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Hey all! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I am late on my "Spiritual Friday" posts, but I'm finally getting them out. In my last post, I shared my newest discovery with you all. A life coach and personal trainer who was filled with loads of good advice. Some of the advice he, (Jesse Brisendine) shared was on setting and managing your goals. He inspired me to finally tackle a goal that I had on the back burner for way too long: physical fitness and health. I know, I know everyone wants to get healthy at the top of the new year, but for me the timing was just coincidence.

Since then I've been running and working out almost everyday with only a 2 day break in the week. I am so proud of myself for sticking to it this far, specifically because I've hit my 21 day mark. What is so special about 21 days you ask? Well my doctor told me it takes 21 days to form and stick to a habit. After you pass your 21 day mark your new routine should now be second nature and harder to break. I used his suggestions to breakdown my approach. Here are his tips to freshen your memory…

1. Determine your priorities and why they are your priorities.
2. Make small goals for each and state why it will help you accomplish the main goal.
3. Make a timeline (set deadlines) for each goal. He gives a gas tank metaphor to help you understand.
4. Accountability for each goal. Basically finding someone to support you in meeting your goals.

Here is how I applied my goals to his tips..

1. Determine priorities and why: My priority was to be healthy and strong. Why? I have three boys, and the older they get the stronger they become, the weaker I get. I found myself too tired to play with them; whether it was spontaneous horseplay or basketball outside I was always out of breath. I had to be healthy and fit for my kids.

2. Make small goals: The night I listened to Jesse's seminar I promised my self I would start running the very next morning. I had to start somewhere. The smaller goals I set to keep me on track weren't really goals, more like preparation. First I wrote a blog post about how he inspired me so that I was publicly committed to my own promise. Then I prepped my workout clothes so I wouldn't make excuses in the morning. I also planned to run a path that I knew was around 1 mile because I didn't want to overwhelm myself on my first run. 3. Make a timeline: I  couldn't comment to an exact timeline, but decided to run at least 3 times a week. It could be any 3 days, but they had to be done within 7 days. On the other days of the week I would do cardio workouts at home so I wouldn't get lazy.

4. Accountability for each goal: I really wanted to find a very supportive person to check in with who would not only support my attempt at a healthy life, but would also push me when I would feel slow, discouraged or lazy. Frankly speaking though, I couldn't. I decided to, again, use my blog as a public form of accountability. Sharing my goals with you all has helped me stay committed to my promise. So far, the most I ran was 2.41 miles, but 15% of that was power walking. Since that big run I haven't been able to break 2 miles. Not exactly sure what is stoping me around the same point every time, but I will keep at it! Overall, I am feeling better than ever and see a significant difference in my strength level. Now, when my kids wrestle with me and try to push me off their bed I not only have the strength to resist, but I can toss them off the bed lol.

Are any of you runners? Have any good tips for me? Please leave a comment below. I would love to hear what your goals are for 2014 and how you are sticking to them. Hope you all will stick around and cheer me on! Thanks for stopping by.


Posted by Debora at 9:53 AM