I'm glugging orange juice and multi-vitamins to keep from catching cold. This weekend - well, actually today - was the day I finally reached the luminous warmth and comfort ahead: a full day with nothing to do. And yet I find myself scheduling in "yoga" and "take a bubble bath" because I fear if I don't seize the free moment it will be gone again...

December is a complete blur in my memory... shopping trips, wrapping presents, making gifts, baking cookies, decorating, driving driving driving, snowstorms, scraping ice, parties, wine, eating eating eating... And here I am on the other side of it, in my moment of peace, and how do I feel? Bloated, tired, and still fending off the same cold I've been fighting for weeks. This is not the way to start a new year, and especially not how to step forward into a new 10,000 days!

So when one feels out of whack and off-kilter, it's always best to gain some perspective:

Last year I set some steep goals for myself when facing 2008. I learned pretty quickly to be realistic and set a pace I could live with, and peering back at the year I have to admit that I am pretty damn proud of myself:

2008 Resolutions Accomplished
√ Learn advanced CSS development
√ Yoga twice (or more) a week
√ Drink less
√ Work on new web projects

Other Accomplishments I didn't plan for...
√ Attend my first Web Conference and befriend fellow geeks
√ Find a new job that fits, with ample room to grow
√ Kickstart my freelance career
√ Redesign my personal website

So, in retrospect I shouldn't be so hard on myself. '08 was a fabulous year in that I set out with one positive goal in mind: be healthier in mind and body. And with that as the milestone to reach, I took care of myself and became more fit than ever while finally finding my 'place' and confidence as a member of the giant Web world. It's that attitude that I need to hurtle me into 2009 and another successful 10,000 days.

So how can I do better? How can I set a precedent to get the most out of each day to come? With one very important new goal: Maintain the level of balance I discovered last year but focus on finding time each day to rest, be present, and be grateful.

From the mindset of presence and gratitude, anything else can be accomplished and realized quite easily. The other goals I've set for myself in '09 are:
  • get more fresh air (in other words, leave the computer behind every so often...)
  • read 1 book each month
  • cut out processed foods from my diet
  • continue deepening my yoga practice (maybe attend a retreat?)
  • plant a vegetable garden
  • finish paying off our credit cards (we're almost there!)
  • Learn javascript
And with that, I leap forward into a new year, 10,000 more wonderful days, and a sense of pure gratitude for all of the awesome moments I've been so lucky to experience. Cheers!

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