2007 Resolutions

I've got quite a backlog of blogging. I want to post a "how I blog" post with all my equipment, and get started on a FAQ. I've got more "dinner party" stories about my family to blog. I want to talk about my bicycles.

But when you spend four days in the hospital having a kid, everything else sort of gets put on the back burner.

That includes New Years' Resolutions. I always thought this tradition was hokey before I became a Buddhist, but a lot of Buddhists take it seriously. This is because we believe determination is a big part of faith. there's no point in daily practice to improve oneself if one doesn't know how they're trying to improve.

I figured I'd share with everybody, because making my resolutions public makes me more accountable. So I'll go over everything I resolved for 2006, and lay out for 2007. Pretty much categorically, my resolutions are about the same anyway.

• Maintain Health. Lose Weight. -- At the start of 2006, I weighed about 205. It swung slowly up and down until a summer effort, when I got myself down to 195. During that time I was also doing tons of cardio and some muscle work, and feeling quite strong. Then with work stress and needing to stay home for Hiroko's health (and...um...laziness) I started tanking up, to the tune of about a pound a week. So now unfortunately I'm about 208! Final call: on a scale of 1 to 5, this is a 1. Dang. 2007 resolution: Same. Exercise regularly in small amounts instead of big 4-6 week pushes.
  
• Job Success -- This resolution is very quantitatively detailed, but I won't share everything I wrote down. The first 6 months of the year were solid, and I got a great mid-year review. After that I continued to work pretty steadily, but was less effective. In particular my year-long projects kind of went south. I did hit my training goals, though. I don't yet know how it'll all shake out financially. Final call: 2 1/2 out of 5. 2007 resolution: Same. December was a good month, so when I'm back at work I should be chomping at the bit.
• Gajokai -- This is the Soka Gakkai program I ran until recently (back link). Before the pregnancy and Hiroko's health problems, I was very solid here. After that, there were a lot of troubles. I ended the year by pushing very hard to keep the program going without me, and new leaders are emerging. On a personal note, I benefited tremendously from my position, growing as a man. Final call: 3 out of 5. 2007 resolution: Succeed as a Men's Division, particularly in the areas of leading study and being a role model and supporter for YMD.
• Study -- I set out to read all of the Human Revolution, and succeeded right at the end of the year (back link). This was a huge success, and a big factor in my growth for the year. Final call: 5 out of 5! 2007 resolution: Keep up on the publications (World Tribune and Living Buddhism). Read 500 pages of the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, and really study them. Take notes.
• Healthy Family -- No question here. We all stayed healthy despite big problems, and Ren is just fine. 5 out of 5. 2007 resolution: Do everything possible to raise Ren right.
• No Fights -- Hiroko and I both wanted to cut down on the amount of our fights. We also wanted to make the fights more productive/positive. We wanted to "practice the strategy of the Lotus Sutra", which is to say chant for change and life condition. We were very successful here. At the start of the year we were fighting constantly and nastily, but it's steadily shrank. Now we almost never fight, we usually get something positive out of it when we do, and we remember to chant. 4 out of 5. 2007 resolution: Keep up the good work.
  

So that's it. If you read this, make me stand up for it by asking me about it all the time. This is how I can become a better person, for myself, my family, and the world.