Body: Healthy - walking, diet, rest
Mind: Smart - reading news, writing, French, Toastmasters, AI
Spirit: Spirited - concrete goal, French, Toastmasters, family, friends, end of Education Reports, music
Yes, I am returning to the Body / Mind / Spirit metric. I've decided to re-invigorate my check-ins by bringing imagination back into them.
I have also decided to avoid judgemental self-reviews. So I am switching away from a pass/fail/improve system to one that lists: a) how I am feeling, followed by b) what positive actions I have taken. I figure that feeling sick, for instance, isn't necessarily a failure--it may just mean I have a cold. But if I am taking positive action, then that's okay.
Similarly, I'm ending the Education Reports. Last week I became very demotivated, and I think the Education Report was contributing to that. It first of all made the pass/fail judgement much more concrete. It also had me focusing more on time than results.
After deciding to abandon the Education Report, my motivation returned, and I have since been doing better at educating myself again, because I now am educating myself for the intrinsic joy of learning and not for the extrinsic motivations of operant conditioning.
Also, my mom proposed a goal to me: finish the AI course before going to Victoria for the winter, so I could be free to pursue other interests. This is a triply-effective goal that I have cheerfully embraced. First, it sets a concrete, tangible target. Secondly, it places the AI course as a single focus, so I no longer feel like I'm juggling dozens of self-imposed expectations on myself. Thirdly, it provides an intrinsic reward: being free to move on to my next whimsical curiosity.
Since adopting this goal, I have finished the challenging chapter on probability in AI, and had fun doing so.
One last piece of positive news: I met with a doctor again to go over my bloodwork results and he agrees that I most likely pulled or irritated something in my ribcage while exercising. The symptoms are almost all gone now, so I will soon begin cautiously exercising my core again. I've already done a little but am being extra cautious.
No comments:
Post a Comment