I was really feeling it the other day! You know the completely overwhelmed, don't think you can possibly manage and sort out all that life is throwing at you and feeling defeated before you even try sort of feeling. Do you ever feel that way? Well I am not ashamed to admit I get the way, probably too often! On this day I got in the car to pick up my daughter from school completely relieved that I was doing something simple and basic that could be done without thinking. As I was driving an old school Twila Paris came on the radio taking me back a few years and lifting me up with just the right message!
God is in Control!! The very first words; "This is no time for fear, this is the time for faith and determination." You see overall I did have a pretty great 2011. I just struggled in the last few months a bit. It didn't exactly go out with a bang. I kind of stumbled and tripped into the new year bouncing from major stressor to major stressor and wondering "when's a girl going to catch a break?"
So as I started the new year the time when everyone is full of ambition and new goals, dream and aspirations, my sails were hanging limp by my sides, no wind in sight. My husband had a major back injury and besides the usual worry of whether he will heal from this the majority of the daily activities that pile up to keep a household and family humming along are now resting solely on my shoulders. But as I listened the lyrics of the song seemed to be emblazoned on my heart like a badge pinned to my chest "this is the time for faith and determination." And then I remembered what it says across the top of this blog, particularly the first four words, go ahead, look up there....
Forgetting what is behind...
So 2011 didn't end on the high point I was hoping for. It's a new day and 2012 is full of nothing but promise. Time to start "straining toward what is ahead" and to "press-on", that is my motto after all! Where to start? I had made elaborate new years resolutions before that were largely unrealistic or unattainable. I wanted to get my thoughts down but didn't know where to start and then as I did my normal perusing of blogs I came across my Do Life buddy Ben starting a challenge for his blog followers for the start of 2012. Sweet! Problem solved, basically took 50% of the work off my shoulders :)
The challenge is to make monthly goals and have weekly challenges you need to work on! Simple enough. If any of you want to jump on board with me, I will happily welcome the company. Here is the lowdown.
First Month's goals:
Write down five quantifiable goals for yourself. Emphasis on quantifiable. And they must be realistically achievable within one month Assess yourself and write down your current stats in all five areas. Do you want to lose six pounds? Find out exactly where you are now. Do you want to run a 35-minute 5K? Write down your current time. Etc. You might need to get creative with assessments. That's okay. There is no requirement on your goals or your assessments.
My goals were on these themes:
1. Building relationships. 1 date night a month with my love, 1 one-on-one with each of my girls once a month, 2 play dates for me with a friend or extended family member every month, and one alone time by myself doing things I like!!
2. Using food tracker and resume good eating practices (I am focusing on MyFitnessPal to track my food and exercise, PLEASE consider checking this out, I would love to have more friends on there with me for increased accountability!)
3. Logging 16 miles and in a month walking and running
4. Lose 6 lbs in January
5. Giving my time with God that number one spot it belongs in!!
Additional week one challenges were:
A. By Monday night, get on the floor an do as many pushups as you can. Modified (from your knees) or regular. It doesn't matter how many you can do. Write this number down in a notebook or word document. Pushups will be a "fun" recurring litmus test throughout the 12 weeks.
B. Beginners: Do 120 minutes of exercise this week. The exercise can be anything physical as long as you're working that heart rate. Walking, running, cycling, rollerblading, yoga, weight-lifting, anything.
C. Identify your biggest excuse. Write it down on a wall in your house. Then in your notebook write a way to eliminate that excuse. Not enough time in the day? Try eliminating American Idol and Glee. :) (His words not mine!)
Here is how I did on Week One: 1. I had a playdate and both Sophie and I got to play with a friend, plus mine involved exercise. 2. I resumed using MyFitnessPal but didn't hit the everyday mark! 3. I logged my first 2 miles. 4. I lost three lbs for January already. 5. I found a good devotional/ prayer program to begin. A. Ugh pushups! Could you believe that I could only do 10, lots of room for improvement!! B. I got my 120 min! Yea! C. My biggest excuse is time but usually just due to poor time management. My goal for that was to go to bed early so I could wake up early. Totally failed at this. This has been on my list for years, I will overcome it one of these days. D. I did this a few days, hard to do, I am not very complementary of myself. Overall not a bad first week!
For Week 2 obviously you are still working on your 5 monthly goals but you have the additional challenges of:
Do something out of the ordinary for a stranger. Find a way to brighten someone's day. Pay for an elderly couple's meal at the restaurant. Give a homeless man a blanket. Volunteer. Compliment someone. Do something out of your way. Something, maybe, you've never done before.
Do something else. Yep, that's (at least) two times this week, you'll be going out of your way.
Reassess your pushups (or plank) today or tomorrow. And keep working them. There are pushup and plank plans all over the Internet, or make up your own. Stick with it!
Reassess your goals. Where are you? How are you doing? Do you need to change anything?
Beginners: 150 minutes of exercise (or 20 minutes more than you did last week).
Write four things you did well. Every night before bed.
So this is what I am working on for the beginning of 2012 to jumpstart my progress. I would love to have others come along for this ride with me. Just start a word document and track your progress on the issues and let me know the highlights as we go along. I switched my weigh-in day to Monday and then I will try to get the new weeks goals and challenged posted then and comment on how last weeks goals turned out.
On a different note my husband and I have been reading this book:
It is singlehandedly the most inspiring, astonishing and motivating story I have ever read. When I read about what one man endured over the span of 2.5 years I think of how much I complain about the slightest inconvenience; being too cold, too warm, hungry, too full, too tired, can't sleep, slightly congested, a sore muscle, noisy kids, a burnt dinner, the list could go on and on of my annoyances with these daily aggravations. All that Louis Zamperini went through makes me want to be a better human every day. I strongly suggest everyone run not walk to their nearest bookstore and buy this book. Feeling so inspired by this story I decided to go running on Monday though I have done very little running in the last month. I ran and ran and ran, 2 miles without stopping which for a girl who only ever got up to 3 miles at a time to do 2 after a month with no running felt like a big accomplishment. So many times I see this with my patients we stop with the first initial signs of discomfort, whether out of fear or injury or just plain aversion of doing anything less than pleasant we give up. I looked ahead at each attainable landmark and I ran to there and then next and the next and the next. And I was so proud of my accomplishment afterwards. Am I sore today, very!!! But that didn't stop me from exercising again today. It won't break me but will actually refine me. That is part of what I like about the above program. I didn't make a lofty goal of losing 85 lbs this year, but a small goal of losing 6 in the month of January. I like the little challenges and the measurable gains through tracking your pushups etc. And I LOVE that he is coming up with the ideas for me. Thanks so much Ben!
Other things to look for coming soon:
Other things to look for coming soon:
I also plan on doing a little back education in honor of my husband. We are living and breathing how to take care of your back over here and I have struggled with some guilt because I feel like if I had policed my husband a little better before his injury he may not be in such dire straights as he is at this time. But then again there is only so much one can do when freezers fall on them! I also promise to get back into sharing recipes. I have been desperately combing through the stockpile in our freezer using the food up both in an effort to save money and to make space for future freezing :) And there is still a big opportunity coming my way in 2012 that I look forward to sharing with you all when the time is right! ;) So there is much to look forward to, with faith and determination. Hope many of you are feeling the same way!
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