Mid-year life review -- how are you?

[Daffy Duck]

Ahh, June 15th. This is around the middle of the year -- in the middle of the sixth month. I think this is a good time to take a look at how we've been doing.

Many of us make New Year Resolutions. I've made the same one ever since my teens: Make This Year The Best Yet. And at the end of each year, I look back on it and most of the time I feel I have succeeded. So how is this year going for me?

One major focus this year was developing more self-discipline. I have spent a lot of time in the past figuring out who I am, what I want to develop in myself, and what I need to think and do to accomplish this. My problem for a couple years has been my stop-go-stop-go approach. I make progress, but it's slow progress, because I just can't seem to completely focus well on what I really want.

It's kind of odd, really. Imagine someone telling you that you can have everything you want but you just need to have a little consistency. I think that's basically the opportunity many of us have and yet we struggle. So getting past this struggle in my own life has been a major focus of the year.

These are a few of the things I've been proud of this year so far:

• Relationship with girlfriend has grown and doing well. I foresee great things.
• About a month or two ago I thought, ya know, I've been doing such good work that I really should have a promotion or something. Last week I talked with my managers and I have a big promotion available to me next month.
• Just recently came clean with my dad on feelings I haven't expressed. Basically I've decided to no longer be his scapegoat and I let him know this. I wish I didn't have to do this but I'm glad it's done.
• Made plans on starting a new business, will be acting on soon. It's going to be fun and educational whether or not it makes money (which it will).
• Developed more self-confidence (as if I needed a bigger head), became a better public speaker, and increased my humor abilities.
• Found out vocally that my friends look up to me. Knowing that people want to be more like me has inspired me to be a better person. I see clearly now how much my life influences others.

Not everything has been great. Such as:

• For the first time in my life I had some difficulty in school. Just didn't have good study habits in the Spring.
• Haven't done well with my on-again-off-again exercise and health routines. Some days I eat great and exercise well, and others I just eat whatever and don't exercise at all. Overall I have made an improvement, but it's nowhere near of one it should and could be.
• Found myself participating in some stupid arguments about nothing with some people in my life. I should have been more in the moment and kept my cool like usual, but I've faltered a bit this year in some tricky situations.
• Haven't been consistent with my morning and evening routines. I like to read a short positive story, pray, stretch, and do some other quick activities in the morning when I wake up. I find that it makes the day go much better, but I haven't been consistent with this at all. It's like someone offering me a Guaranteed Great Day pill and I forget to swallow it!
• Haven't been keeping a dream journal or lucid dreaming as much as I used to. I love lucid dreaming but like exercise, I just don't do it sometimes. I've also found myself on a weird sleep schedule of late which I should probably fix for my own mental clarity's sake.

So there's a list of some of the good and bad that I've experienced this year. I have some extra time this Summer and I've been using it to finish up some personal projects I've been helping people with and really just getting eager to kick myself in the ass and make the last half of 2009 the best last half of any year I've had so far.

Enough of me. How are you doing?!