2014 Goals

Image Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

As usual, I'm not really huge on the whole "resolution" thing, but there are a few things I'd like to work on and improvements I'd like to make, and now seems like a good time to start, yes?

• Continue with weight loss. Process: continue with food diary via MyFitnessPal. - I was up to 41 pounds (18.6 kg) lost in early December, but I'm back to only 37 pounds (16.8 kg) lost after the holidays. ::sigh:: That takes me almost back to where I was in September! Must get back to moving in the right direction.
• Drink more water. Process: Drink one 16 oz bottle before Noon and one before 5PM daily. - Hmm, I seem to have made that same goal multiple times in previous years, but I'll keep trying. I'm starting small: two 16 oz (0.5 liter) bottles a day (in addition to what I drink with meals). I'd like to work up to the recommended 64 oz (~ 2 liters) per day, and more if possible, but anything more than the minimal drinking I do now will be an improvement.
• Tweet daily. Process: Set daily phone reminder for 8PM. - I didn't use Twitter nearly as much this past year as I had previously. Part of that is being busy, part of that is not really feeling like I had much to say. I'm hoping that trying to send at least one tweet daily will help me remember even the small things that happen this year, which might even lead to keeping the blog more up to date. Speaking of which....
• Blog weekly. Process: Set aside one hour each weekend to focus on blogging. - I would really like to have something new to post every week here on my blog, even if it is just a picture, recipe, article, or fun quote. There is plenty of stuff I never got posted last year, some major things even, because I didn't have the time to write it up the way I wanted. That's fine, and I'm not terribly upset about it (just frustrated at our busy-ness), but I really want to be posting more consistently so y'all don't have to put up with me going "radio silent" for weeks. I really will try.
• Do something hobby-related each week. Process: Take something hobby-related to Luke's weekly reading tutoring sessions. - Read some pages in a book, watch a movie (hard to do during tutoring, so might have to fit that in at other times), do some needlework (stitching, quilting, or temari), anything creative and something that I enjoy!

You may wonder why I noted my intended process for obtaining these goals. I read a great article last week about establishing a system, not necessarily setting a goal. (No affiliation) There are two huge reasons that these words rang true for me:

1. This is how I finally managed to lose some weight. I think this is really what I've been trying to explain to people, but I couldn't find the right words. Article quote: "When you're working toward a goal, you are essentially saying, 'I'm not good enough yet, but I will be when I reach my goal.' The problem with this mindset is that you're teaching yourself to always put happiness and success off until the next milestone is achieved." See, I didn't really set a goal to lose weight last January; all I did was decide to start a food journal. Now, that food journal comes with calorie counts of the foods I am eating, and it also conveniently sets a recommended calorie target. Was I really hoping to lose weight by tracking my food? Yes, I was! But the process I established was simply to write down what I eat and be aware of how many calories I am consuming. By doing that, and by being aware of the recommended target (and more or less being in its general vicinity), I lost weight. It was the change in process that was important and what (finally!) worked, not setting the goal itself (which I've done many times and completely failed).
2. Spraining my ankle is something I never could have predicted last year. That was such a huge blow to me, physically and mentally. I'm sure that's why this quote resonated with me so much: "Goals suggest that you can control things that you have no control over. You can't predict the future. (I know, shocking.) But every time we set a goal, we try to do it. We try to plan out where we will be and when we will make it there. We try to predict how quickly we can make progress, even though we have no idea what circumstances or situations will arise along the way." I obviously had no idea I would spend weeks not walking at all and several more weeks struggling to just move down the hall at my own house. You really do never know what life will throw at you. All you can do is try to establish a process to change something, and if life happens, change the process to compensate. You can also change the process without changing the goal!

Final article quote: "Goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress." I'm surely going to try! Don't wish me luck, wish me a good process.

Currently feeling: ready to start