Expectations > Resolutions

Friday Ship #283 | January 7th, 2022

Parabol, Inc.
Parabol Focus

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Parabol makes an open-source async agile meeting app free to use with up to 2 teams. If you like what you read, please subscribe, follow, like, or hit 👏 .

As the first week of 2022 comes to an end, maybe you have remained true to your New Year’s resolutions to improve your physical fitness or cut back on frivolous spending. You may have set stringent personal goals accompanied with loose timelines, wrapped in the determination that this year will be yours, and yours alone. I have taken this approach in the past, working diligently to see my resolutions come to fruition until the self-imposed pressure of achieving my restrictive personal goals became overwhelming, and I eventually freed myself from making New Year’s resolutions altogether.

Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with the proverb “change is the only constant,” while American educator Stephen Covey argued that the three life constants are “change, choice, and principles.” I tend to lean toward the later philosophy, and after spending the past two years engulfed in pandemic-filled uncertainty, the need for change, choice, and principles may be more imperative than ever for some of us. This year, I decided to plan out what I expect of myself, as opposed to what I hope to accomplish. My “change” will come from making an active effort to love myself more, and to do without the instinctive, yet harmful nature of comparison. My “choice” will assume the form of being present for my loved ones, performing for my team, and a deep exploration into my insatiable hunger for success. My “principles” will be a reassessment of my values, how my time is spent, and holding myself accountable. With these expectations I aim to find confidence in my personal governance and decision-making, peace in my mind and spirit, and success in all things that I dedicate my time to.

In just a year’s time, I have become a homeowner, husband, and expecting father. These new developments are accompanied with the willful expectations of being a provider and supporter, as well as the best possible version of myself. As of this writing, I am a mere four weeks removed from becoming a parent for the very first time, assuming a full-term birth. Throughout my wife’s pregnancy, she has cautioned me to improve my poor habit of self-deprecating speech, as I will soon have a son listening to my every word. She knows that there is a greatness in me, and she expects me to have belief in my ability to be who I need to be for her and our child. These discussions are what sparked my desire to set clear expectations of myself this year to fall back on as 2022 presents new sets of adventures and challenges. As I continue to practice speaking good things into existence, I expect to be great, accessible, steadfast, and assured.

What do you expect of yourself this year?

Metrics

We are seeing sign-ups at near-regular rates, but the number of meetings hasn’t rebounded fully from the vacation season. This makes some sense as teams are just kicking off their sprints and many of our meetings are run in the middle or the end, not to mention there are probably still plenty of folks out on vacation.

This week we…

published a blog titled *7 Futurespective Ideas to Start Your Year.* Look forward instead of backwards with a futurespective!

kicked off the new year with a bang, returning strong than ever after the holiday break.

jumped back into the swing of hiring by completing multiple cultural interviews and scheduling upcoming batting practices.

Next week we’ll…

send off our Exco team to Los Angeles for a team retreat!

…continue to be the best team in the world. 💯

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