Take 30

At the beginning of November I came across this TED talk about doing a 30 day challenge. The objective is to take consistent action for one month.

Even though I already have a big set of goals I've been working on in 2012, I decided to add the challenge -- and make it about working on 'all the other things that never seem to get done.'

I called my challenge 'Take 30.' I set a goal to do 15 minutes per day and I named each 15 minute session a '15er.'

Persistence in Creating New Plans

"The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those that fail."
-Napoleon Hill


I'm going to be posting this quote on facebook a little later today. I love it because it identifies one reason that so many people fail at their goals.

It's not because their goal wasn't worthwhile.

It's not that they don't really want it.

It's because they take the first setback and make it permanent when goal achievement is really about realizing we may not know all there is to know about reaching an outcome -- but with persistence we will find our way through. Everything before that is feedback.

We should use it to stay on track.

My 30 Day Challenge

"It only takes thirty days to change your life."

So I have been working on some significant goals this year. Still I decided to try the 30 Day Challenge prior to the new year myself. After-all, there's always more one can accomplish given the time and interest.

[Time can sometimes be an issue, but -- for me  -- interest never is. In fact, it's interest that gets me busy on something new that's good, but still off-track. But that's a discussion for another day.]

Quit Quitting

Recently I came across someone in an online forum who said she was going to quit trying because every time she tried, she quit. Hmmm.

To me, there is more to be gained by continuing to try EVEN IF you find you're often quitting. From my perspective, to quit for good is a for-sure failure, whereas every attempt, even if unsuccessful, is simply another learning experience.

I have had a very busy year. I set some goals at the start and I haven't done all that I set out to do, but I have certainly completed a great deal. In fact, I can't believe how far I've come -- in less than one year. There have been switchbacks, obstacles, detours, setbacks, frustrations, insecurities, and much more, but ... what progress I've made!

At the same time, in a busy day/month/year/life, it's been hard to update the rest of you in a timely manner. Doesn't matter. I'm going to quit quitting.

Even if I am forever starting over.

Off the Radar

Ever notice how people say they're going to do something and then you never hear anything about it again?

I admit to having had some challenges with keeping consistent on my physical goals so far. And, on top of that, there's just so much to do in a day that it's hard to get the workouts done AND blog about it! (Do you feel sorry for me yet? ... How about now? ... Now?)

I did have a friend's dog for part of April and during that time I was walking four times a day for a total of two hours per day. I did that in keeping with the dog's regular workout schedule. (You should see the muscles on this dog -- in addition to the walking, I'm sure it's lifting at least three hours a day!)

At the end of April, I heard a late-nite infomercial for a workout program that would ...

Physical Goals: Bare Whys

When you set a goal, you've got to know why you want it.

You can't achieve something that you are so-so about, or don't really know what you're going to get out of it. The goal has to be clear and so does the why.

A while back, I wrote out my whys for my physical goals. I had waaaay less than 100 reasons for wanting these goals ... and those in the know say you should have as many as possible and at least one hundred.

So I promised to revisit my whys. I even had a few good suggestions on my facebook page. But when I attempted to go back, I felt I was really stretching for something that didn't exist. My whys are my whys. I'm pretty clear on them. Anything more is just filling space.

So, as it stands now, I'm leaving my whys as bare whys. Naked in their honesty. I will go back to touch them up a bit, but I'm not going to add any filler.

Fluff belongs on Fluffy. The cat. Or in the vacuum.

This or something better. :)

A Finer Way to Fail

Shuuussssh. Do. not. say. a. word.

No matter how tempting it is, keep. your. mouth. shut.

That's what Derek Sivers has to say about goals in this 3 minute TED talk, as shared by the folks at FinerMinds.

Well, I'm still learning, so of course I've done it wrong. Apparently, by sharing my goals here, or anywhere for that matter, I'm setting myself up for failure.

I had thought that by declaring publicly, I would have to 'come through with it.' But their experiments indicate otherwise and I do admit my progress is slower than I would like.