Dare You To...

Happy New Year!


New Year, New Goals, New You, right? Although it's just an arbitrary date, this is the time of year many people, myself included, often like to view as a clean slate, a time to start anew, a time for plans and resolutions and goals.  If you've got a resolution in mind, click the following for tips on setting smart goals, tricks toachieving them, and setting non-traditional resolutions.

And, a bonus tip: make sure to look back to see how you did along the way and at the end! Don't make a resolution and forget about it.  Put it somewhere you'll be constantly reminded to make it happen, and then, when the year's up, you can know you gave it your all.

Looking back on 2014:  Last year, I made three "focus" resolutions for 2014, and I'm fairly pleased with the outcomes!  Time-management is a constant struggle for me, but I've certainly made greater strides in mono-tasking in order to successfully get things done.  My posture did improve a …

I've done less goal checking-in on the blog this past year but I've certainly been setting and keeping track on my own.  Time to look back and reflect on some of these...

In May, I joined the Runners' World Summer Running Streak, vowing to run at least one mile each day, from Memorial Day through Independence Day. I thought it'd be a good way to get back into running after some time spent focusing more on strength, and it was. If you followed along on DailyMile, then you know I achieved my goal, logging at least one mile daily for those 39 days.

Did it get me back into running? Somewhat. As I mentioned before, I found that running outside in suburbia or parks is much more enjoyable to me than city streets. Most of the miles logged did, sadly, take place on a treadmill, but I didn't mind it so much. I would jump out of bed 10 minutes earlier than usual, hit the treadmill for a quick mile, and then start my day feeling awesome, because I already ran a mile!

Th…

It's December 31, and the New Year is upon us!  What big plans do you have for 2013?

I've got some big plans and SMART goals, but I'll be tackling those on a monthly basis, so my focus is honed and strong.  But are you setting year-long resolutions?  If so, I dare you to make them small. 

First of all, keep up your existing goals!  The new year is an arbitrary day to begin, but it does feel like a fresh start, so we like to put all this weight on the new day and the new year.  There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't ever not set or fulfill a goal just because it isn't a new year or a Monday.  

For year-long resolutions, I think small is the way to go.  Keep it simple!  I think of resolutions less as a big goal to be "attained" and more of a vow to improve something about yourself or your habits.

Last year, I resolved to make my bed every morning. Done.

This year, I'm setting some similarly small resolutions.  One is to quit che…