Death to the Quitter!

I don’t want to speak for you, but I know that inside me lives a quitter. I start an exercise program and in the beginning it’s great. I’m motivated. I’m ready to go. And after a few weeks, it gets harder. I can still push myself, but I don’t exercise as long or as hard as I did in the beginning. A couple weeks after that, I’m done. I quit. I still have the same desire as I did in the beginning. I want to be in better shape, or I want my finances to look better. I want to be out of debt. I want to consistently post a blog update… But somewhere along the way desire wasn't enough anymore. Life happened. I got sick. My daughter got sick. I had to travel. My classes got more involved. Something broke at the house and I had to fix it. The TV was on. I fell asleep. The x-box looked lonely. I had to go out to eat that day. The more excuses I come up with the worse they get. I really chose to do that stuff instead of what I have a real desire to do?

I have found that for me, my wants and desires can be long term, but my execution can’t. I want to be in better shape; to be able to do more than 60 push-ups in a minute, more than 20 pull-ups in a minute, and so on. I want to be out of debt. I want to save up to buy a house. But I can’t go from where I am to those goals. I need to shrink them to something manageable, quickly attainable, and measureable. So how does that work

1. Determine what your sustainability is. For me it’s about a month. I can start something and maintain the same level of energy and focus for that long.
2. Determine what’s achievable. Don’t set goals you can’t reach, but don’t make it too easy either. What can I do with a little work in the next month that propels me toward my bigger goals? Can I save $1000 or payoff $1000 in debt? Can I double the number of push-ups I can do?
3. Make it measurable. Better is not measurable. Neither is more. It has to be a number and it has to be a time. 30 days from now I will… and make it something clear that you can know if you did that thing or not. If it’s “lose weight,” make it 5 pounds in the next 30 days. If it’s “better finances”, make it reduce debt by x% (or x dollars) in the next 30 days. Whatever the area is, set a target, and go for it.

Over the long term I’ll quit. I know that. But if I set short term milestones that keep me on a pace to reach my long term goal, I’ll get there. And I’ll have punched that quitter right in the face. I’m going to do it. Are you?

~Kevin