I have to detach from soccer. I spend way too much time analyzing, trying to help out. I worry about that at work, I worry about it at home. That’s affecting my work. That will stop.
At work, I need to focus on work.
At home, I need to spend time with my kids.
So when do I worry about soccer? It’s fine to think about it here and there, spend a few minutes on it, but that’s it.
Priorities. My priority is work and family. I have to keep that in mind before I get into trouble.
I am changing my reading habits in the new year. That’s all good and coming along.
What about my eating habits?
I’m struggling. I under eat during the week and over eat on a weekend. How do I change that? Cut down on the extra eating. Lot of time my wife will ask to go out. And by that time, I have already snacked and filled my belly, so I try to eat less. Nobody wins. So I need to be strict about what I eat, especially on a Sunday.
I have to figure out a system that will force me to do that.
New year, new opportunities, new challenges. A new start. What am I changing? What am I doing different? Lots of things.
Reading polish news. I spend way too much time reading polish news. What is it giving me? Is it beneficial? A bit, but not much. I can get similar benefit if I spend a fraction of the time on it. So I will try to limit my exposure to only a few minutes a day.
Reading news and technology instead. Yes, Economist is a good magazine that I have access to. I need to read it more. Event Polityka has different sections besides news. I have Kiplinger’s, BusinessWeek, New Scientist, Popular Mechanics and more. I have access to them and I can read them on my kindle. That is great. Why this over polish news? Because it’s knowledge I can share with others and polish news is limited. Plus, I need to get into finance a bit more, and science.
So those are the 2 big changes that I will introduce right away. More to come.
I had a good dinner with my wife yesterday. We went to a french restaurant Latour. We took advantage of the $43 fix menu for 4 courses. Plates were small but food was good.
I liked it. We talked about life, about issues. It was a good opportunity to do so. I touched on an important topic: if you scream, are you going to get better results? I don’t think so. In fact, you are going to be treated in the same manner from the other side. That’s the fact of life. Is it worth it?
I’ve changed over the past few months. I try to control my temper with my kids. I try to stay calm. And it is starting to work. My big weapon is taken away but I get to develop others. And that’s the positive. I get to be more creative.
It’s my wife’s birthday today. I took my sons to a store and we got her a few things. Fabian bought some icing and decorated his ginger bread cookies for all 4 family members. I think that made my wife happy.
But yesterday wasn’t a good day. I can see that she raises her voice, not scream, but raising voice. I think that always backfires. They react the same way to her. She think I undermine her in front of them. I don’t. I tell her that she’s breaking our “no screaming” rules. But she is cooking inside and doesn’t care.
I realized something this year. It feels like not being allowed to scream takes away your main weapon. You have to find something else, though. But the bottom line it forces you to treat your family members with more respect. That’s what happened to me. I feel much different now around my wife and my kids. And that’s a big win!
We have a holiday party at work. I need to take it easy. I need to have fun but under control. I am no longer in for crazy stuff. Talk to some people, especially from different groups, learn something, dance a little, and drink a little and it’ll be ok.
I am crazy about soccer. I am crazy about Fabian playing well. I am all in. Either he plays well or doesn’t play at all. That’s the bottom line. So I found a personal trainer for him, who I think might help him develop a few skills he’s missing. We’ll try to setup something in Jan and see how it goes.
Programming is not an easy profession. At least, not to me. You’ve got to prepare really hard, spend countless hours studying, then you have to keep up with what’s changing. That only works for the dedicated guys.
I have a guy on my team that I’m trying to help out. I’m trying to shape him to be a good developer. It’s a slow going, but finally seeing some improvement. He started talking a way that makes sense.
Sometimes I doubt him. But guys that try and give all they have are special. I am hoping he becomes like that. I need to do my part, I need to motivate him, but the rest is on him.
Fabian likes playing soccer. He plays every other day for 2 hours! That’s a lot of practice time that I hope is helping him. It’s helping him shape up as a player. I think the practice time is helping him become better!
Bottom line, he wants to do it! He wants to keep playing and he wants to keep getting better. I love seeing that. I’m investing a lot of money, but I don’t feel like I’m overpaying. I can pay as much as it takes for him to play and continue to get better. That’s the bottom line!
Winter training is around the corner. He will train 2 times a week, play games on the weekend. That’s a lot of ball. I hope the game that he plays in spring is improved and that he feels he can do more.
My plan for Fabian playing on a better team in the spring worked! I had options and the best option won. I am proud of that! He will move from the D flight to the A flight! He’s been practicing with the Heat which plays A/B flight level so I think he’ll do fine.
Fabian is no start. But he started to play better. He is practicing on both teams and slowly started to pick up skills. He’s still the fastest player on the field, so that always helps.
I feel I did my part. I talked to the coaches. I figured out the options. I was proactive and it worked!
I have ideas that come to my mind. They occur in showers. They occur in bathrooms. They occur in spurts. Yesterday was one of those days when it happened.
Guess what was it about?
Fabian’s soccer. 2nd one in 6 months about the same subject.
One that occurred a few months ago was one of the best moves I made. He’s improved so much in Heat. He’s become much more confident in his own skills.
I don’t want to stop there. I want him to continue improving.
That why I decided to make a move now, before the spring season. I want him to change teams now. I already have an offer from Maroons, where Francis is the coach. Now I am waiting for a response from the A team in Glen Rock. I am hoping it is a positive one.
So keep them coming! Keep the ideas coming. They are serving me well!