Next Practices

At the beginning of 2012 I committed to writing a daily blog post of no more than 366 words regarding some lesson learned.  It was a new venture for me to blog with that kind of regularity, so making the goal public was important to help with accountability.  I wanted to discipline myself to write consistently, to spend intentional time reflecting on the events of the day, and to learn to be fairly concise in what I write.  It seems appropriate at this midpoint of the year to have a quick checkup on where I am with the journey and what I’ve learned.

Halfway through this leap year I should have 182 posts behind me as of June 30, so my actual total of 178 through yesterday means I’m four behind.  That’s not too bad in the grand scheme of things and I will make up that difference with a few days of two posts each scattered here and there until I’m on schedule.  Quantitatively, I’m OK with where I am.

The more important measurement for me is whether any good has come from the effort, either for others or for me.  I confess that I would be doing this even if nobody read them because the main purposes are personal discipline, reflection and writing.  It’s hard to measure the value others place on the effort, but in terms of my own benefit, I believe it has been extremely valuable, both in intended and unintended ways.  For example:

• I have developed the habit of writing, and no day feels quite complete now without it.
• I am much better at condensing and editing what I want to say to fit within a limited space.
• Living life reflectively, attempting to see meaning and lessons in what happens, is a wonderful way to make sure I’m not just going through motions, but instead that I understand more of the purpose behind them.
• I have established connections with a few people who I would never otherwise have a connection with except through this blog.

Along the way I’ve learned leap year lesson #179 that in spite of the time and effort involved, Living reflectively is worth the cost.