Thursday Thirteen - self-reflection edition

Thirteen Things Jessica needs to work on I know this might come as a shock but I'm not perfect. Seriously. So here are some things that I'm working on. Or thinking about working on. Or should be thinking about working on. 1. Don't be so judgmental. I can get a bit preachy in my opinions. It's not that I'll stop giving opinions - solicited or not. (And this blog may get more opinionated and judgmental than it already is because, after all, that's more interesting than fair and balanced.) But in my "real" life, I need to be more aware of how my judgments about certain people affect the way I think about them and ultimately how I treat them. 2. Eat better. Ok, this one will always be on the list. The fact is, I like food. A lot. And, unfortunately for my hips, I like sugary and deep fried foods the best. But I recognize that I need to set a better example for the kids AND I want to feel healthier so I really need to do better on this front. 3. Get organized (and stay that way). I know, I know. This has also been on my list F.O.R.E.V.E.R. It's definitely a problem. I think I need to accept the fact that being organized involves the same struggle as balancing that I talked about in my last post. In order to stay balanced, you have to make constant adjustments. I have this fantasy that one day I'll get organized and stay that way without additional effort. I'll have to accept the fact that this will be a daily struggle for me. 4. Keep my promises. I'd like to think I'm getting better at this but I'm probably just getting better at not making as many promises. My kids know that I'm the queen of "We'll see" because I try hard not to promise them something if I'm not sure I'll be able to deliver. But the real problem is my bad habit of telling my husband "Sure, I'll take care of xyz." and then a week or two weeks later he asks about it and I haven't done it yet. I'll tell myself I didn't do it because I'm busy but there are plenty of busier people (my husband, for one) who manage to do the things they say they'll do. Part of my problem stems from issue #3 - if I was more organized, maybe things wouldn't fall through the cracks as much. 5. My writing. I really love to write. I think I could be a decent writer if I worked at it. One of my biggest problems is my fear of editing. I gotta get over that. 6. My upper body strength. Maybe if I work on this, my flabby arms will get less flabby. And then maybe my daughter won't say "Mom, I really don't think you should wear that sleeveless shirt. Try one of your short sleeve shirts instead." Ouch. But well-meaning and well-taken! 7. Get more knowledgeable about world events. This is another thing that will always be on the list. As opinionated as I am, I like to have at least one or two facts to back up what I'm saying. On certain topics, I am totally lacking in facts (but certainly not opinions). 8. Be a better friend. I'm not so good at keeping in touch with people. And if I haven't called someone in awhile, I feel guilty and then don't call them because I feel bad and before you know it, the friendship isn't there any more. Issue #3 rears its ugly head again - maybe with better organization and time management, I could schedule this kind of thing and actually do it rather than just relegating it to "later." 9. Quit whining so much. I have a great life. I need to remember that more often. For blogging, it's usually more interesting to complain about stuff than it is to be all "my life's so wonderful." I don't want to make my readers gag. But in real life, I complain too much. And I really shouldn't. It's not attractive. 10. Play the piano more often. This goes in the file of "Yeah, in my copious spare time" along with knitting. At least I can knit and watch TV at the same time. And, yes, I know. If I disconnected the damn TV, I'd have plenty of time to do other stuff. But I like TV and I love TiVo so that ain't gonna happen. 11. Get better at showing my husband how much I appreciate him. I tell him all the time. But I think I need to show it more. If you have any suggestions on how I might do that (other than writing about it in my blog where he'll see it - hi honey! - and hopefully smile). 12. Stop swearing so much. I go through phases in my life when I swear a lot. I'm going through one of those phases now. It's another thing I do that isn't so attractive. 13. Most importantly, I need to get over myself. This may come as a surprise but I tend to think about myself too much. In a way, blogging makes that worse. I tend to write about what I know - and I find the topic of me endlessly fascinating. (Truth be told, I think my husband and kids are also endlessly fascinating but I try not to write about them too much because they didn't agree to open their lives to the random -but so far generally very nice - people that read this blog.) Once I get over the idea that I need facts to back up my opinions, then I could write about all kinds of things and maybe then I'll spend more time thinking about something other than me. See the Sidebar for loads of links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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