Goals and New Year's Resolutions

Last week I accomplished one of my 2012 New Year’s Resolutions- I officially ran over 800 miles in 2012! (as today I have run 809.55 miles)!   When I reached this milestone, I decided to go back into my email and look at my full list of 2012 resolutions to see which ones I had accomplished.  Here was my full list from 2012 along with the current status of these goals: 

-          Running:

o   Run at least 800 miles *Complete as of November 27

o   At least 3 half-marathons  *Complete- Mini-Heart 15 k, Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon, Hudy 14k, and Indianapolis Half Marathon)

o   Join a running group/attend running group social functions (complete- check out my post on the awesome benefits of a running group)

-          Eating/Nutrition

o   Lose last 25-30 pounds (complete- met goal weight in June 2012)

o   Earn lifetime WW membership- (i.e. stop paying) (sort of complete- see my post on why I quit weight watchers- however I did reach maintenance on my own and have successfully maintained my weight loss for over 6 months)

o   Eat mostly organic, non-processed foods at least 95% of the time (I would say I do this about 90% of the time)

o   Come up with and implement a maintenance plan once I reach goal weight (complete)

I remember when I first started my journey, I was adamant that I did not want this to be simply another cliché New Years resolution; however now that I look back at my 2012 New Year’s Resolutions and realize how many I have accomplished, I am excited about planning and setting my goals for 2013.  For me, it is really important to be able to have a focus or something to strive towards; for example every time I went running this year I would think “that’s 3 miles more towards my goal!” and it was really exciting to realize that over the course of 2012 so far the miles I ran exceeded the driving distance between Cincinnati  and Oklahoma City.  

I know that New Year’s Resolutions get a bad rap, but for me, the New Year provides a natural time to look back at the past year and figure out what things I want to continue doing and what things I want to change to make my life more richer, satisfying, and fulfilling.  Setting goals for the ensuing year keeps me from becoming complacent and pushes me to become better in all areas of my life.  I think the key to being successful is to set goals or resolutions that are actually attainable: sure, I could have set a goal that I would run 1500 miles this year, but realistically that would not have been feasible for me and I would have been setting myself up to fail.  Instead, I calculated how many estimated miles I was running at the time and then increased it by a certain percentage.   Also, it is important to be specific about your goals- while it sounds great to say “in 2013 I am going to get healthy”, I have found that does not lead to concrete action- for me, I need to have something specific  and measurable. Plus, not only does having a specific and practical goal allow me to measure my progress, it provides a great excuse to reward myself when I attain the goal! (Just remember, do not reward yourself with food, you are not a dog!)

Over the next few weeks, Lexy and I will be coming up with our own goals and resolutions for 2013- and we would like to issue a challenge to our loyal readers to join us!  At the end of December, beginning of January, Lexy and I will post our 2013 goals and will also be announcing a contest for anyone who is brave enough to share their 2013 New Year’s Resolutions with us. Keep your eyes posted for the details!