We all start January with the best of intentions. Even if you don’t write down goals or intentions for the year, January is a starting over point for most of us. It’s considered to be a time of reflection and a time to build on what has been built thus far.
In 2018, I made a resolution to take cold showers everyday. It was a personal goal that was simple, straight forward and easy to measure. The driving force was to bring attention to the Tall Clubs International Foundation, a non profit created to benefit tall people. Just kidding about the driving force, but the non profit is real!
We are only a few weeks into 2019, but I have continued the cold showers for no other reason than self discipline. I have learned a fair amount from this resolution and from goal setting, that I want to share.
1) Do not set out to change the world: Great goal, but it usually does not get accomplished. Cold showers are simple. Not easy, but simple. I take a shower everyday all I have to do is keep it cold and not turn the knob as far. I did not set out to do the Keto Diet, Snatch double body weight, or run 1 mile everyday. All of those require new habits, new schedules and tons of mental bandwidth in order to to stick with them. We all have grand ideas, but actually doing them is the hard part. So this year start small, try one thing that will improve your daily life and work to make it a habit.
2) Set yourself up: When I opened at Harbor East Monday mornings, I liked to get to the gym at 5:15 am. I get up at 4:52 am and leave the house by 5:05. That leaves me with 13 minutes to get out of the door with coffee, looking presentable and have some food down the hatch. So I often sleep in my workout clothes. No it is not that crazy. Or, I have all my clothes laid out down stairs in an easy way to put them on. Alarm goes off at 4:52am, no snooze, I get up go downstairs and get dressed. Coffee is ready to start, water in the pot, filter ready for the pour over. I turn that on, get it going, wash my face brush my teach and get ready. About 5:00 am now. I make two fried eggs and walk out the door with the eggs on a plate and coffee in my mug. My point here is that everything is set up. I just have to get up. Then routine takes over. What habit can you form and how can you set it up?
3) Tell your people: I had the advantage of spreading the word about my goal & resolution via Four on Friday to all the members at IA. But, I also told family and friends. They laughed and called me crazy, but for me telling someone my goal or plan means I must follow through. Telling people that I care about that I will follow through on a challenge means more to me than it does to them. As a leader in the gym community I could not turn that dial to warm. Sick, in a hotel, in Colorado where the cold water is so much freaking colder, I could not do it.
4) Write it down: We can help with this. There will be box at both gyms for the next week with index cards. Write down ONE or TWO things you will do differently or habits you will form this year. We will break out the box next year and let you find your card. This is for you. We will not look through these or post on the blog. Share with whoever you want to, but writing it down instills commitment.
As I wrote about in the post last week the path to self improvement is never a straight line. You might trip up, fall short or not complete your goal. That is ok. You can still learn, reflect and grow from that. It is better to set a goal, track it, and work towards self improvement than sitting on the sideline thinking about it.
My 2019 habits are…
100- 3 minute ice baths.
52 Blog Posts posted on the IA blog that I write.
Thanks for listening and thanks for letting me use you to hold myself accountable. This community is a powerful thing and I could not be more thankful for all the wisdom, help and inspiration that you have provided for me!