Please Stop Clicking That Link (Or, The Very Public Face of... You pt. 2)

Several years ago, I had a bad week. I had joined a charitable organization, found myself overwhelmed and unable to contribute, and tried to make a graceful exit. And things went sideways. After a lot of thought, I blogged about it.

I was angry. I received some bad treatment at the hands of some one I had trusted. So, I outed that person. I shared - in anger - the things that person said, and the things I had said. That person had made some racist comments, and I called that person out. In anger. Because poor treatment and racism make me angry.

Funny/sad thing is, it's one of my most popular posts. I keep hoping that it'll fall into obscurity, like my other posts. But the stupid thing is in my top-ten for any given month, and it's been my second-most-seen post of all time for years, beaten only by a knitting pattern.

So, when I was playing with my blog layout, I took that into consideration. Should I use a side-bar with my top-five? Should I just go delete that post? Is there anything in it I should be ashamed of?

I keep thinking about it, though. I T.H.I.N.K. Was the post True? Yes. Was it Helpful? Maybe, as a cautionary tale. Was it Illegal? Certainly not. Was it Necessary? So much of the internet isn't necessary. It was necessary for me to vent at the time that I wrote it. Was it Kind? No, but being a Dr. Who fan, I aim for "never cruel nor cowardly." I'm not sure I even want to aim for "always kind."

I could delete it... but nothing you put on the internet is ever truly gone. It would exist somewhere. Besides, it is a part of me. I really did that. It was me. Not my finest moment, but also not my worst (I don't put those on the internet).

I decided to put the top-five posts this month on the blog and hope that puppy stays down around 7 or 8. I won't hide from a years-old moment of questionable judgement. If I'm ever a presidential candidate, I'm sure some one will bring that up (unless they can dig up my really good dirt). Until then, please stop clicking that link.

Edit: Part 1 of The Very Public Face of... You was about marketing and privacy.

Resolutions?

I know it isn't even Christmas yet, but I saw a discussion on Ravelry that got me to thinking. I'll definitely go post a list of my own 10 projects in 2010 on my knitting blog, but for the rest of my life... Wait. Does anyone really need resolutions? I mean, you can't improve something that's already perfect, right? ;)

Ok, ok, seriously. There's the normal, "lose 10 lbs, be less than $$$ in debt, start working on my degree" kinds of stuff. And yes, most of that is going on my list.

What are resolutions but little baby goals? A motivational speaker in Highschool once told us (and I happened to be awake for this one!) that we should set goals and keep a list of these goals somewhere visible. I got the same message from a class I took as an adult, and we use goal sheets at work to aid in planning our careers.

Merriam-Webster defines goal as the end toward which effort is directed, but most of the sites that pop into a search for "goal" talk about timelines, and indeed, every experience I've had where goals were mentioned, timelines were also brought up.

In my job, as in most jobs I think, my boss has a list of expectations for me as an employee. After 6 months, we do a check-up to see how things are going, and 6 months after that there's an evaluation. During this process my goal-sheet is also reviewed. My goal-sheet is like, four pages long. It's lengthy, cumbersome, and not generally something I look forward to reviewing or tweaking. Definitely not something I could (or would even want to) post somewhere visible.

I think the S.M.A.R.T goal model is sound. My mother brought this concept up to me the other day, and I checked it out online. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. I see that, and my list-loving brain gets all excited. SMART just screams, "make a nice little chart for each goal, and arrange it according to time-line!" I may have to, but then you run into the cumbersome and not-postable problem. Maybe the happy medium is the pretty little chart, periodic review (reminders in my calendar that pop up automatically?), and a very abbreviated list somewhere visible.

So, what to put on this list? This bears thought. And I'm open to suggestions. I'll even welcome the wise-ass comments. Though, "be nicer" is not specific, measurable, or timely, and might not be attainable or realistic. Just sayin'.