Arrived on a softer word . . . resolutions are something the UN makes. I make intentions. Ideas that will buoy me as I continue toward living with purpose. Like many years, what is coming out is not very literal. I am coming to find more and more that purposeful actions come about from purposeful considerations, and I've seen this guide the things I do. The ways I eat, how I treat my body and my friends and family, how I invest in personal growth and my passions and how that contributes to others is all a result of the intentions I hold for how I want to live.
"I believe in mind over matter, and I've made my mind up to travel in time . . ."
I create my own reality . . .
And in it today, I am a fairy.
In it today, I everyone is my friend and I am theirs.
In it today, I will go to the moon.
Input/ Output
Interconnectedness (tuning in, feeling)
Presence (improvisation, listening, responding)
Energy (dancing, loving, eating, hugging)
Curiosity (discovery, experiences)
Awe (I find)
Whimsy (I find)
Abundance (I find)
Empathy (I give)
Love (I give)
Value (creates direction)
Pursuits (applies it)
Output/ Input
I create my own reality.
All the above, put simply. There are so many ways this idea rings true. In how I feel, in how I treat myself and others, in how I spend my time, energy and money. I am almost disappointed in how 'truist' this phrase sounds, yet I am still attracted to it's room for whimsy.
I'll sit on it for a moment.
ROUND 2
I decided this year that I wanted to try self-reflection and development processes for both the personal and professional aspects of my life. That said, just as I've found over the years in deciding to combine my personal and professional journals, and in line with my interest in simplicity, I am finding that these two objectives are really not that different. They keep crossing over one another. I have a feeling that in the end, I'll end up combining them.
I am glad that I am starting to identify this as important professional development, because I get very little of that if it's not self-imposed. In a way, this is a bummer. In another (more dominant) way, I am actually glad it's my responsibility and mine alone to make sure I am evaluating my own work and planning for ever-increasing success.
Word (KaleandChocolate.com): Perception
Career Assessment (Nov Star Tribune): Only answer
If there were no barriers of time or money, I'd work as: A dance artist :)
My professional life would improv if: I got to dance more. Define dance more - take more class. Define take more class - take more classes I really want to take, even if they are on free evenings and weekends, as I think Kris would want me to be doing what I want too - so African classes, Afro-modern, be willing to chip in to pay more to go to tribal Fusion classes and making space for House workshops, tap classes and hip hop classes. Maybe rather than trying to go when I end up available, I should be more diligent about planning out each week ahead of time according to what's offered. Again, define dance more - go out social dancing more. Define go out social dancing more - going Swing dancing and such. Define - once the Contempo show is over, going to Th night swing (ICEHOUSE industry night Sundays, Hipshaker, Hotpants and Worldwide Discotech - may need to stop even trying to get anyone to come with me, go and THEN invite people!).
My professional life would improv if: I spent more time writing about the research aspect of why I want to dance more - understanding the direction of jazz through analysis of how people are melding presentational and social dance forms today. Solution - spending some time writing after my experiences going out or training or seeing shows.
My professional life would improv if: I continue regularly making space for choreographic exploration. Once my April show is over, I'd really like to go back to multi-weekly movement sessions of my own where I create nuggets that help me know where I am, generate and potentially provide seeds for whats next.
My professional life would improv if: I got more professional development travel funding. Not worth changing a current structure I otherwise enjoy, just worth noting. I appreciate that Kris sees the value in me attending conferences, and I will keep doing so.
The job I've enjoyed most so far has been: Dance artist :)
Five things I want to achieve in my career: I'd like to work full-time in a university when I am older and less able and interested in performing a lot. I'd like my own choreography funded well enough that I can pay dancers for rehearsal and performance, project by project. I'd like Rhythmically Speaking well-funded enough that we consistently fund the annual show year to year, paying each choreographer an average of $3,500 - $4,000 (estimate for paying self and 4 dancers $10 an hour for 60 hours, rehearsal space and other creative costs). I'd like to regularly perform with well-regarded choreographers whose work I am interested in and get paid for it. I'd like to positively impact the scholarship in and general opinion in the larger dance community of jazz and American vernacular dance. I recognize these ideas as not super-meta or general, but they are what made sense for me to consider at the time of this writing.
Three crazy ideas I'd pursue if I could: Doing a national version of Rhythmically Speaking. Starting MN and national tours of RS shows. The Charlie Brown Christmas dance show. I don't know that this one is crazy, and I might try to make a small iteration of it my next big project. Maybe we could do a studio showing of it around Christmas 2017 and try to actually do the show for Christmas 2018?
