11 Things

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

• political bullshit at work
• wasting time with stupid television shows
• excuses for not writing
• excuses for not exercising
• work stress
• people who talk shit about me behind my back

And for now, this is all I can come up, which frankly is fine. For the most part, my life is a wonderful happy place where I don't want to eliminate much. When I start to look at the list above, the things I want to eliminate all are somewhat related to my job. Yeah, exercise I simply need to keep the routine. I do great over the summer when I have plenty of time and when the weather calls me out of doors; however, once the semester gets going, I let excuses interfere and end up putting exercise aside for other types of busyness. Paying more attention to this and prioritizing the exercise, regardless, is important. I used to have it better figured out with a weekly yoga class at school that I love. This semester, though, things got scheduled over that and I gave those things priority. If I make that time sacred, then that remains a priority.

In terms of the political bullshit at work and the work stress, I simply need to back up a bit and not swallow all the shit I feel I end up swallowing when working with administrative issues that I cannot move forward with. I contemplated giving up my role as Faculty Senate President since that has brought on high levels of stress this semester; however, I need to also focus on the good I've done and the way faculty see me as a champion/voice for their concern. That matters.

And so, with the year coming to an end, I will use the break between semesters to rejuvenate, reclaim myself and energy, and begin anew.