Three Goals

I have set about ten goals and created ten plans of things I want to do in 2015. I am going to share three of those with you today.  

One of my goals is to lose at least 50 pounds during the year.  I am going to set milestones and celebrate those milestones for every 20 pounds I lose.  I am going to reach these goals by eating cleaner, working out for at least 15 minutes daily, and tracking what I eat.  I have enlisted accountability to help me stay focused.  

Another goal I have is to RUN a 5K this year.  I have completed 5Ks in the past and even the Mini-Marathon.  However, I did these with a walk/run combination.  I want to run an entire 5K.  I am going to start training again.  First, I am going to take the Good Form Running class that Runners Forum offers.  I want to do this to make sure that my running form is correct.  I will then do a couch to 5K program.  I just have to purchase new running shoes and decide which 5K I want to commit to running.  

The third goal that I am going to share with you today is that I want to blog more.  I have set a goal to blog once a week.  I want to do this because it helps keep me accountable.  I enjoy writing, and I started the blog to help me process through what I am feeling and doing.  When I am struggling, I don't blog.  I do it for me, but if others read and/or benefit from my experience, then that is just even better!

2014 Goals

It was about this time last year that I talked about not really liking New Year's Resolutions for obvious reasons - they don't stick.  I guess I should say that I don't stick with them.  It is not their fault.  It is mine.  I haven't planned, or I would give up and not get back on track.  I have a plan that I will be implementing to make 2015 my best year yet.

These were the things I wanted to do in 2014:

So, how did I do?

1.  Break a bad habit - I gave up coffee and soda; occasionally I may have a coffee or a soda, but it is not my 3-4 cups of each that I would have daily.

2.  Learn a new skill - I think I am still working on this, but this goal setting that I have been doing has been a great new skill that I will continue to work on.

3.  Do a good deed - I would like to think I have done this pretty regularly.

4.  Visit a new place - I went to LA this year.  I have been there before, but I didn't venture out of the hotel.  This year I went out earlier and did some sightseeing with friends.  Loved it!

5.  Read a difficult book - Mission accomplished!  I read The Fault in Our Stars which I knew would be challenging and difficult to read, but I made it through it, and I didn't cry as much as I thought I would!

6.  Write something important - I keep journals, write stories, and I keep this blog.  I think that somewhere along the way I have written something important - at least important to me.

7.  Try a new food - I tried eating cleaner at times and more whole foods, less processed foods.  During those times I tried lots of new recipes and foods.  Some were delicious and some I could do without.  Looking forward to trying new foods in 2015!

8.  Do something good for someone who can not thank you - Wow!  This is a hard one to document.  I do feel like I could do better in this area.  I have done nice things for others, and I don't expect to be thanked for them.  However, I would like to be more giving.

9.  Take an important risk - I think completing the Mini was my important risk.  I was terrified of being picked up by the bus, but I didn't even see the bus!  I completed 13.1 miles and this proved to me that I could do so much more than I give myself credit for.


How did you do?  Did you complete the things you wanted to do in 2014?  Have you set goals for 2015?

Proverbs 29:18

This verse has been on my mind and heart a lot the last couple of weeks.  This is what the verse says:

Where there is no vision the people perish

It all started two weeks ago when I read a blog post from one of the blogs I follow.  This post came from Sublime Reflection and the author's name is Kimberly Job.  The post was entitled Design Your Destiny 2015 and it was about a special goal setting group / course that she was offering.  I signed up for the course, and I am so glad that I did!  

There were several exercises that Kimberly provided to review 2014 and to really narrow down our goals for 2015.  Not only that, but it provided you with steps to help plan out your goals.  If you don't have a plan for your goals, you will not be any closer to achieving them.  Throughout this process, I have set 10 goals that I want to accomplish in 2015 and created a plan for each of those goals.  I will be sharing some of these goals with you in upcoming posts.  

