On Track?

How can it be that today marks the halfway point of 2014!  My running goal is quantitative and easily tracked day by day, week by week, and against my annual objective.  And, I'm happy to be slightly ahead of my YTD mileage.  Some other goals aren't quite that precise, as they are either done or undone by year end, and percent completion isn't easily tracked or possible.  And other aspirations haven't been committed to the precision of measurable goals.  Today's a great day to adopt a New Year mentality and assess where we are, where we want to be and how we're going to get there.

No More Big "Buts"

We limit ourselves each time we use the word "but".  I'd like to _______, but I only know how to________.  If we banish this enormous little word and substitute the word "and", we move ourselves immediately to considering possibilities of how to achieve our goals, dreams and desires.

Degrees of Difficulty

Julia, Gar and I had long anticipated this past long weekend and approached our three very different races - 5k, marathon and half-marathon with varying degrees of preparation.  The only different challenge facing me in my 5k was Austin's hills, as the distance was within my 1 - 3 mile daily run range.  Julia prepared diligently for her first marathon, after successfully completing 4 half-marathons and two Ragnar relays.  And though several of her training runs incorporated distances greater than her previous longest distance of 13.1 miles, she'd not yet completed 26.2 miles, nor had she trained on hills like Austin would present.  And Gar approached his first half-marathon, with the expectation that years of athleticism and youth, rather than training, would serve him well.

We each completed our races with better results than expected.  And we each embraced different degrees of difficulty for ourselves.  My race would not have been a challenge for either of my children, but I increased my normal pace and ran my fastest time ever.  Gar's race was an amazing feat for him, but would have just been a 5th half-marathon finish for Julia.  And Julia's goal-setting, preparation and determination served her well in completing a race which a small percentage of the population even attempts.  Yet, scores of runners also completed her race.

It worked out beautifully that we were all proving something only to ourselves, and could appreciate and celebrate the accomplishments of our other cherished family members.

It's important to realize that what is easy for one is a momentous accomplishment for another.  Degrees of difficulty are very individualized.

Make Realistic Goals

When the temperatures dipped into the 20s twice this week, I was so glad that I had set a realistic running goal for 2014.  Houston rarely gets temps that cold, so I opted to skip those two days and resume running in more palatable temperatures.  Had I not set my goal to allow for some yucky weather, early meetings and other conflicts, I could have become frustrated early in the year and abandoned the goal.  However, even with 2 missed days, I'm still on track and quite motivated to achieve my annual mileage.

Goals need to be ambitious, but realistic.

Better than Expected

With all of the running apps now available, I feared comparing my old trusty app with one of the newer, well-touted GPS-based programs.  Determined to meet my amended annual running goal, my concern was that I'd been overestimating my distance, and would fall impossibly short of the goal, if recalculation was necessary.  I decided to face my fear this morning and tracked my jog using both the old and new programs. What a surprise and relief to learn that my old device was registering less distance than the new app!

Sometimes facing our fears yields far better outcomes than expected.   And, we end the worry of not knowing what we'll find.

Measure and Modify Goals

Goals provide a measurable way to track progress toward something important.  Setting goals is a critical first step, followed by consistent steps for achievement.  Despite our best plans for execution, life sometimes gets in the way.  That's when we need to adjust our plan - not abandon it.

My health goal for the year was running 400 miles.  As I saw that I was going to exceed this, I set a new stretch goal of 500 miles, and was making good progress for achievement.  Then life through me a huge curve ball.  When I was unable to run during the month of October, I could have scrapped the 500 mile goal and decided that 400 was good enough for 2013.  Instead, I decided to modify my plan and still strive for what had now become a true stretch goal.  Thus, a little mist and 42 degrees didn't keep me from running this morning, nor did morning and early afternoon appointments yesterday.  I made clothing modifications this morning and timing ones yesterday.  If I'd not decided to stick with my mileage goal, I'd have easily rationalized two missed day of physical activity.