My ten best assets for the world of work are: Tenacity, dedication, curiosity, enthusiasm, organization, self-direction, leadership, charisma, self-reflection, willingness.
The things that matter most to me are: My relationships, my health, movement and dancing, sharing the joy of moving to music with others. It has been occurring to me lately that many people have self-interest (inherent in American culture) without balancing it with community-interest (as Ive learned is very important in many African cultures) and I feel I can help uncover and repair that gap by helping people feel them simultaneously through jazz and American vernacular dance improvisation and other such class scenarios (as it is an amalgam of these values physicalized).
Passion/ Purpose Ven Diagram (Project Happiness)
My friend Emily shared this and it just struck me, so I made my own version. I am realizing going through some of these exercises I've found this year that I certainly do not need help figuring out what my passion or purpose is right now, so much as I need to consider more carefully how to make the best of it, allowing myself to grow while contributing to others and maintaining a well-designed life in general.
Your Top Five (things to commit your energy to): I actually did not write down where I found this (shame on you, academic!). I like this idea of continually reconsidering what these things are. That said, this idea really didn't define how deeply or specific one should get with these. It kind of reminds me of the 'Hotspot' idea outlined in the "New Year's Resolution Guide" from AYearofProductivity.com: in this, you identify the hotspots of where your energy is going, and then consider where you want it to go. Considering this idea, I think I've actually be doing a really good job this year of balancing energy toward my desired hotspots, and I think I've actually got mine narrowed down to just three things:
Vitality Purpose Contribution
Including things such as:
Nutrition Relationships Joyful experiences
Exercise Passion Helping others experience music embodiment
Mental Intrapersonal Encouraging self-realization
Financial Interpersonal Encouraging interconnectedness
I'm gonna stick with a top three :)
New Years Questions (The Accidental Creative Podcast):
What do you want to experience this new year?: I want to travel more, even considering just little trips opportunities for mind-expanding travel. Seems that this will work out, as we are planning to take a trip in May. This said, I may even open this beyond just travel and get down to the root of suggesting this as a desired experience: I wish to expand my horizons and see new things. These two things are possible on a daily basis if you let them be. Perception. I also wish to dance more, something discussed above in detail. I also want to experience more live music with friends. I also want to continue experiencing balance, something I have been consciously working toward.
Where do you want to go in the new year?: I actually feel like I spoke to this quite a bit above. I have to admit that I am afraid to reach too far on this. I thought about making it a goal and putting it in writing to finally see Radiohead live in 2017, but research showed that it's likely not possible for this year given certain circumstances, so I'll have to settle for going to great lengths to see them the next time they tour the US. I'll also add I'd like to visit Colorado (ticket already booked!), and I'd like to go to the NDEO National Conference (definitely happening :)). I'm glad I've had enough foresight about conference planning that I didn't look to 'blow my load' this summer and then not feel like I have the travel funds for October. That said, I suppose there were just no seriously exciting summer opportunities I've come across, so that helps (unless I am awarded the Next Step grant, which would allow me to travel for movement conferences!). Regarding reach, I guess I feel a little sad that I don't want to reach. Perhaps that is because I already know we are going to take a big trip! Hoping for Greece or Norway.
What do you want to learn in the new year?: I would like to keep learning about and progressing in the dance forms I love, which will have a positive impact on my teaching, choreography and performance. I'd also like to keep learning about food, specifically production, digestion and nutrition, and how to work that information into cooking.
What do I want to change?: I want to interrupt the ease with which I choose not to go out to do things I'd enjoy (live music, dance shows, dancing) because it's easier and cheaper to stay home. This is hard to note because I do also believe in listening to what we really want, and if I really want to not have another drink, to stay home for an evening, etc., I want to listen to that. I'll have to seek balance for this.
Career Vision and Goals (UC Berkley): I realize that I have a mission, but have not split down specific goals from it. I suppose it's safe to say that I have the goal to fulfill my mission by creating opportunities for people to experience music embodiment through classes (teaching), performance (choreography, performance and organizing) and scholarship (conference presentations. At this point, I don't know that I am interested in getting more specific about this. I am learning, trial by error, about how to best balance all these methods for fulfilling my mission, and am working to listen carefully so I know when to shift where I am putting my energy. As those shifts become more consistently toward and away from certain things, perhaps I will become better able to more specifically define these goals. Another career goal I suppose I've considering somewhat obvious but wouldn't hurt calling out is to make a living in dance teaching, performance and scholarship. A lot of this writing isn't very 'SMART Goal,' but I think some of it is more than it has been in the past. I think I have a good sense of what I need to be SMART goal and what I don't, and perhaps I need less of this because I tend to be a very self-directed and self-motivated person.
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