Lesson 773: Aims Found Aimlessly

Hello, Readers!

Here's a January view of the Lake Erie shoreline.

It's so interesting this time of year.

The ice is very important to protect the beaches.

There weren't any sunbathers,

but I did spy two beachcombers last weekend--

they seem to be aimlessly walking--

but I know better--

they are on a mission to find a treasure.

I still get up early on weekends,

just to enjoy the time not having to rush out the door.

I like to read 

or have a few minutes to get outside with my camera.

Here are a few shots from last week--

New Year's Day morning.

I love to watch the birds!

And so does Dot!

It's on mornings like this--

on my seemingly aimless wanderings,

that I find my aims.

I hesitate from using the word goals

in my life outside of work.

As a teacher,

particularly a Special Education Teacher,

I am surrounded by hundreds of goals

I need to monitor.

Student goals

Professional goals

Schoolwide goals

State mandated goals

Reading goals

Math goals

There are formulas we have to use at school--

tried and true methods that work:

making your goal reasonable

breaking it down into steps

making sure your goal is measurable

setting up methods to be accountable for the goals.

I've done some goal setting in my personal life--

some goals I've accomplished

and others I have not.

But what I noticed the most 

was how much my free time

felt like a spreadsheet,

or one giant checklist.

During those hardcore goal phases of my life,

I felt like I was chasing happiness,

and couldn't be happy until I reached that goal.

What helped me the most,

was finding the work of this author/podcaster.

Gretchen Rubin.

Gretchen Rubin

https://gretchenrubin.com/

These are the wise words 

on the banner of her website:

We can accept ourselves and also expect more from ourselves.

I think any key of habit change for the better

is to first understand yourself better.

She's written some really great books.

All are available in libraries.

However,

if you aren't a reader,

you can find lots about her work through 

listening to her podcasts.

They are free.

Here are her books,

all of which I highly recommend

I have her newest one,

Happier at Home,

on hold at the library.

Here is more info on her work.

Books

Gretchen's work was learning about human behavior,

and her research led her to determine

that people tend to have one of four tendencies.

Here's your homework assignment for the weekend.

It's fun.

Take Gretchen's 4 Tendencies Quiz.

For a bonus point,

post what your tendency is.

CLICK HERE for link to Quiz

I'm an Obliger.

Here's an explanation of each in a little more depth.

Gretchen Rubin uses the word aims a lot,

and I like that.

It's not so school-y and spreadsheet-ish.

One of my aims for this year 

is to try to find the fun(ny) in life.

Here's a fun one.

No, that's not Harbor Creek in the fun-striped warm-up!

That is Corry High School.

These are the Corry Cheerleaders in the stands behind Slam.

Another funny--

three local schools actually chose orange and black

for their school colors,

which I find to be an odd color combination.

(Harbor Creek, Corry, and Prep).

Here's a funny omission,

which I unintentionally left out of my

Year In Review 2022 blog last week:

My literal run in with the yellow Walmart parking lot pole.

My disaster got fixed fairly fast.

 Remarked to the manager how quickly the pole

was moved back to upright.

She told me that a work order had already been placed for it--

I was the second person to hit the pole that week!

Here's an example of what they look like:

Apparently its a larger problem

as people are hitting the parking lot poles all over the country!

Some more CLICK HERE

And for some real FIRE fun:

This is my favorite still shot taken from a TikTok

made by Bennett, one of Sam's buddies.

Sam came in last place in the Fantasy Football League.
The loser had to eat ghost fire wings from White Buffalo!

Don't Suck at Fantasy TikTok Click Here

Have a great weekend, Readers!

Eloise