Disclaimer: this is one of those personal posts which I largely tend to avoid. For my political readers and friends pardon the digression. As always, please feel free to disregard.
With the dawn of a new year, folks from around the world will soon commit themselves to promises they will never keep. In the colloquial, we call these New Year's resolutions. In fact, the trend is so common the ever helpful U.S. Government even has a website devoted to some of the most popular pledges in America complete with links to help YOU in accomplishing them. The list includes paying off debt, getting a better job and drinking less alcohol.
[Link]
Fine goals all, but is there any area in which Government does not have an opinion?
Carping aside, 2007 was ubiquitously full of change. The older I get the more I realize how this is more a truism and less an insight. From a cross country move to opening, to beginning a new chapter in my life, the task would be daunting to boil down all lessons learned to a single post. But to make sense of the madness, a recent book I'm reading (though I am too embarrassed to put it on the reading list) called "The Game" offers surprising insight into processing life's vicissitudes. The selection of interest, in brief, appears while the cast of characters are discussing techniques for meeting and attracting women. Ultimately, the men arrive at a point where mere sexual conquests are no longer sufficient to boost their egos. They resolve to develop all of life's major areas: health, wealth and relationships.
This seems a good paradigm to make resolutions for 2008. I have long ascribed to the belief that the more resolutions one makes the harder it is to keep them. In turn, below is one resolution from each category for 2008.
Health: For those who know me, it will come as no surprise that law school has done a number on my health. Stress aside, the rigors of the past semester have been anything but conducive toward healthy living. Unbeknownst to me, late nights and fast food go a long way toward making one ill rather than well. Who knew frozen chimichangas could be so bad for you? Accordingly, much of this Christmas break has found me attempting to regulate my sleep and to eat balanced meals. Hence, the obvious resolution will be to live healthier on two specific fronts: More sleep. Good eats. Alton Brown would be proud.
Wealth: As a poor student, my future ability to earn a living is intimately tied to my success academically. The first semester of any new program provides a foreign challenge and mine was certainly no exception. The biggest obstacle this term was in time management, strangely. For the non-law school inclined, my problem was found in waiting too long to outline for my courses. Outlining involves creating a mini-workbook for the final examination. The idea is to include all relevant information which might be on the exam in a document as derived from class notes and study aids. Outlining for me was a good means by which to study but I found that if I had begun outlining much earlier in the course, there would be less to outline at the very end (how's that for logic). Thus, I would have more time to work on practice problems at the end of the term in advance of the exam. At any rate, I've learned that much of success in law school is simply getting organized and keeping par with the course work. Oddly, this is easier said than done but a valuable lesson all the same. The main issue here is one of volume and discipline. Habits take 30 days to form. January will be a nice test.
Relationships: Unsurprisingly, many of my relationships have also suffered since the beginning of law school. It remains challenging to strike a balance between school work and taking time for people. An abundance of one at expense of the other is problematic. It may take a considerable amount of self-will but time must be allotted for each. On a completely different front, there are also some folks from the past with whom I would like to reconnect. Nothing like the New Year to catch up with old friends. Perhaps a new someone special may figure into the relational equation as well. Of course having been out of the dating scene a while, I'll need to finish The Game to cover my bases.
Whether any of these will come to pass, like my political predictions, remain to be seen. But the promise of a fresh start is enough to provide hope for a new year.
Cheers to all and Happy 2008!
With the dawn of a new year, folks from around the world will soon commit themselves to promises they will never keep. In the colloquial, we call these New Year's resolutions. In fact, the trend is so common the ever helpful U.S. Government even has a website devoted to some of the most popular pledges in America complete with links to help YOU in accomplishing them. The list includes paying off debt, getting a better job and drinking less alcohol.
[Link]
Fine goals all, but is there any area in which Government does not have an opinion?
Carping aside, 2007 was ubiquitously full of change. The older I get the more I realize how this is more a truism and less an insight. From a cross country move to opening, to beginning a new chapter in my life, the task would be daunting to boil down all lessons learned to a single post. But to make sense of the madness, a recent book I'm reading (though I am too embarrassed to put it on the reading list) called "The Game" offers surprising insight into processing life's vicissitudes. The selection of interest, in brief, appears while the cast of characters are discussing techniques for meeting and attracting women. Ultimately, the men arrive at a point where mere sexual conquests are no longer sufficient to boost their egos. They resolve to develop all of life's major areas: health, wealth and relationships.
This seems a good paradigm to make resolutions for 2008. I have long ascribed to the belief that the more resolutions one makes the harder it is to keep them. In turn, below is one resolution from each category for 2008.
Health: For those who know me, it will come as no surprise that law school has done a number on my health. Stress aside, the rigors of the past semester have been anything but conducive toward healthy living. Unbeknownst to me, late nights and fast food go a long way toward making one ill rather than well. Who knew frozen chimichangas could be so bad for you? Accordingly, much of this Christmas break has found me attempting to regulate my sleep and to eat balanced meals. Hence, the obvious resolution will be to live healthier on two specific fronts: More sleep. Good eats. Alton Brown would be proud.
Wealth: As a poor student, my future ability to earn a living is intimately tied to my success academically. The first semester of any new program provides a foreign challenge and mine was certainly no exception. The biggest obstacle this term was in time management, strangely. For the non-law school inclined, my problem was found in waiting too long to outline for my courses. Outlining involves creating a mini-workbook for the final examination. The idea is to include all relevant information which might be on the exam in a document as derived from class notes and study aids. Outlining for me was a good means by which to study but I found that if I had begun outlining much earlier in the course, there would be less to outline at the very end (how's that for logic). Thus, I would have more time to work on practice problems at the end of the term in advance of the exam. At any rate, I've learned that much of success in law school is simply getting organized and keeping par with the course work. Oddly, this is easier said than done but a valuable lesson all the same. The main issue here is one of volume and discipline. Habits take 30 days to form. January will be a nice test.
Relationships: Unsurprisingly, many of my relationships have also suffered since the beginning of law school. It remains challenging to strike a balance between school work and taking time for people. An abundance of one at expense of the other is problematic. It may take a considerable amount of self-will but time must be allotted for each. On a completely different front, there are also some folks from the past with whom I would like to reconnect. Nothing like the New Year to catch up with old friends. Perhaps a new someone special may figure into the relational equation as well. Of course having been out of the dating scene a while, I'll need to finish The Game to cover my bases.
Whether any of these will come to pass, like my political predictions, remain to be seen. But the promise of a fresh start is enough to provide hope for a new year.
Cheers to all and Happy 2008!
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