Goals keep us moving - sometimes literally.

Flimsy Excuses

I'm so glad I didn't let a little sprinkle deter me from my morning run.  My health and mileage goals, coupled with the fact that running makes me feel good, provide adequate motivation for me to hit the neighborhood streets most mornings.  However, with a rainy weekend in the weather forecast, I was tempted to use the dampness as an excuse not to run.  Saturday mornings generally allow for the most sightings of our fitness conscious and dog-walking neighbors.  However, this morning only a few of those motivated by their canine companions were out and about.  

I've long known that I can learn from everyone I meet and from my feline friends.  This morning's tip from determined doggies set a great example of not allowing flimsy excuses to prevent us from working toward our goals.

Be Successful Where You Are

Recently, I had the chance to hear Jay Steinfeld, Founder and CEO, of Blinds.com talk about his company's incredible company culture.  I've embraced one of the vivid ways he casts a vision for personal and company success:

• Be Successful Where You Are

As he made successive steps across the front of the ballroom, indicating that each step toward a goal could be viewed as failure, until achievement of the goal, it made a huge impact in my way of addressing success. Though setting and achieving goals is enormously important, we need to be careful not to define success solely by achievement of the next milestone.  We owe it to ourselves to celebrate current success while striving for even greater successes each step of the journey.

Willpower and Won't Power

Willpower is an oft valued component for achieving our goals.  It is important, helpful and high impact.  However, each of us is motivated somewhat differently.  It struck me, as a dear friend mentioned the limits of willpower, that it might be beneficial to also incorporate won't power.  For instance:

• Losing weight - willpower - stick to a prescribed diet; won't power - allow the dieter to indicate that she/he won't deviate from the diet more than 2 times per week
• Increasing Exercise - willpower - implement a well-crafted exercise regimen; won't power- allow the exerciser to indicate that no more that 3 consecutive inactive days will be allowed

Pairing willpower and won't power strikes me as a way to recognize the realities of life's best intentions.  Incremental winning may result rather than giving up because of an unmet goal. 

What a Difference a Year Makes!

It's hard to believe that I've been running for a year!  Little did I know at this time last year that the novel activity I accidentally tried would become an important and positive part of my life.  This one year milestone caused me to think about why something I'd never considered embracing would make such a difference.  There are so many positives including:

• Open to new activities and ways of thinking
• Influenced by positive role models
• Focused on health
• Balancing active and busy
• Setting and achieving a fitness goal 
• Enjoying the outdoors
• Seeing neighbors
• Don't have to schedule it, able to just lock the door and start the route on my time frame
• Time to think and pray without distractions

365 Miles

It feels so good to complete an ambitious goal!  There is no way that I would have believed, a year ago, that I would have the satisfaction of running 365 miles this year.  Becoming a runner wasn't on my list of 2012 goals.  However, once I started running, it was only natural to establish a goal and track my progress.  Heat, cold, rain, snow, injury and early morning meetings provided ample excuses not to run.  And, attaining 95% of my goal would have been pretty good.  However, the 365 mile goal kept me motivated and moving.

It's day 365 of 2012 and I just finished mile 365!

Great at 8!

My 8 year old friend inspired me yesterday!  His assertion is that he is 99% angel and 1% devil, but when he is older (11) he will be 100% angel.  My very bright young friend, with controlled ADHD, has made enormous progress in impulse control and self awareness.  He has much deserved pride in his accomplishments, and wonderfully high expectations for his future.

Think about how much more we could all achieve, if we likewise, appreciated our accomplishments and held ourselves to extraordinarily high goals!

Exceeding an Enormous Goal!

I enthusiastically accepted a request to lead Comerica's Houston United Way campaign.  We first thought that we'd be asked to exceed last year's campaign by 10%, which was imminently doable. However, when we were asked to raise over $40,000 more than the previous year's campaign, I knew that creating a stellar team was the only way we could succeed (or exceed goals).

