Rather than update you on our goals progress for August, I'm going to share with you some other personal goals that I have achieved or am in the process of working on.
- In years past, I've set the goal to walk 60 miles over the course of 3 days for Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. Last year I committed to walking 120 miles in two weekend with just 10 days in between. I knew that there was no way I could simply get out of bed one morning and expect to walk 20 miles a day, so I paced myself, walked daily, and trained like crazy. I started slow, walking 4 miles a day a few days a week, and worked up to walking back to backs in the double digits two days in a row. I walked over 700 miles between May and November when I trained last year. I am so proud of this accomplishment because I stuck to my goal and was able to accomplish something incredible.
- In the midst of training for the 120 miles, I also made the commitment to raising $4,600 in order to participate. This idea alone frightened me intensely because I knew that the event would cost us money as well - lots of new shoes, travel expenses, socks, etc. We couldn't afford to pay $4,600 if I couldn't raise it. So I set goals, worked hard, and met my goal in 6 months. I did a lot of different things in order to raise the money from sending a short message to all of my Facebook friends, planning two separate Girl's Night Out fundraisers with my sister, and asking everyone I knew. I didn't give up and had incredible confidence that I could do it. I believed in the cause, believed in my friends and family, and believe in a world without breast cancer. I was so proud that I was able to make this goal. Even more so, I'm proud I was able to raise $2,300 the year before, $2,200 the year before that, and over $2,300 this year! It's not easy and there are times where I want to quit, but I know if I break the goal into small pieces, I'll be able to accomplish it.
- I wrote recently about gaining long-term perspective. While in seminary, I set the goal of being happy in my career, using my degree, and making the world (and specifically the United Methodist Church) better. I set the goal of working in some sort of United Methodist entity serving churches in 5 years - hopefully making the money that my degree warrants. It hasn't been quite five years, but after several under-paid, under-utilized, completely miserable jobs (and several incredibly awesome ones too!) I finally feel like I am making a difference, using my degree, and working "in my field." It look a while and was killer hard, but I am so thrilled with where I am now. I'm proud of what I've accomplished. Right now I'm not setting any advancement-career goals outside of those within my current position. I could do this for a L-O-N-G time, provided I can remain relevant!
- One of my goals that I was slow to admit to was to have a baby. For years I said I didn't want to have children - I just wanted to love other people's kids. As I grew up and became somewhat less selfish, I admitted to myself that I did desire to have a child. Seeing Jarrod's desire to have children was definitely fuel to this dream. While I'd still love to adopt, Jarrod really wanted a biological child. I wasn't completely sold on the idea, but have (obviously!) since come to terms with it. I adore being pregnant and cannot wait to see this little baby. Having a child is a complex goal - it requires one to look at finances, career, family, and parenting all at the same time. Jarrod and I are mostly clear on how we want to raise this baby, save money for this baby, and be a family together. We're getting more clear on these things every day. As well as how this baby will enter the world, but that's a story for another day.
- A few goals from this year were attaining my goal weight (which I imagine will take on a whole new meaning next year!) and walking 300 days out of the year. I'm pleased to say that I was able to hit my goal weight and maintained that weight for several months before getting pregnant. I worked hard and it was the first time I was very able to lose weight successfully. I am excited about the tools I learned because they are helping me have a healthy pregnancy and will hopefully help me lose the weight once the baby comes. I am also proud to say that I have continued walking consistently. While my job schedule and the heat kept me away more often than I'd like, I have still walked at least 5 days a week this year, even now that I'm pregnant and my hips don't like each other. I'm not walking as far as I was, but I'm still being consistent, which makes me happy. This goal was achievable because I didn't set a mileage goal, but it was also a challenge. I think about this goal when my alarm goes off at 6am!
While I was thinking about this blog post, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and read some OLD blog posts on a blog that is no longer active. Jarrod often references this post when he talks about getting to know me. He says that the post says I wanted a man who would LOVE my cats. If you read closely, it says TOLERATE, which is simply not the same. However, it is interesting to think that while I was coming to terms with the fact that my "perfect" husband did not exist, he was out there watching his own dorky movies with his dog, just like I thought. While I was completely okay not getting married, my goal was - if I were to marry - to have very high expectations. I was not disappointed.
I also love this post where I discuss my desire to renovate the young adult outreach in the United Methodist Church. While I never sent out the survey, it is clear that I was passionate about helping the Methodist church become more relevant to young adults. It's now 3 years and 2 months since I wrote this post, and that's precisely what I'm doing.
For me, the key to sticking to my goals is making them achievable, quantifiable, challenging, and to utilize accountability. It's not easy, but it works for me.
What are some of your goals and how do you achieve them? How do you keep yourself on track when you lose momentum?
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