I might as well lay out my cards right here and now - (I am hoping that this blog will be a space of brutal honesty; unless I feel my honesty is not that interesting to read about in which case I'll probably start drifting away into fantasy land - which is a place a frequent quite often ....) - and in order to know me, you must know that the biggest affliction/flaw//thing-that-drives-me-most-crazy-about-myself - (which is saying quite a lot because there are a lot of things I drive myself crazy on a daily basis, one of them being my tendency to write exceedingly loooonng sentences and then forget what I was talking about ...) - is my woeful lack of action, otherwise commonly known as laziness. Yes, laziness/procrastination/inaction is something I have in copious amounts and I believe most people would agree that that is a decidedly unhealthy and bad thing to have.
It is because of this affliction that I have had so many unfortunate missed opportunities in my life, and while I wouldn't want to go so far as to call all these missed chances "regrets, " the thought of them definitely leaves me wondering how my life could've been positively-impacted if I had only done this, this, and this vs. that, that, and that - (and usually the "thats" involve doing a lot of nothing.) To give an example of a missed opportunity I recently had, Lisa Ling (the well-respected journalist) had been on campus this past Tuesday and I was all amped to up to get the chance to meet her but due to my unfortunate choices (and the fact that I ended up taking a nap =/) I ended up not going to either of the events I had been planning on going to. (*Sigh ...)
Well, this is certainly turning out to be a depressing post - but I suppose the chosen subject matter was rather dismal to begin with. To end on a positive note, however, perhaps this would be a good time to explain how I'm hoping this blog will help hold me accountable to myself, to those who have supported me, and to life in general. As passive and lazy as I am, one of the mottos I try to live my life by follows a very "carpe diem" philosophy. (Yes, I know, very ironic and perhaps a foreshadowing to what my intended next post will be about ....) So I'm hoping this blog can serve as written proof of how I have been living my life to the best of my abilities - whether that means actively pursuing my life goals, attending interesting and fun events, thinking "deep" and/or quirky thoughts, or simply just doing what I'm supposed to be doing when I'm supposed to be doing them.
I remember having the great fortune of meeting a U of I alum at this leadership event I attended a couple semesters ago called John Gleeson - ( a very appropriate surname, in my opinion) - who had the most systematic yet brilliant way of making sure that he lived his life the way he wished to live it. He basically found a way to break down his life goals/priorities into 20 different categories, including friends, family, health, golf, travel, mentees, etc., and he would score himself every week on how well he was able to attend to each of these life categories. He was also one of those people who had the most admirable habit of keeping a journal and the journals he brought along to show us were full of lovely pictures and momentos from his various adventures. Knowing myself, I don't think I'm the type of person who could carry out a system as organized as the one Mr. Gleeson has going, but the spirit of what he is doing with his life will hopefully be reflected in this humble little blog of mine.
It is because of this affliction that I have had so many unfortunate missed opportunities in my life, and while I wouldn't want to go so far as to call all these missed chances "regrets, " the thought of them definitely leaves me wondering how my life could've been positively-impacted if I had only done this, this, and this vs. that, that, and that - (and usually the "thats" involve doing a lot of nothing.) To give an example of a missed opportunity I recently had, Lisa Ling (the well-respected journalist) had been on campus this past Tuesday and I was all amped to up to get the chance to meet her but due to my unfortunate choices (and the fact that I ended up taking a nap =/) I ended up not going to either of the events I had been planning on going to. (*Sigh ...)
Well, this is certainly turning out to be a depressing post - but I suppose the chosen subject matter was rather dismal to begin with. To end on a positive note, however, perhaps this would be a good time to explain how I'm hoping this blog will help hold me accountable to myself, to those who have supported me, and to life in general. As passive and lazy as I am, one of the mottos I try to live my life by follows a very "carpe diem" philosophy. (Yes, I know, very ironic and perhaps a foreshadowing to what my intended next post will be about ....) So I'm hoping this blog can serve as written proof of how I have been living my life to the best of my abilities - whether that means actively pursuing my life goals, attending interesting and fun events, thinking "deep" and/or quirky thoughts, or simply just doing what I'm supposed to be doing when I'm supposed to be doing them.
I remember having the great fortune of meeting a U of I alum at this leadership event I attended a couple semesters ago called John Gleeson - ( a very appropriate surname, in my opinion) - who had the most systematic yet brilliant way of making sure that he lived his life the way he wished to live it. He basically found a way to break down his life goals/priorities into 20 different categories, including friends, family, health, golf, travel, mentees, etc., and he would score himself every week on how well he was able to attend to each of these life categories. He was also one of those people who had the most admirable habit of keeping a journal and the journals he brought along to show us were full of lovely pictures and momentos from his various adventures. Knowing myself, I don't think I'm the type of person who could carry out a system as organized as the one Mr. Gleeson has going, but the spirit of what he is doing with his life will hopefully be reflected in this humble little blog of mine.
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