Like many other things I come across online, goal setting sheets and monthly recaps were bookmarked or downloaded and then left to gather proverbial dust. Poor time management, a lack of real interest after the novelty wore off, and avoiding an honest conversation with myself are the usual culprits.
I sat down in early January to flesh out some goals for 2016 as part of Oiselle's WomanUp2016 campaign. And.....then I turned the page in my training log and didn't look back. I started reading a book on the mental aspect of running and started the in-depth goal analysis activity in an early chapter. And then folded the scratch paper inside my training log and didn't finish it. After deleting the monthly end-of-month review email from Nicole Antoinette with precise regularity, I finally printed out the damn thing out. And shoved it in my log with the other stuff.
I am nothing if not predictable. Until now. In what might be an ill-advised attempt to see something through, I'm going back to the three tasks mentioned above. All at once. Why wouldn't it work out just fine, right?
Stack O' Crap
Partly because it seemed the easiest of the three and partly because I wanted a gimme of sorts, I started with Nicole's monthly review. Surprisingly, it was hard. I still have a few blanks on it and I don't think that will change. February was rough. I am not going to force myself to wrack my brain until I come up with two things I'm most proud of and two things I'm most grateful for. Maybe my proud/grateful cup will overflow by the end of March. Who knows. What I did get done was set an intention for March (do the next right thing), select one thing I will aim to do for 30 minutes every day (read), and choose two new/scary things that I will do. No, I'm not telling. Yet. I'm 14 days into March as I finally finish drafting this, and I'm doing pretty darn well.
On the easier end of this review I picked a book I will finish reading (The Runners Brain), something to experiment with (a few slowcooker recipes), something fun for myself (a girls night w Ana that she cancelled, so I need a new thing here), and an act of intentional kindness. This last one, the act of intentional kindness, won't be easy. I will go through, pack up, and donate some cat things to the local shelter. No doubt, those shelter babies need whatever I can offer. But my loss is still raw. Rather than put off this task and pretend I don't see every little kitty thing around my house, I am going to do the kindest thing I can think of for my heart and the kitties who don't have a home yet.
I'll be revisiting my WomanUp goals this week. I had an experience shortly after setting those goals that through me for a bit of a loop and I think many of you might identify with it. For now, have you set any milestones that you'd like to meet this month? If you set goals for 2016, how is it going so far? Any surprises? Anything you've already crossed off your list?