Lessons from life or, Things I’ve learnt this year

Fear is a motivating factor in many of my actions, or rather, in many of my reasons & excuses not to act.

Action points

• Continue self-awareness of when I’m feeling fear and why.
• Change goals and actions in the face of rational fears to address valid reasons for not acting.
• Act in the face of irrational fears to diminish fear and accomplish my goals. [link: see Shyness post].

Dreams: Over-arching aims & big goals for next year

Debt-free by December 2007 (excluding student loan)

Because financial independence is something I dream about and it’s the one thing that would make the most positive difference to my life.

Difficulties

• Clothes: I love shopping, especially with all those sales! I acknowledge that sale shopping is about the positive feelings in finding bargains and ‘winning’ against shops (especially over-priced ones). However, I don’t want to spend all my money on clothing, there is much more to life! So, spend in the sales, fine, but no spending on clothes at all for the first 30 days of January.
• Eating out: Represents more to me than just food; it’s socialising, spending time with friends, meeting new people, trying something new, having something familiar… I don’t want to stop eating out, so I think the aim is to discover interesting and reasonably-priced places and return. For example, I liked the Mongolian Barbeque restaurant, so I should definitely go back there. In addition, there’s a vegetarian restaurant I love, Food For Thought, which I’ve been reluctant to write about because it’s already so popular that it’s often over-crowded (victim of its own success) and my review would be positive, possibly making it more so!

Goals: Action points

• Save: Nurture passion for student frugality & saving
  As a full-time student, I have good reason for being poor and for not splashing out. When will I next have excuse to be stingy?!
• Change attitude to money
  On one level I know that money is not all-important, that wealth is something one creates, that money has merely exchange value etc. I need to gather these thoughts in to a single coherent, all-encompassing & empowering belief about money, something that inspires me to save and not spend.
• Change attitude to shopping
  Buying clothes for myself means I have less money for eating out and therefore for spending money on myself and others (spending money on others because they thereby get the benefit of my company). So, eating out is more desirable all-round.
• Focus on more important things
  Like my MA, my business (Ethical Beads), friends, good living (i.e. above all things meaningful living, but also happiness for others: giving/ethical/benevolent, happiness for me: pleasant/enjoyable/healthy - in doing all these at once, I achieve the ultimate end of life).

Studying & my MA Ethics & Philosophy of Religion

Difficulties

• Procrastinating. Out of fear? Fear of failure? Laziness?
• It’s hard!
• Essay-writing, blah

Goals: Action points

• Change attitude to writing essays, on some level I want to write essays… bring that out more.
• Just get on with it! Start earlier too.
• More self-awareness (reading & reflecting) to identify and face my fears.

Entrepreneurship & professional blogging

Difficulties

• Making time
• Facing my fears of failure & success

Goals: Action points

• Work on All Things Bright & Ethical Beads. For details, see my forthcoming entry on Sunday, New Year’s Eve. Update: Review of design & content, 31 Jan