The Rules... a rough start

So here's how I think this can go...

Everybody makes FIVE goals. The idea is to make them attainable in four weeks. I'm counting the month of May as those four weeks (give or take a few days). Starting May 1, everybody commits to making their goal happen, and sticks to it 100% for the month.

As an example, here are my goals... As stated above, some of them obviously going to be fitness related, and some are not.

1. Fitness Goal 1 - Run at least 20 minutes, five times a week. 

2. Fitness Goal 2 - Do 100 reps of SOME physical exercise five times a week (could include push-ups, sit-ups, squats, weights, etc).

Those of you who run, or work out, know that I'm not setting the bar terribly high as far as intensity goes, but my main objective is to get used to the consistency, and make it part of my routine.

3. Lazy Person Goal - At least once a week, attack a necessary housekeeping project (emptying garbage and recycling, tidy up crawl space storage, get rid of junk from basement, hide wires in living room, clean bathroom, etc.)

Basically, I'm committing to cleaning up the house, instead of sitting around watching TV shows I've already seen.  It's far to easy to put this stuff off... time to fix that.

4. Man of Mystery Goal - Learn Italian (or, at least get through the book and CD set that I have.) 

 I bought it years ago, and haven't taken it off the shelf. In the interests of self-betterment, this will potentially give me a new skill, and also make use of something I bought, but never used.

5. Get Rich Goal - Read a book about Financial Planning

My parents gave me a book called The Wealthy Barber that is apparently a good read about saving, investing, etc. Hopefully by getting through that I can take away some hints to apply to my financial future.

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So now it's your turn... here are the rules.

1. Make your five goals. Make sure they are specific, measurable, etc. (There are a million websites devoted to effective goal-setting. Google if necessary). Basically, make sure that you can definitively say YES or NO to the question "Did I actually accomplish this?"
2. If necessary, break your goal into smaller steps. List them, if necessary.
3. Use this page (or maybe we'll make a Facebook group) to brag about it, talk about your experiences, challenges, motivation, etc. At the end of the month, talk about what worked, what didn't work, and how to do it better, and set new goals for the future.
4. If you want to tweet, instragram, etc. about it use the hashtag #4w5g
5. Be awesome, and stick to it for four weeks. 

How simple is that?

Motivational quote of the day:

  If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go as a group. - African Proverb

The problem, and the solution... And the invitation

Winter is finally over. And somehow, unlike our friends, the bears... I've gained winter weight instead of burning off my hibernation fat coat in my sleep. There are many reasons for this (poor diet choices, lack of activity, lots of travel, etc.) but none of that matters. The fact that matters is, I'm going to fix it.

I've said many times that the hardest part of doing anything is deciding to. Once the decision is made, the rest of the steps often come pretty naturally. Perhaps not easily, but naturally because what you're doing is no longer and option; it's an expectation. You just have to mean it... That decision has to be a commitment.

I'm committing, and I'm setting a goal. And one way to be accountable to your goal (and avoid complacency) is to make it public, share your progress, and involve other people.

So this is a kind of experiment. Who wants to do this with me?

All you need is some goals and an email account. I don't expect the goals to all be about fitness. Mine certainly won't be. They can be about life, learning, growing, giving, cleaning, fixing... Or anything at all. Consider this a support group, a forum, and a kick in the pants, for getting yourself on track to do some things that you may have been putting off, found too difficult to stick with, or just always wanted to do, but lacked inspiration or motivation.

I'm going to set five goals... I'll share them soon. And give myself four weeks to accomplish/meet them.

After that, I'm gonna do it again. Who's in?

Rules and regulations to follow, although there are no prizes, other than potential self-betterment, increased confidence, overall happiness, and a sense of accomplishment.