Tag Archive for 'commitments'

2008 Commitments Update

Published on February 16, 2008 in Career Development, Goal Setting, Health and Fitness, Personal Success and time management. 0 Comments

It’s mid February, time for an update on my 2008 Commitments. In the original post back in December, where I laid out my commitments for all the world to see, I said I would give updates throughout the year. Here is the first update of each commitment:

  • Ride at least 4 days/week for total time of over 200 hours during 2008- Well, so far I am a little behind. Right after the 1st of the year my nagging ankle tendinitis flared up and I took almost four weeks off. As I sit here in February I have less than the 16 hours or so of riding I need to be on pace for 200 hours. But, compared to last year, I am not that far behind. The good thing is that I saw a sports medicine podiatrist who says I don’t have any structural damage and I can at least keep riding as long as I ice/stretch. I am going to cut back a little on the riding intensity but hopefully I will be OK.
  • Learn something new every day- So far I am keeping up with this one. The “Intellectual Devotional” is really nice. It is easy and quick to read and the subjects are good. Most of the stuff is not “essential”, just nice information on a variety of subjects.
  • Become more flexible- This is really going to take a while! I am completely inflexible, worse than I thought. I have been stretching religiously every night and things are getting a little easier but I have a long ways to go. This week I had a session with a sports massage therapist (part of my treatment program for my tendinitis) and she was amazed how inflexible I was. She showed me some new stretches that seem to be much more effective at helping me gain flexibility in my hamstrings and calves, which is key for me. I am able to reach a bit farther that on January 1st but I have a ways to go.
  • Visiting with out of town friends- We have contacted each couple and reminded them that we need to get together this year. As to when and where, we still have to plan that.
  • Obtain advanced investment management designation- This is still on the back burner. I haven’t really proceeded past the intial investigation stage. I have a choice of two that are worthwhile to pursue but I haven’t picked one yet.

There you have it. I am making progress on four of the five commitments so I feel pretty good overall. Already this year there have been some challenges to overcome which I feel good about doing. There will be more I am sure and I will keep you updated.

How are you progressing on your commitments for 2008? Use the comments to let us know.

What are your 2008 Commitments? Tell The World.

Published on December 27, 2007 in Goal Setting and Personal Success. 0 Comments

A couple of days ago I posted my 2008 commitments to give you an example of the type of things I am looking to do in the new year. I know for me that if I “tell it to the world” I am more likely to follow through.

What about you? Have you thought about what you are going to improve upon in your life for 2008? If so, why not share it with the world (or at least the small group of people that read this blog). You never know, you might get some great ideas from someone else or list something that you are going to accomplish that inspires someone else.

So, tell us what you are doing, or not, for 2008.

I am looking forward to your replies!

Creating New Year’s Commitments That Work

Published on December 21, 2007 in Goal Setting and Personal Success. 1 Comment

Resolutions

Ok, so if you have read my last post hopefully I’ve convinced you to make New Years commitments this year instead of resolutions. Now what? So many people fail in their quest to improve themselves. They start out each year with high hopes and not much later they have forgotten completely about it. Then next year comes along and they go through the same process all over again. How can you increase the odds of success? The key is to be specific and focus on a limited number of commitments. Here are some things that I have found to work for me personally. Maybe they will help you.

  • Focus on a few key areas
  • Set challenging, but achievable commitments.
  • Write down your commitments
  • Measure your progress
  • Be willing to adjust if something happens

Let’s explore each one a little more.

Focus On A Few Key Areas: Too many times we decide to improve ourselves all at once. It is easy to get caught up in the spirit of “more must be better” so we come up with a huge list of things to do. It’s no wonder we fail, there’s too much to follow. Instead of a large list focus on 2-4 specific areas that are most important to you right now.

Set Challenging, But Achievable Commitments: Make sure that your commitments are challenging enough to push you a little bit but not so hard that you lose motivation and give up. We need to see progress, it helps us stay motivated. For example, if you are committing to lose 100 pounds by June 1st and its January 1st you probably have a limited chance of success. Sure you will lose weight but compared to what your goal is it won’t seem like much so you could “pack it in” and give up. A commitment of losing 30-50 pounds by June 1st might be a better way to go.

Write Down Your Commitments: Make sure you are accountable to yourself. Writing down your commitments makes them more real. You don’t have to tell the whole world what you are doing but make sure you have something concrete you can refer to on a regularly. Stick a copy of your commitments somewhere that you will see on a regular basis (refrigerator, mirror etc.).

Measure Your Progress: When you set a goal or commitment it is important to have a way to measure your progress. Set points in time that allow you to check you progress. For example, if you have committed to losing 25 pounds by June you would probably want to measure your progress each month.

Be Willing To Adjust: Sometimes your best laid plans have to be adjusted. For whatever reason, sometimes life gets in the way. If this happens to you don’t get too discouraged. You can always reset you commitments at a later time. Take note of what you have accomplished up to the point you had to readjust and move forward from there.

Now that you have some suggestions to help you set your commitments for the new year, take a few minutes and think about what areas of your life you would like to improve. Write them down, attach some reasonable time frames to them, and set some benchmarks for evaluating progress. Have a “plan B”in place to help you recover if life gets in the way.

Good luck creating your commitments for the next year. To give you some ideas, my next post will list my commitments and how I plan on achieving them.