In addition to these wonderful resources, I have gotten a Passion Planner that I am going to use in 2015.  This planner is an amazing tool that you use to prioritize the things you are passionate about and want to accomplish.  Once you have done this, you use the planner to help schedule and plan how to achieve these goals.  I am SO excited to use this planner.  Here is the picture of my passion planner.  

I have included links to both Sublime Reflection and the Passion Planner website under the helpful links heading on the right hand side.  I encourage you to check both of them out!

As I was reflecting on 2014, I realized that two things I was proud of - completing the Mini-Marathon and completing 75 miles in July were both fitness related, but they also had other things in common.  I had plans for them.  I had goals and I had plans to achieve those goals.  I also had accountability.  The rest of the year I didn't set any goals.  I didn't have any plans.  I didn't enlist any accountability.  And if you read my last post, you saw the end result of all of that.  While reflecting on this, the bible verse kept coming back to me.  Without vision, I had perished.  I got lost because I didn't have any place to go.

That is probably the most valuable lesson I have learned in 2014.  I would have never learned it if I didn't take Kimberly's course.  2015 is going to be an amazing year for me.  I have some major mountains in front of me, but for the first time ever, I have a plan on how to climb them.

Do Over December

For the past several weeks I have been learning so much from the messages our awesome pastor has been preaching - #Facebookfantasies.  This past Sunday's message particularly spoke to me.  It was about selling out or settling for less than God's best in your life.  The reason?  Lack of trust.  Woah.  That nearly knocked the breath out of my lungs when my pastor said that because it is so true.  I have had a difficult time trusting God and have settled in certain areas in my life.

I hate that I have settled.  I know that I am not alone in this.  I am just tired of doing it.  It is time to be real and to deal with things that I have avoided dealing with for so long.  

I have not blogged in a long time, and I have missed it.  I just didn't have the motivation.  School started, and I got super busy.  I stopped taking care of myself in every sense of the word.  It took me a while to recognize it, but the exhaustion, not caring, lack of focus, temper flaring, etc. meant only one thing - I was slipping back into depression.  If you have never battled depression then it will be difficult for you to relate.  It controls every aspect of your life and it overtakes your life little by little.  As someone who has dealt with depression in my own life and in the lives of loved ones around me, I am usually pretty good about recognizing it early and getting the help that I need.  This time I didn't.  I let it rob me of precious time.  Time I can never get back.  

These dark months all looked the same.  I was going through the motions of my life.  I would go to work after dragging myself out of bed, get nothing done while at work because I couldn't concentrate, come home exhausted, binge eat, and go to bed by 8:00 p.m.  I just didn't care.  

It took my mom saying something to me to make me realize how depressed I had become.  I knew it was time to make the changes necessary to climb out of the pit.  The first thing I did was to tell a few close friends so that they knew what was going on and so that I had accountability.  I then made an appointment with my doctor.  It is important to have conversations about mental health with your healthcare professional.  

Yesterday's message was all the confirmation I needed.  Today, December 1st, marks the start of Do Over December in my life.  I know that I cannot truly do the past few months over, but I can scratch those months and not let them have control over me.  This comes at quite the high price.  My months of depression and binge eating have led to weight gain - a lot of weight gain.  I knew I was gaining some weight because some of my pants were not fitting me anymore, but I didn't realize exactly how much weight I had gained until I got on the scale this morning.  Oh. My. Word.  

It is done.  The weight has been gained.  Wallowing in it will only make things worse for me.  I have to make positive changes in my life.  These are the things that I have implemented for Do Over December:

*Tracking what I am eating using the free app My Fitness Pal

*Setting small, achievable fitness goals

*Tracking these fitness goals on a calendar (I will share in a future post)

*Following the medical advice of my doctor

Spiritually, I am going to work on trusting God in EVERY aspect of my life.  It is not going to happen overnight, but prayerfully, trusting God will be something that will become easier to me.  I will stop settling.   

I am ready for my Do Over December.