We realized that all of our colleagues were not familiar with the amazing impact of United Way and created 3 distinct Kick-Off events with speakers from United Way and community agencies. Knowing that every dollar we raise benefits 1 in 2 of our Houston residents creates a compelling case to participate.

This stellar team of committed leaders and engaged colleagues has exceeded our ambitious fund-raising goal!

Lessons reinforced by this experience are:

• education is a critical component for buy-in
• leading by example really matters
• individual requests for participation increase engagement
• creating an ambitious goal creates a rallying point for success
• asking a newbie to lead the charge allows new questions to be addressed

Measure It

We all know the importance of setting goals.  Goals without measurement have very little chance for success.  Without accountability it's easy to lose track of time or overestimate achievement.  My running has given me a concrete way to see how important it is to track each outing.  My year end goal is 365 miles.  I'm 56% of the way there 64% into the year.  Knowing what it will take to reach my goal keeps me motivated.  The numbers don't care if I'm tired or it's hot or raining.  They just provide a way for me to always know what it's going to take to succeed. 

When a goal is important, we need to measure it.

World's Longest Sudoku - Finished!

I set a goal to complete The World's Longest Sudoku Puzzle by August 15.  Today, 4 weeks ahead of schedule, I finished the final puzzle!  With our need for instant gratification, it feels good to plan and complete a long-term project.  And I hope that these 8,929 correct answers in the 167 interlocking puzzles will help keep my brain young. 

Losing 100 Pounds

Those of you who know me know that I don't have a weight issue, so you may be wondering what I know about losing 100 pounds.  In a recent discussion with a new friend about tackling challenges in 2011, she said that she needed to lose 100 pounds.  It struck me that her reason for not addressing it full force, as she does her business opportunities, was the enormity of the challenge.  I've decided that the best way to lose 100 pounds is to focus on losing 10 pounds and celebrate this milestone when it is achieved.  After celebrating, the next goal might be to lose 10 pounds.  We've often heard that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.  The best way to tackle an enormous goal is to break it into doable chunks.

World's Longest Sudoku

One of my gifts is the World's Longest Sudoku by Frank Longo.  It is nearly 22 feet long (21'9 3/4") and has 167 puzzles with 8,929 empty squares.  I know I can rise to the challenge and plan to complete it by August 15, 2011.  I thought 33 weeks (5 puzzles per week) was a very reasonable goal - then I saw a review on Amazon by someone who completed it in 12 days.

I still think mine is a very reasonable goal for me.  This stark contrast in expectations was a helpful reminder that we all need to set goals that are 3M:  meaningful, measurable and meetable.

Hunting

We are all hunting for the best, whether it is happiness, a date, mate, friend, meal, deal, acquisition, kill (traditional hunting), gift, vacation, job, school, service provider, entertainment, book, opening line or meaning.

People generally like to provide advice.  When we are able to articulate what we are hunting, we'll usually find others who are willing to help us identify what they think is the best available. Everything's connected in the search for the best.

Measuring Success

Most of us know our ideal weight. And we know what it takes to achieve it or maintain it.  There are multiple ways to measure our success including a scale, a mirror and a favorite pair of pants.  The same applies to other personal and business goals.  Once we adopt an ideal outcome, we need to assess what it will take to make it happen, and identify what we will measure to make sure it happens.

How We Measure Success

I enjoy Scrabble and have convinced myself that the mental exercise is good for me.  Because I'm achievement oriented, I started tracking my scores this year.  I've played and won 67 games since January.  By the pure win/loss measurement, I'm doing great at 100%.  However, I established a different threshold for my success.  I've been tracking the percentage of my scores that are 300 points or more.  When I made my goal tougher, my success rate fell to just over 80%.  But, I've become a better player by continually challenging myself.

When something becomes too easy for us, we sometimes need to raise our expectations.  Often, improved performance will result.