A recent poll here on our website asked you to rate your commitment to making New Years’ resolutions…

   The results?

   17% responded that they “sometimes” make resolutions (happen to think of it during breaks in Bowl Games??? Ordered into anger management counseling?) 14.5% answered that, yes they do make resolutions. And the vast majority said they couldn’t possibly be bothered by such nonsense, on to the next question.

   As usual, I landed squarely in the minority population. (You know me – I’m an artist/philosopher/scientist/camera-guy rebel!)

   Not only do I commit to New Years’ resolutions, I eagerly dream up dozens of them – in all shapes, sizes, and magnitudes of ambitiousness. Then – believe it or not – I actually keep track of the results.

   Put that in your poll and smoke it!

   I’m a goal-oriented soul, and even if I’m the only one involved – I like to have my contracts in writing.

   Since I’ve been at this for years now, I’ve organized my resolutioning into various categories – around ten of them in all; spiritual, familial, professional, creative, health, social, financial, recreational, gardening, and catch-all.

   Many of my goals are rather private in nature, so I’m bashful about sharing them here, though for the sake of color and conversation I’m willing to share a few examples.

   Professional:

   These yearly goals apply mainly to my work as a news journalist, and they invariably come down to doing “award-winning work”.

   It’s important to point out that success in this arena is not actually measured in “awards won” (As a news operation we annually compete in a number of awards competitions – WBA, AP, sometimes others…). While I love to win recognition for my hard work as a journalist, the resolutions I make in this area are a rather subjective measurement of whether or not I personally am producing quality news stories within the framework of each calendar year. What does that mean, quality? Here’s my grading scale:

      1. Did the story employ exceptional video, writing, or editing?

      2. Did the story challenge me and the viewer?

      3. Did I like the resulting story enough to show it off to my wife?

 Julie is my toughest critic. If she likes it, I’ve got a sure winner.

                          (To be continued…)

Posted under Artist? Scientist? Philosopher? Camera Guy?