A new year, with a new year of resolutions
As of last week, we’ve officially rounded the corner from 2007 and are heading full steam into the New Year. This time of year brings us a feeling of rejuvenation, manifested by our New Years’ Resolutions. I put some thought into my resolutions and thought it would be fun to share.
In the past, I toyed with resolutions one may consider standard; becoming more disciplined with personal finances, better retirement planning, getting back in touch with old friends, etc. What I’ve found, as I’m sure many of you have discovered is that without a strong will and disciplined approach it’s very difficult to change our long term behaviors. I imagine this is because our decisions and preferences share linkages to the hardwiring of our personalities and psyches. For this reason, I feel we are often doomed to break our annual January self-promises.
This year, I decided on a variation on this theme. I’ve decided on a few levels of resolutions, but kept them looser and a little more fun than in the past. In the corporate world, I was engrained with the idea that goals had to be SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, results oriented, and time bound). There are plenty of opportunities to make annual goals of this nature. In fact, I have a whole host of sports specific goals for the 2008 season, but I wanted to create separation because I didn’t want them associated with our condemned resolutions.
That said, let’s now examine my New Year’s Resolutions:
1) Make my bed at least four days each week. Now for you disciplined in the art of hospital corners, this may seem to be a trivial task. Believe me, this is indeed a challenge. Initially, I was going to set the goal at making my bed every day, but I realized this prospect was doomed to failure by January 2nd. So I gave myself a little wiggle room by setting the bar at having my bed made more days than it is not. So far I’ve been pretty successful. The sheets are not required to be tucked in, but the bed must be neat and have the general “appearance” of tidiness. This is also a resolution that has the flexibility to allow me to jump back on if I temporarily fall off the wagon. In fact…....(taking break to go make my bed now…okay, now I’m back)......for this week, I’m officially at 1 out of 2 days. Not bad!
b) To be more “Euro.” Now I’m not really sure what exactly this resolution means, but I just like the way it sounds. In fact, I’m not really sure how I’m going to achieve it or if I’ll know when I’ve achieved it? Perhaps it means I’m going to try to color coordinate my race uniform or make it flashier. Maybe it implies that I’m going to try to smash my bike splits a little more. It may even mean that I wear my baby blue Fila racing flats with white flames around as casual wear. I don’t think it means I will be in a Pet Shop Boys video any time soon, but don’t be surprised if my MP3 player has a techno song or two more than last year…...I guess we shall see, but I think I will sleep a little better each night knowing that I’m just a more Euro than I was in 2007.
III) To start blogging. With my website nearing completion and the ability to blog on Source Endurance’s website, I truly want to open better lines of communication via these avenues. While it may be difficult for each of you to validate the aforementioned resolutions, you can hold me responsible to this point. I think every other week is a reasonable goal, with extra self-kuddos if I can roll on a weekly basis.
iv.) I do realize I probably need a resolution with some practical implications. So I’ve decided to pick a general theme for 2008. This way, I avoid the resolution hazards to which I’ve already pointed. So my theme for 2008 is “attention to detail.” In everything I do, especially when it comes to athletics and the business aspect of managing my racing, I must pay special attention to details. As I mature as an athlete, it’s important to continue to earn and find gains to speed, power, fitness, and efficiency. In order to do this, I must pay special attention to the details surrounding every aspect of my actions. It’s not enough just to log the miles anymore. I must examine all parts of my training and racing performances: nutrition, hydrations, equipment choices, sleep patterns, recovery, emotional considerations, managing personal issues, etc. Each of these factors plays into my everyday performances, which means they have direct ties to my long-term gains and success. You can be sure that in 2008 I will be much more cognoscente of the details in my life. Now by sharing this with you, I know I’ve doomed myself to a type-o somewhere in this paragraph.
I hope everyone is as excited about 2008 as I am. I know it’s going to be an amazing year.
Pat