Blubber To Runner

The idea of setting New Years resolutions is pretty much an exercise in failure.  Think about it – if you could put a percentage on the number of resolutions you’ve followed through on in your life relative to the number you’ve set what do you think the number would be… 10%?  Probably less if you’re being honest.  But I’m not gonna harp on that… I’m here to capitalize on an opportunity.  🙂

See, I have people ask me all the time how I am doing what I am doing… how I stay motivated… how I stay on track.  Some people have actually BEEN motivated to make some changes on their own based on what I am doing (which is pretty cool to hear).  But what New Years Day brings me is the perfect platform… there are more people that “want” to change this time of year than any other time of year.  So, what I’m gonna do is give you a few little tips that can hopefully keep you on track and, maybe, help you keep that resolution until it’s achieved!

#1 – It’s not a resolution… – it’s now a GOAL.  Seriously, stop calling it a resolution.  Like I already said, it signifies failure.  All you’ve done is set a resolution, then fail at it by March – if you’re lucky.  I mean, can you honestly remember what your resolution was last year, 2 years ago or even further back?  Probably not!  So from here on out it’s a goal.

#2 – Plan – When you set any kind of goal, be it personal or professional, it’s no surprise that the ones you achieve have a gameplan associated with it.  One thing that so many people do with resolutions is just say ‘I wanna lose weight’, ‘I wanna get in shape’, ‘I wanna cut out junk food’… that’s all well and good, but HOW are you gonna do it?  This year, if you really want to make this happen… instead of just getting on the treadmill, leaving the pretzels in the pantry or starting the latest fad diet right when you wake up on January 1st, take the first week or two of the new year and RESEARCH.  You’re still working towards your ultimate goal of X, Y or Z… it’s all part of the process.  No one said that whatever you decide is going to be your ‘resolution’ has to start RIGHT AT 12:00a on January 1st.  You wanna quit smoking?  Start researching the techniques that will work best for you – gum, chiantix, cold turkey… find what’s gonna work best for you and then start that.  Same with diet… I did the cookie diet, South Beach, liquid diets, the cabbage diet… none worked.  I finally found what works – it’s a process, but if you do it right the whole time you are still working toward your goal, which is the whole point of this in the first place.

#3 – Invest – Guess what?  I’m talking about MONEY.  I’m not talking about your time, energy, etc.  Throw all that out the window for a minute.  You have NO idea how motivated you get to really give something a try until you invest a real amount of money into it.  Think about this – are you more likely to NOT go to the $19/ month gym w/ no initiation fee or the $75/ month gym w/ the $250 initiation fee?  It’s just common sense… when you invest in something, you become more invested in it.  After you gameplan and you decide what the best course of action is to take, invest some money into your goal.  It WILL make a world a difference. ‘But Gach, I don’t HAVE the money!’  Well, this is all part of the research as well as how dedicated you really are to achieve this goal.  Everyone spends money on a lot of crap… lunch every day out instead of bringing it w/ you from home, that skinny white chocolate mocha each morning.  I mean, if you give up that Starbucks, you’re gonna save about $60/ month (and I’m low-balling).  Is what you want worth that sacrifice?  That’s for you to decide.

#4 – Sacrifice – Sorry to say it but, if you want to reach your goal, there is a good chance you will have to sacrifice something (or somethings) in order to make it happen.  For me, I’ve had to invest more of my personal time in working out/ running as opposed to watching my DVR or going out and partying/ socializing.  As long as you’re accepting of that fact that this goal is now a priority in your life and not just something you’re trying to slide in to what you do everyday, you can effectively make this change.  When you plan out our day, week, etc. make your goal a necessity and not something to squeeze into open spots and you will notice the difference.

#5 – Share – No… you don’t have to start a blog or introduce yourself to people by telling everyone you wanna lose 140lbs; I need this because I’m alone.  In most cases, you will have a HUGE support system readily available to you in your general vicinity, so USE THEM!  Family, friends, co-workers… let them know what you are doing and you’ll be surprised with what you may learn from them!  I had a co-worker introduce me to P90X… I’ve had people from HS I haven’t seen in almost 20 years run with me, send me recipes, suggest friends to me that could help me out… my Mom told me about Weight Watchers (I had no idea she ever used it – she’s a petite li’l flower)… complete strangers reaching out to me because they saw my blog on the Mudder site or the WW site… one of my best friend’s convinced me that therapy would be a useful tool for someone like me.  Ask for help, share your success… I’m telling you – it works.

I know it’s not much.  But, if you’re serious about actually achieving the goal you are setting out to do… DO IT RIGHT.  Plan, Invest, Sacrifice, Share.

(And the collective “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh… ” comes out as you realize why I titled my blog what I did.  Full disclosure – I didn’t even realize the acronym was there until I bolded the letters after I finished typing this – and it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up)

Anyway, I hope this helps a little… and hey, if you need a little more motivation?  You know where to find me 🙂

Happy New Year – and PISS ON YOUR GOALS!