Some Goals for 2011

With 2011 upon us, I figured now was a better time than ever to let everyone in on something about me.  That is, no more New Year’s Resolutions.  None.  However, it is not exactly for the reasons you might think.  I’m not in the camp of those who think that the turning of the calendar is simply some arbitrary event.  With the craziness of a one month + holiday season in the books, it is very easy and likely that all the hubbub has you feeling a bit less than centered and very much out of touch with your personal mission.

So, the New Year is a perfect time to center yourself once again and get the big picture back in focus.  So, with all that said, why no New Year’s Resolutions?  Well, to be honest, resolutions as you usually see them are far too general and open ended.  Take the most cliche of resolutions, “lose weight”.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made this resolution many times before in my life.  While I have lost weight over the years, and alot of it, I don’t believe it was due to my making it a resolution.

Instead, I attribute the success I had losing weight to attaching a significant enough “why” to it. In my case, it was the fact I had found a wonderful wife to experience life with and now a beautiful 3 ½ year old son I want to see grow up.  With those two gigantic reasons now in my life, I had all the incentive I needed to lose weight and get healthier.

Where to Now?

So, instead of making resolutions as we move into 2011, I decided instead to set a series of well defined and specific goals.  Many might say, why bother?  Well, I have decided to bother because our time on this planet is finite.  It is finite for each and every one of us.  So, I’m dedicating myself to getting as much as possible out of my time here.  Hence, my 2011 Goals.  All are designed to move me forward in my quest to experience life at its fullest.

There’s really two things you can do.  You can challenge yourself in every aspect of your life or you can sit still in neutral and get nowhere.  It used to be very easy to blame external forces for any woes I had.  Instead, it became clear to me I need to look in the mirror fist and foremost.

I can either sit back and wait for things to happen or go out and get them myself.  I’ve made a key decision to go out and get them.  It’s been a long hard road to get to this point, but now more than ever the time is right to get moving.  I have a very small, but stunningly effective support group around me now, led by my uber-supportive wife.  I didn’t always have that.  I have, and will continue to, shy from any negativity that causes that circle to weaken.  The result is what I consider a fairly strong set of objectives going into a New Year.  For that I am very excited!

Makeup of a Manifesto

So, what makes up this 2011 Manifesto, as I am choosing to call it?  There is essentially three sections to it, covering the areas of my life I want to push forward.  In no order of importance:

• Personal Goals
• Financial Goals
• Business Goals

The last two I won’t bore you with and they are out of the scope of this blog anyhow.  What have I included in my goals?  Here’s some of the key points I included for each goal:

• Why?  Whatever goal(s) you set up, they MUST have a big enough reason why.  Without that, there’s no incentive to succeed.
• Completion Date – In order to get going you have to know where you will end up.  Make it finite so there is some sense of urgency.
• Action Plan – Have a loose action plan behind your goal.  Flesh it out as you go along, but have some framework in place up front.  Thinking about it will help you move towards completion.
• Make it measurable – Decide what your completion metric will be.

Another important aspect of my goal setting is accountability.  My wife and I spend part of our New Year’s Eve reading over each other’s goals.  This is important for a couple reasons.  First, we are aware of what each other are striving for and are able to offer whatever support is necessary.  Second, it gives an air of accountability to my goals to share them with someone else.

For that last reason, I’m sharing my physical goals on my blog.  What better way to make myself accountable than to put my goals into cyberspace for all eternity!!

Joe’s 2011 Goals Manifesto

1. Complete a marathon in 4 hours 30 minutes
   1. Why?  It is the next step (after completing a half marathon in 2010) in my progression towards competing in the Boston Marathon by 2014
   2. Completion Date – May 30, 2011 (Buffalo Marathon)
   3. Action Plan -
      1. Find training program online or join a local training program by January 14, 2011.
      2. Begin training program on or about February 6, 2011 (depending on length of program
      3. Sign up for race by April 1, 2011
      4. Race on May 29, 2011
   4. Completion Metric – Finish Race
2. Learn How to Swim
   1. Why?  Would feel more comfortable in or around water with my son if I knew I was capable of swimming to him in a water emergency.  Also, would like to compete in a triathlon someday, so I need to learn how to swim in order to do that.  Provides a means of low impact cross training during marathon training
   2. Completion Date – March 31, 2011
   3. Action Plan -
      1. Sign up for swimming lessons at the YMCA (completed)
      2. Participate in the lessons
      3. Enroll in subsequent classes, as necessary
   4. Completion Metric – Be able to swim two laps in YMCA pool, unassisted
3. P90X Program
   1. Why? Despite all of the hard work I have done in cardio (running) training, I have done little to improve my strength.  Would like to improve this part of my fitness to aid in overall health and injury prevention.  With my schedule, it is tough to commit to an organized program.  So, I need something home-based to get me into it.
   2. Completion Date – October 31, 2011
   3. Action Plan
      1. Purchase the P90X package by July 15, 2011
      2. Begin program August 1, 2011
         1. Allows for a couple months of recovery after training for and competing in marathon
         2. Avoids possible June/July vacations
      3. Stick with program for 90 day duration
   4. Completion Metric – Finish entire 90 day program
4. Set a PR in the Turkey Trot
   1. Why?  Doing distance races (like marathons) trains me for endurance.  To focus on speed improvements (need to get faster to eventually qualify for Boston), I also need to work on shorter distances as well.  The timing of this race doesn’t coincide with any of my other goals.
   2. Completion Date – Thanksgiving 2011
   3. Action Plan
      1. Resume regular speedwork after P90X completion (or sooner if I feel strong enough)
      2. Enroll in race by October 31, 2011
      3. Run race Thanksgiving Day 2011
   4. Completion Metric – Run faster than 2010 time of 45:39

So, there you go!  May 2011 be a happy and prosperous one for you!  Feel free to share any interesting goals you have for 2011.  Would love to hear them (and hold you accountable too )

Happy New Year!!