Success and beyond

In January I blogged about a book I had received for Christmas called ‘Pick Four’ about ‘Zig Ziglar’s Legendary Goals Program’.  I chose the following four goals to work on over the twelve week period:

1. to work on learning Welsh
2. to write my third book
3. to practise music
4. to lose a little more weight.

So how did I get on?

I think it was a useful exercise in creating a focus on how much I could really ask myself to work on at any one time.  I think the program is probably aimed at smaller goals and mine were a little too broad or demanding.  I have done well on three of the goals, but abandoned attempting to keep at the fourth after about six weeks.  Sadly the one that I abandoned was number 2: to write my third book.  It would seem that now is not the time.  I need a certain type of concentrated space to write this particular book, and that space is not manifest at the moment.  I am hoping that it will be possible later in the year.

The first goal is the one that I have done the best with: learning Welsh.  This has been going remarkably well.  I seem to have crossed a threshold and I now really believe that I will become a Welsh speaker.  I am reading simple books with ease and getting on well with an aural learning system called SaySomethinginWelsh, as well as continuing with Cwrs Canolradd.

With regard to goal 3, I have joined a choir and have been enjoying that.  We have performed three times and are working towards being part of a performance with several choirs at St David’s Hall in Cardiff in December.  I have also played my ukulele a few times.

Goal 4 also shows a little success.  I am 1 kg lighter than I was when I started the program.  This is not a lot to show for 12 weeks, but my very gradual weight loss holds.  I lost 12kg a while ago and have managed to maintain that weight loss for nearly two years now.  This is the first time I have ever maintained a weight loss for so long, so I am happy with my progress on this front.

An interesting and unexpected side effect of the Welsh study is that I have found I can transfer some of those learning techniques into my Buddhist studies, so in a way I created a new fourth goal and have been working well on that.

All in all I think it has been a useful and successful exercise.  I did not write up how I was doing in the book every day—that novelty soon ran out—but I have been more aware of how to use my time effectively and of the specific goals I want to work on the most.