Mclanahan's blog: "Mac's Rant"

So I was recently asked to select and define the values most important to me and then give detail as to why they are and hope I live them in my life. This really made me thing and question what I hold dear and why. I am sharing this here so that those around me might have some insight into just who I am and what makes me tick. Accomplishment Anything accomplished; deed; achievement: a career measured in a series of small accomplishments. Everyday I live my life to accomplish my goals. I set goals for my personal and professional life and do the things that I can to make them happen. Sometimes to accomplish these I make sacrifices of my time or want to make them happen. When I do accomplish one of these goals it gives me great pleasure and pride in myself. Being the Best Carrying out actions of the highest quality, excellence, or standing. To me being the best is a way of life. I strive to be the best in everything I do in my life be it personal or professional. I almost have a complex about being the best. I like to compete and win. I rarely back down from a challenge. I always strive to prove I can be the best at what ever I do. While I do not always succeed I give up and always keep trying. Growth The act or process, or a manner of growing; development;gradual increase knowledge of ones self and or environment. To me growth is an important part of life equal to breathing. Every day I strive to learn something new and grow as a person be it personal or professional life. To me a day without growth in some ways is a day that I have not lived but rather a day I died a bit. Happiness The quality or state of being happy. For me happiness is being with the friends and family I love and care about. It is also doing the things that bring me pleasure. But that is not the only part sharing that happiness with the people around me be they friend or stranger. Bringing a smile to the face of someone who is having a bad day brings me happiness. It is something that I feel there is a lack of in this world and something I feel that everyone should do what they can to share the happiness they have with others. It is something I strive to do every day in my life. Love A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything. A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. As you can see this is one that for me is not easy to define. I feel very strongly about love and I feel many different types of love. Love is a big part of my life and who I am. I have many loves in my life and I try to spread love as I spread happiness. In my mind everyone is deserving of love and affection. To me they are almost one in the same or at least go hand in hand. I am never ashamed or embarrass to tell those I love how much that I do love them. As we have recently seen in our community you never know when your time here is up and its important to show the ones you love that you do love them. Reliability The quality of being dependable or reliable. My reliability is very important to me and I truly think its something my friends and family depend on. The people close to me know that no matter what I am there for them.I will drop what I am doing to run to help a friend in need. This is something that extends to my professional life as well. My boss knows that anything they need done I will be there to do. While this is also a value some times it can be a fault in some instance I have had to choice between being reliable to my family or to my job. I wish I could say that I always make the right decision but it’s not the case. No matter what I always strive to be as reliable as I can. Trustworthiness The trait of deserving trust and confidence. The fact that other people find you trustworthy and confide in you is something special. It gives me great happiness that people do find me trustworthy. The knowledge that those close to me can tell me their secrets and open up to tell me their feelings puts me in a special place of power and trust. Once I have earned that I feel as though it is my duty to maintain that trust. Even in business that is a vital part of my life. Due to the nature of my job I come in contact with both vital corporate information as well as personal information of my clients by being trustworthy. So while this might not be the one I value the most it is very much an important part of my life. Understanding Knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something Understanding is another thing I think in general the world is lacking. In my opinion most of the problems in this world stem from a lack of understanding. I feel I learned this value at an early age being an army brat I grew up in different places and came into contact with a variety of people. Understanding other cultures and even people makes it easier to get along with one another and allows for peace and harmony. I love learning about and getting an understanding of other cultures for it makes me a better person and more knowledgeable as a person. Of all of the values I think this is one that I actually push on to other people more than anything else. It is also the one that I am least forgiving about in other people. My belief is that if you are not willing to be understanding of other people or their cultures you are not worth the time and effort for me to get to know you. While I know this does show some lack of understanding in me I am willing to make the effort to those willing to return that same effort.

So this is the time of year that everyone puts thought into the bad habits they are going to break in the next year and things they want to do better. Honestly how many people actually carry out their New Years Resolutions? For me a resolution is not as binding and has no repercussion for not meeting. Where as a goal I something tangible that I will move Heaven and Earth to achieve. If I don't hit that goal I have failed. In a personal aspect its I have failed myself or someone I love or care about. From a professional aspect if I don't hit a goal then I have let down my crew or boss down and have even put my job in jeopardy. So to me goals are something to take serious and make happen. Will you be able to meet every goal every time no its not always going to happen. But if you set SMART Goals then rarely will it happen. Yes life gets in the way and throws you curve balls if you are focused and organized then you can still hit them out of the park. Think about the goal you want to set does it meet the criteria below. Most important be honest with yourself. If you lie to yourself you are only cheating yourself. Lastly the most important part of setting a goal is to write it down private or public doesn't matter if it is written then it is real. Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Time bound Once you have your SMART goal you have to have a plan to make it happen. You need to have a plan of action if you fail to plan you plan to fail. Also remember that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Yes I know they are both a bit corny but also very tied and true. All the wishing in the world only gets you dreams that never come true. Lastly you need to believe in yourself to make your goals happen. A great cheering section never hurts as well. Share your goals with someone you know and trust who can be your cheer leader if things look down. We all have at least one person who believes in us and that is the perfect person to share with. So the point of all this? Simple really challenge yourself this new year don't make a resolution that you will forget about or abandon by the end of the week/month. Make a SMART goal for the year. Find one that is a difficult but attainable with effort and hard work make it a goal then do it. Want a real challenge think about this and post a comment here with your goal for next year and your plan to accomplish it. While not my only goal the one I am willing to share publicly is lose 60 pounds by the end of next year. My plan is 5 pounds per month. To help support this I commit to walk a mile at least 3 times a week and balance my diet to make sure I eat better. So what is your goal?