It’s nearing the end…

Hmmm. It’s the time of the year when one should sit down and reflect upon one’s achievement for the past year… …

*picture a old lady in a rocking chair, sipping some tea and goes “ahhh” while nodding her head at the meanwhile*

Heh. Hopefully that will be me in like 50 years’ time. Still alive. Still kicking and in one single piece.

I don’t know about you, but I kinda started doing this “reflection-at-the-end-of year” thingy while I was in the US.

As I was there for only 1 and a half years, time was short, so I really need to sit down and reflect upon what I had done for the past year and were those activities “value-adding” and with the remaining half-yr to go, what other sports/things/places that I must pick up/do/visit before I left the States.

I learnt how to ski, how to fish (game fishing), how to ride a horse, how to survive alone in New York. I traveled to Costa Rica, parts of Canada and parts of the US that I wanted to.

And since then, I picked up the habit to reflect upon what I have done and I try to do that on a consistent basis, for example, at least once every 6 months.

I truly believe that this is a very meaningful exercise and I do think that I’m leading a more fulfilling life after practicing this exercise consistently.

Take 2006 for instance, at the beginning of 2006, I started to get bored of my ex-job and wanted to get a job that I really enjoy, so that I do not have to drag myself to work everyday. And so, in Jun06, I was indeed very lucky to find one, which I totally enjoy and was exactly what I wanted.

It was in 2005 that I first went for my virgin-10km "race" and would have gone for the half marathon this year if not for the CFA exam that I had to take, which was on the same day as the half-marathon. But for the past 1 year, I have been running regularly although I do wish that I can cover longer distance in each run.

I told myself at the beginning of 2006 that I wanted to go back to school and upgrade myself, and I did. I took up the CFA exam and I am determined to BE a CFA. This in turn, means that I will most probably sacrifice a chunk of my social life to study part-time on my own for the next 2-3 years.

Now that I look back upon 2006, I really do think that it was a truly great year for me and I do have a sense of achievement that I have accomplished what I have set to do at the beginning of the year.

Just a tip from me, set small, realistic goals for yourself and trust me, the sense of achievement can be really satisfying.

So, for the coming 2007, this is a list of what I have set for myself:

1) Run to MacRitchi Reservoir from Bishan (that’s where I am staying now) and do the full 11 km run, around the reservoir. To prepare myself for the half/full marathon at the end of 2007.
2) Sign up for the New Balance Run at Sentosa in July, and clock a decent timing.
3) Continue with my pursuit to be a Certified Financial Anaylst.
4) Go diving?
5) Be an expert in the Vietnamese stock market.
6) SAVE MORE MONEY!