It’s the time of the year when people begin once again to question their lifestyles, progress towards goals, general maturity, and interpersonal relationships. I wrote a short questionnaire to help me better understand the trends in my life, my demons, and my virtues. Many of the questions lead intentionally towards pop-psych conclusions, others help to measure progress against the culturally ingrained norm, and yet more serve no purpose but to tickle my curiosity bone. The whole thing is broken up into five categories, each containing ten questions. The blank questionnaire is a gist: https://gist.github.com/rfinz/8143116. Feel free to pass it on or use the questions; I think personal improvement through the recognition of problems and the application of appropriate force is what separates us from the apes. All musings are my own.
Personal Culture:
- What is your favorite band? Jukebox the Ghost
- What is the genre of music you listen to most? Electronic Dance Music
- What is your favorite pastime? Making artwork
- How do you spend most of your free time? Watching comedy television
- What is the most irksome thing in your day-to-day? People arguing on the internet.
- What do you admire? People who have found their vocation
- Where do you work? Smart Data Solutions
- Is there anywhere you’d rather work? Where? Yes, Mozilla or at an aerospace company
- What do you do at work? Write and debug code
- What would you rather do? Architect systems and design finished products
Stress:
- What is your biggest source of stress? Interpersonal relationships
- What scares you most about the future? Not knowing what career path to follow in order to be fulfilled and live a happy life.
- Do you think most about your present, past, or future? Present. I am almost always entirely preoccupied with what is happening immediately. I can see how the cogs fit together, and how I move forward, but I’m always focused on that next step.
- Do you actively combat your stressors, or keep your distance? I tend to keep my distance. This is something that I badly wish to change.
- Have you been successful in your life? Not yet.
- What is success? Success is loving what you do, doing it with people you love, and feeling secure in your person, home, and emotions.
- Does it feel like you have good friends that are a large part of your life? Not usually.
- Are there actually good friends that are a large part of your life? Almost certainly.
- Where did those friends, if any, come from? At this point I am still retaining a good group of friends from both high school and college.
- Do you worry about money? Why? Yes. I won’t feel free until I can pick my passion without the looming cloud of debt.
Happiness:
- What is a hobby you would like to get in to? Paragliding
- What is one type of thing you would like to do more of? The arts. I’ve been thinking a lot about taking a drawing class, joining a choir, or attempting to freelance some design work.
- Who holds the most sway over your happiness? My loved ones
- What's something that you've discovered to be enjoyable, recently? MPR radio news. It keeps me sane during the daily commute.
- Are you happier than the people around you on a daily basis? It’s hard to say. I certainly try harder to be, but I think that defeats the purpose.
- How much time do you spend actively engaged in an activity per day? 4 hours
- How much time do you spend with your mind wandering per day? 10 hours
- On a scale from 1 to 10, ten being most positive, how positive are your wandering thoughts? Probably a 3
- How often do you relax? Once a week
- What separates relaxation from the rest of your time? Freedom from the stresses of work, major contact with people important to my life, and an enjoyable creative activity.
Movement:
- Are you making progress towards your goals? Yes, but it doesn’t always feel that way.
- Are you living where you want to be living? Yes, for the moment. I miss Valparaiso and Chicago with some consistency, however.
- Do you often see the people you want to see? No.
- Are you in a job that is along your career path? Yes, though I hope my ultimate career has a larger basis in the creative arts, rather than the structure and grind of a programmer’s life.
- Have you made enough money to finance your goals? Making plenty, feel like making more would do wonders for any worries I have about the future.
- Are your friends successful? Some of them are very successful already, many are busy finding their place, just like me.
- Are you a better person than you were before? I wish I could say yes.
- Would your loved ones say that you are a better person than you were before? They mostly have a very high opinion of me and I wouldn’t trust anything they say about me. That said, they probably wouldn’t notice an improvement.
- Would your colleagues say that you are a good person? Probably, but if I’m late to one more meeting…
- What is your end goal? Own a company doing something on the forefront of technology. Be a leader of people, not a manager of them. Make sure the company showcases my need for art and creativity.
Silly things:
- What's your favorite toothpaste? Any Arm & Hammer. ❤ baking soda
- How many pairs of pants do you own? ~15
- Do you have any socks with holes in them? Yes
- Do you have a roommate? Yes, Jessie.
- What is your favorite soda? Reed’s Ginger Brew
- What is your favorite liquor? Tanqueray gin
- What do you read for fun? Technology articles or classic novels
- What is your favorite video game? World of Tanks
- What is your favorite T.V. show? Parks and Recreation / Frisky Dingo / Archer three-way-tie
- Are you on a diet? Absolutely not.
