40 day goals (Set #1) – DONE!

Today is the last day of my first 40 day goal cycle! Time to evaluate and take inventory of what I have accomplished and what still needs improvement.

40 day goals – Set #1 (March 14th – April 22nd)

1. Yoga – 6 times a week – Check! One week even had 8!

2. No Running – Check! Today marks 8 weeks of no running!

3. Say “Yes” More – Check!

4. Sleep in our tent at least once.  – Not yet! but spring is here and it will happen more often! It is definitely on my brain.

5. Celebrate Marathon Training Victories – Check!

6. No computer after work (this one might need modification since I’ve started this blog – the purpose was to eliminate time wasted doing pointless stuff online) – Check! I have eliminated the habit of wasting time on my laptop!

7. Clean Kitchen before going to Bed – averaged 5 times a week.  Not bad considered the messy kitchen was a constant headache every morning!

8. Bike – 3 times a week (starting 3/20) – Once a week, at best! I need to work on this one!

9. Love my job for what it is. Do not focus on what it isn’t. – Most days! 🙂

10. Look for a new job – 4 times a week – Check!

11. Daily Vitamin – averaged 5 times a week! before goal setting, i averaged about 5 times a month! big improvement for me!

12. Eat dinner at the table 5 times a week. – averaged about 4 times a week

13. Cook at home – 5 times a week – Check!

14. Catch-up with a friend (in-person) once a week – Check! Managed to make this happen an average of twice a week!

Reward – Blissology Hammock (will be ordered next week! WOOHOO! just in time for summer!)

Going into my first set of goals, I knew there were a lot of daily habits I wanted to change about my lifestyle and my family’s lifestyle.  The big one – After work and dinner time rituals. We were stuck in the habit of eating around the coffee table while watching Wheel of Fortune.  This is not what I want for our nightly routine.  I love eating at the dinner table. I love our version of “family cheers”. Mission accomplished – we are back on track.  We are cooking more and eating at the dinner table.

The other big hurdle I needed to get over at the beginning of this goal cycle was accepting the fact that my body wasn’t ready for a full marathon.  I also had to accept the fact that I couldn’t run for a while.  I’m not one to sit around and pout so I embraced the role of cheerleader. Christian and I headed out to the race and cheered on every marathon runner.  (Have I mentioned how supportive and awesome my husband can be….he is always up for a challenge and willing to go along for a ride. He cheered with me for 4+ hours because I didn’t want to leave anyone on the course without someone cheering for them.)  Although I wasn’t running, I was so motivated and inspired by every runner on the course. It truly is amazing to watch each runner pass. They each have their own story, their own motivations, their own obstacles in life…but they are out there on that day running 26.2 miles! Incredible!  I know how hard and time-consuming the training process is, and I know the sacrifices they make to be out there running. I would have hugged everyone who ran by if I could! I didn’t run 26.2 miles that day, but I think I’ve learned a huge life lesson in the process – listen to your body. Take care of your body. It tells you what it needs. I’ve also gained a new love in my life because of the injury. Yoga! How I lived without it before is beyond me! My body craves it daily.

Set #2 of my 40 day goals starts tomorrow.  With this set of goals, I really want to push myself. I want to challenge myself to get even more out of my comfort zone. If it sounds crazy, if it is something I’d love to do but don’t think it will work out, there is a good chance you will find it on my next list of goals.

I would really love to have anyone join me in my next set of goals – start small like I did.  There was  a lot of fine tuning I needed to do in my daily living to get myself on track to being a better healthier me. I started small. I wanted to start out with success so I set out to change all those things I said I wanted to do more and that I needed to do better. And make sure your reward yourself – you deserve it!

40 day goals – Set #2 will be posted tomorrow or possibly Sunday.  We have a long day in the car tomorrow.  We are driving to the mountains of North Caroline to pick up Cole (half way from Virginia Beach to Nashville).  Being that close to great hiking and outdoor activities might make it hard to not spend the night and enjoy the great outdoors.  We are going to play it by ear (A task that is incredibly difficult for me! I am a planner – to the extreme)!

Enjoy the Sunshine this weekend! Breathe it in and set some goals for yourself. I’m really looking forward to grabbing my journal and scribbling out my next set of goals!