Among the once-each-year series I've created, Stop - Start - Continue, published on New Year's Day, has continually gotten some of the most positive feedback. I encourage you to join me here today - as some of you have in the past - and make a public commitment. There is substantial research indicating people are much more likely to follow through on public commitments than on ones they make only to themselves.
In 2025, I will stop allowing closeness communication bias to get in my way when listening to people in my family of origin as well as with my wife and daughter. When I finished reading Kate Murphy's exceptional 2019 book You're Not Listening, it was clear that I'd fallen into the trap of frequently "thinking" I knew what people close to me we're going to say before they'd finished speaking. I'm now firmly committed to curbing this behavior.
Reflections From The Bell Curve: Rescuing Ourselves
In 2025, I will start reading at least one well-regarded biography each year. My reading diet has been lacking in this particular protein for too long. I'm thinking of starting with a biography of Winston Churchill, a complicated, controversial, and critically pivotal twentieth century statesman.
In 2025, I will continue to regularly attend open jazz jam sessions all across the area. This road has started out bumpy and I've had some demoralizing moments. But I'm driven to find my improvisational voice and to discovering more joy in what I'm able to do vs. being pre-occupied with what still eludes me.
I look forward to learning what you plan to stop, start, and continue in 2025. If you have trouble with one or two, no worries. Commit to just one of the three. But be sure to tell me and others what that is, OK?
Good afternoon, Pat. Happy New Year - although this is January 29, it is my first comment for the new year, so ...
ReplyDeleteOK, I will admit that this may resemble my 2024 comment - I'm not going back to read that one for various reasons - but here it goes:
Stop - I will STOP procrastinating. It's been something that has blogged me down for too many years and, although I do not find myself crippled by my procrastination, it is bothersome at times, so ...
Start - I will start to better define my reading choices. Although this does include reading more, it's more than just that. So many books to read, which I do like, I find myself reading the same genre over and over. I'm going to start to mix it up.
Continue - Learning, doing, being. That covers a lot of ground but there are reasons why it is worth mentioning here, and it has become more so over these past few years, that I will (WILL) continue to concentrate on these things that, without sounding or being selfish, I need to do for me. That's not too terrible actually. It's important.
OK .. I'm still not going back to look at last years comment but I believe I've improved upon that with this years entry.
Be well,
Bob
Bob; Happy new year to you as well, 30 days late! Appreciate your strong start in 2025 with multiple comments today. Suggestions for your Stop and Start (BTW, I love your Continue pledge): With the "Stop procrastinating" piece, try adding a few concrete action steps to assist you with such a far-reaching pledge; increases the likelihood you will make progress. The "Start" piece will also be more realistic if you stay mindful when adding to or constructing your "to read" list. In other words, resist adding any titles to that list that might keep you stuck reading in that "...same genre...". Good luck.
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