Previous entries: First Post – Update

Bottom Line Up Front: I suck.

#1: Read a Book a Month

Failure. I’ve completed 5 books out of an expected 12. 2020 was an absolute roller coaster for me and I found it hard to time the time and mental energy to sit down and read.

#2: Set Up Home Gym by March 1st

Success! I actually got this one completed! This was one of the better decisions I made all year, as it allowed me to work out semi-consistently through June. Up through Jan 2020 I was a member at a gym of one sort or another for years but we cut out that membership to free up some money for other things (see #4). Having some very basic home gym stuff helped me stay in the habit for much longer than otherwise would have been possible. I ended up falling off the wagon a while back for various reasons, including the wife’s changing job schedule and my own personal burnout, but I am much better off lasting as long as I did than if I had nothing at all.

#3: Take a Pistol Class

Another failure. Between wildly swinging finances this year and the lockdowns and panic buying, this one fell to the wayside.

#4: Pay Off Credit Card Debt

Did not do very hot on this one. Those high credit card rates are a killer. I will say that we put a lot towards it, but the high rates just eat up your progress so fast it’s soul crushing.

#5: Finish my House Preps

Yet another failure. It’s unfortunate that the times when the importance of being prepared becomes the most obvious is when you are the least able to become so.

#6: Compete in 2 or More Shooting Competitions

Success! I actually did this one! Big thanks to Matt @ Everyday Marksman for running a postal match every quarter, as I would not have been able to complete this goal without it. My matches were the one back in January and the Q32020. I should have participated in the Q42020 as well, but 2020’s gonna 2020…

#7: First Round on Target from Holster in Under 1.5 Seconds

I think I’ve determined the standard. USPSA target A-zone hit, 7 yards, from concealment, three times consecutively. I have no idea if I can actually achieve it myself, though. I think I can do it, but I haven’t actually done it. So, Undetermined.

#8: Get a Tailored Suit

Big fail on this one. I have made absolutely zero progress on this front. If anything, I’ve moved backwards on this goal.

Conclusion

I failed. I set goals that should have been easily achievable and failed to do so. If I had really put some effort into them I could have accomplished all, or at least most of them, even in 2020.

I do think that the exercise was not unfruitful, though. I had a list of goals and I did get some of them done. It was just a little more external motivation that I otherwise would not have had. And this year, I could use all the outside help I could get. Burnout is real, and it hit me hard this year.

I do plan on publishing a list of goals for 2021. There will be some repeats, some exclusions, and some new items. I’m still working on it, but it will include something more interesting that affects the site and the readership. Well, the ones that care, anyway.

Make goals, achieve them, and stay disciplined. Do not go quietly into that dark night.

See you next year. -S_S