Over the last ‘almost two years’ (it seems odd that in just 2 months, I will be writing as my “2 year journey” rather than year and a half – the time has gone by so quickly, yet so much has happened!) I have set a lot of goals for myself. I truly belief goal-oriented shifts are the only way someone will truly succeed. If you do not have something to look forward to, to reward yourself with, to celebrate, to benchmark, then how can progress be made. Progress is made upon a continuum, and if that continuum has no definition, you might get lost. I have made a lot of large and small goals – I think goal-setting can only work if you have both. If you only have small ones, you can lose sight of the overarching reasons for your journey in the first place, and if they are too big, then progress seems too far out of reach, making it easy to fail once again.
The other day, I was thinking about my goals for my 2 year ‘healthiversary’ and where I want to be. I am still hovering in the 170s, which is annoying because I have been there for almost three months now. I’m not letting it sidetrack me, I have many other goals, and fitness has become a way of life, and I love it. I can see that I am gaining muscle, and my real goals are in the way of developing those muscles, increasing strength, and just upping the game, which I feel like I have been doing. Food-wise, I could be doing better, but I hope to keep myself in check over the holidays. My 2 year landmark conveniently lies right after everyone has made their new years resolutions. Although my original motivation was not a NYResolution, it works well with the time period, but when I was thinking about my goals the other day, I said to myself, “If I push it really hard right now, I will be really happy for my 2 year”, emphasis on the RIGHT NOW. A new year can bring upon a lot of emotion, and it may seem early to be talking about resolutions, but the reason why so many new years resolutions fail is because they are a fad. The intent behind them are genuine, I honestly believe, but they fade because the reason they are started is because of the notion that just because the calendar year changes, you are going to change too, which MAY happen, but don’t bet on it. That change has to come from within you, so why are you waiting until January? It gets cold (at least where I am from), which makes it even harder to keep with your plan – curling up with hot chocolate seems way better. Don’t rob yourself of 2 months of progress.
START TODAY
You have nothing to lose – if you have been thinking about it, if you think you will hop on the 2013 bandwagon, there is no reason to wait that long. You could just about finish the couch to 5k plan, lose 10 lbs, gain some muscle, attend some fitness classes, or do a variety of other things with this 6 week period. Then, when the ball strikes, you will already feel better about yourself, already have goals, already have a plan you’ve started, and it will just make this next full year even better.
I’ve accomplished a lot in the way of fitness this year, which i’ll review at the end of December, but knowing what I know now, 2013 better watch out, STARTING NOW. Words cannot express what a gift it is to give yourself your own health, so don’t wait for the ball to drop, start a list of goals and start your life today!
