As I approach my 30th birthday, and begin to settle into the person I have become; and as my daughter reaches the 4½ month mark, and her personality begins to emerge; I find myself re-evaluating some things. Tonight, I started thinking about my baby as she grows, and personality traits or attributes or whatever you’d call them that I hope she accumulates as she gets older. And as I thought about my list, I discovered that I have very few of these traits myself. And how can I expect her to learn them when I can’t teach them by example? I hope to surround her with other people who have these attributes, but I know she’ll learn most from me – good and not so good.
So I figured I should try to do something about this. I have decided to begin an exercise of self-improvement. My plan (if I stick with it) is to spend one month on each of the things on my list, and to report on my “progress.” This list is by no means extensive, but I’m going to try to not add to it, since as it stands, it will take me a whole year to get through everything. I’ve also started out with some “sub-points” just so I remember to explore them when I get there. Some of them could stand alone, but I knew if my list was any longer I’d get discouraged before I began. These main points are not in order of importance, but in order of how I thought I could handle them. I may be wrong about that, and some I am actually dreading already. But I’m not doing this for me, it’s all for her!
THE LIST:
- Happy
- Hopeful
- Patient
- flexible
- Kind
- friendly
- accepting
- approachable
- Teachable
- Confident
- independent
- Disciplined
- self-controlled
- resourceful
- Passionate
- Gracious
- able to accept compliments
- respectful
- Generous
- Graceful
- Peaceful
1 comment:
hey heidi. i really appreciate the intention behind these goals and reflections. it reminds me a little of ben franklin, who (you probably know) decided that virtue was attainable, but after embarking on his self-improvement plan for 13 weeks (!) he admitted that it had been quite a failure. anyway, i think your approach is much more healthy, and admirable! (and i'm glad to find this blog so i can keep up with you a little better)
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