Jeremy "UncleHoot" Praay wrote:
> 
> I'm 41 as of yesterday.

Happy birthday.

> 
> I've realized that creating goals is basically what keeps me
> from becoming a couch potato.  But you can't simply create a
 > goal.  It has to be something you have an interest in, or it
> becomes somewhat of an empty promise to yourself.  Saying,
> "I want to lose 10 lbs by September 1st" is different from
> saying, "I need to get in shape to ride my bike in the DALMAC*
> on Labor Day".  Finding goals like that is where I have most
> of my trouble.

I'm just not results oriented. I may set out to lose ten pounds or bike 
in the DALMAC, but I'll do so because I want the challenge, not because 
I care about the ten pounds.

Seems like a common trait around here. How many of us have spent weeks 
working on a POV-Ray picture only to all but forget about it the moment 
it's complete?

So, that's one part of it; I want to experiment with /wanting/ a result. 
That's a bit tough for me as I am content by nature, so the best goal I 
can muster for working out is a joke picture. But working towards a 
punchline still provides a different mindset than working out for its 
own sake.

Another thing I want to try relates to a quote I cannot remember clearly 
enough to find online. Something along the lines of "Keep doing what 
you're good at until you become great at it." Sounds obvious, but it's 
sure boring. Boring for the same reason that chess became boring after 
the first 100 games: 95% of any match became automatic and the winning 
or losing lay in only 5%. It sucks to be so familiar with the 
limitations, but discovering those limitations over and over is 
"unproductive."

I don't really mind being unproductive, but I'm curious how it feels to 
do things the other way. Maybe I won't like it and I'll go right back to 
reinventing the wheel -- it's worked for me so far.

  -Shay

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