The Next Leg of the Journey

The other day I heard a term that I had previously been unfamiliar with.  The "Endowment Effect".  The crux of the effect is that given the choice, people would choose the things that life had given them, rather than think they could have done better if they had lived life differently. 

Given a choice, would I change anything about my past?  Honestly, no.  All the choices I have made, though they may have caused hardship and pain in the short term, have made me what I am.  If I would have done anything different - my life could be different.  I love my wife, my family, my work.  If I had made different decisions, some of that may not have come into existence - so I choose to believe that I have made the right decisions in my life, or that even if I have made bad decisions, they have made me a better person.

However, just because the past has brought me where I am - doesn't mean I can't improve where I am in the future.  Therefore - I've decided to walk a path of self improvement for the next year, my 36th year.  I hope that by making small changes every day, at the end of the year I will have made one large improvement. 

I have no specific goals, but I do have a general idea of areas that I can make improvements.  In order to give myself a starting point - I've identified 5 things I'd like to make an improvement on and will try to track on a regular basis:

1.  Become healthier (i.e. Lose Weight, Exercise more, etc).
2.  Be a better Daddy (spend more quality time with the kids, be a better example)
3.  Spend less time in front of a screen (TV, Computer, phone, etc)
4. Consume less, Save more (I, like many, have fallen into the credit trap - need to get OUT!)
5.  Keep work at work and home at home (sounds like a given, but believe me - it's not)

In addition to these, I would also like to train myself to be an effective blogger - SO - I plan on blogging daily for the next 365 days to hone the craft.  I can't promise it will be pretty - few are, but it may have some shining moments.  And my hope is to take those shining moments  and develop them into effective, engaging writing...eventually.

Come along on the journey if you will - I could use the companionship!