Of the 24 goals I made for myself at the beginning of 2022 I successfully accomplished 8.5. Am I embarrassed by my lack of success? Nah, not in the least. My fourth grade teacher made it abundantly clear to me that I do not live up to my full potential. And that’s ok because I would be too much of a force if I had a type A personality on top of my inherent muchness.
I will not tell you about the 8.5 things I did accomplish because I don’t want to be braggadocious. But I will share a few of my abysmal failures. First, no matter how many years I try to commit to the practice, I was simply unable to drink eight glasses of water daily. Don’t judge me. I have also failed again this year to lose weight. Don’t judge me. After 40 some years of marriage, I cooked something not even Garv could stomach…my failed attempt to roast a perfect brisket. And my biggest fail was my goal to talk less and listen more. I don’t even know how that goal entered my mind much less made the list.
Now 2023 is coming to an end. Many of my peers have remarked about how the year seemed to just fly by. Older people and people with young kids seem to always make that claim. Neuroscientists have come up with several theories about our perception of time. My favorite is called the “oddball effect.” The theory states that being engaged in a novelty (something oddball) gives the perception of time passing at a slower rate. So, when we have a novel experience or meet new people or make lifestyle changes we experience a deeper engagement. This deeper attention seems to slow time and also produce more meaningful memories. I can attest to this theory.
Continue reading “2023: The Year of Loosey Goosey”