A month after joining the Mainely Media, LLC staff in September, 2007, I published a column entitled “Stowell in Motion.” The piece went on to describe several goals I had set after seeing a Thornton Academy talk by the crippled hockey star Travis Roy.

Roy, who was paralyzed during his first hockey game for Boston University, spoke to the kids at T.A. about the power of perseverance and goal setting. He was more specific with the students and told them to accomplish their goals, to get what they wanted out of life, they needed to start by first writing them down.

So in writing them down for the public to see I further tethered myself to their accomplishment. I figured, and still hold, that readers would hold me to the goals I set and if I faltered, well that would be the same as misquoting someone or plagiarizing; a mark against my character.

While the project will continue until April showers bring May flowers, I am writing this column to provide an update on the project and add some reflection on goal setting, reform and the forces which compel us to change.

The first goal I had set was related to my diet. I wanted to eat more, gain some weight and pay more attention to fruits and vegetables. I am happy to report that I have gained 10 pounds since the publication of that October article and am now a vegetarian. I am not sure if the weight gain can be attributed to some sort of winter-hibernation syndrome or my own increased efforts but, nonetheless, change has occurred. Additionally, I have been playing soccer on an intramural team at Howard Sports in Saco and skiing as much as possible, making this, by far, my healthiest winter to date. 

I had also said I wanted to achieve light-purple status on Yahoo Chess, which is a ranking given to players in the upper echelon of the game, with a score of 1,500 to 1,799. I am happy to report that, although I am no Garry Kasparov, I have stepped up my game. My score on Yahoo Chess teeters in the 1,600s now, mostly, I think, due to the extensive reading on opening moves I did after writing the article.

I am proud to report I have no late or outstanding library books. Librarians of southern Maine – you may now rejoice.

I said I wanted to write for two hours a day and, just recently, have been able to accomplish this on a regular basis. Although I spend 10 or more hours writing for this job, I wanted to write more for my own personal interests and have been able to accomplish that through the cessation of a very serious evil in my life: The World of Warcraft.

That is right, I was one of the 10 million gamers addicted to the massively multiplayer online role-playing video-game, I played it from the beta stages as I was a huge fan of what many consider to be its most likely predecessor – Diablo II. I left behind my addiction, a level 70 warlock and a level 70 warrior all in the name of my future. The decision came after a long struggle of real life vs. the game, and in the end it was just that time for me, time to move on, time to grow up and focus on more important things. I do, however, have a message for those still living in that world – there is life on the other side.

I still cannot do a back-flip on skis and my attempts have been halfhearted thus far. I guess the only thing I can say in my defense is – it’s really scary. I challenge you to try it and then, upon completion, tell me how to do it.

I was also hoping to get back to nature via the rejuvenation of old habits like bird watching, hiking and walking my dogs. While I still have not brought the birds back into my life I am, because of the project, a much better pet owner – my dogs think I am “the man.” Again, quitting the video-game has really helped; I spend much more time outside now than I have in months.

The last goal I had set was to clean up my vocabulary and stop using words such as like, dude, man etc. I think I have done a good job of ebbing these out of my reporter lexicon but, as for in-home use, I think I am still struggling, dude.

This goal setting exercise has been really fun for me. Honestly. I enjoy the challenge, I enjoy imposing reform upon myself and seeing how those changes come into affect in weeks down the line. It is like an ongoing science experiment except instead of a sloppy volcano I am working with a gangly ex-computer game addict.

Self-reform is, as I said in the original Stowell in Motion article, the violent act of slaying those things in yourself which you most despise. I was able to stop playing an extremely time-consuming video game that did nothing to help my relationship with my family, friends or girlfriend. I stopped eating meat, I became better at chess, I write more than ever; all because I, like a war chief, drew up a battle plan and carried out the skirmishes to the best of my ability.

I encourage readers to start their own projects. Maybe you want to lose weight or quit smoking. Maybe you want to solve a Rubik’s Cube or write with your left hand; whatever it is I implore you, write it down, develop an attack plan and sound the drums of war.

- Stowell P. Watters