I started this in January and then got sidetracked, saved it as a draft and forgot about it...I have really got to be a better blogger...
"New Year New You-" So that seems to be the theme across the television and radio as is usually the case this time of year because of the all popular new year's resolutions. Companies capitalize on it, gym memberships increase, and all is well it seems for the first couple of weeks of they year. Of course, you and I both know that no one ever keeps their resolutions. as I've mentioned before I stopped making resolutions about 4 years ago. I have however started keeping goals. I have found that goals are more manageable and attainable and of course don't necessarily carry the stigma or guilt that comes with breaking the resolution.
I've been told that there are different types of goals. There are the "Dream Big" goals that cause you to think outside the box...I have a few of these, but generally keep them to myself. The other type of goals are those that are manageable. The general rule is that they should be short term, attainable goals that can be established within a timeline. They should also be written down because it helps keep them in front of you and creates a small bit of accountability. These are the goals that I have been most successful with, so they are the ones that generally try to put into place in my life. With all that said, here are my goals for 2010...
Personal:
- My dream big goal for the year is to lose 100lbs. I know, if your like me you're thinking, yeah I've heard that before and good luck. Truth be told though, I'm fat and I need to lose weight. I topped the scales in late December/early January at 375. This is unacceptable. I really want to have a life and not die young, so yet again I set the goal of losing weight this year and yes 100lbs this year is manageable, as it is only 8 lbs a month or 2 lbs a week which is manageable and safe by health standards. So here is how I set out to meet this goal this year: 30 lbs. by April 4th (Easter) update: I'll be just short of this goal. I started at 375 and I currently weigh in at 352 as of 3/29, 20 lbs. by June 16th (my Birthday), 30 lbs by September 6th (Labor Day), and 20 lbs by December 31st. It won't be easy but it is manageable.
- I am also choosing to be more active- I plan to exercise at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes each of those days. This includes continuing to play racquetball as well as other sports and when it warms up walking to work as much as possible. update: so far so good, hasn't been perfect but doing farely well, especially since it is warming up
- I am keeping track of what I eat. I have always been told that a food diary can help with weight loss and so I am committing to keeping track of what I eat as well as calories. I found an application for the iphone called "lose it" that has been VERY helpful to me. It allows you to keep a food diary with calorie count, and it lets you enter your goal weight with a weight loss tracking plan of no more than 2 lbs a week. This has been a blessing so far and has really helped with accountability as well as understanding what I eat.
Professional:
- I am now in my 15th year of student ministry. Having been a youth pastor for that long it is really easy to begin to think that you "know it all" when it comes to youth ministry. I have learned that this is not the case and I have SO much more to learn so I am committed to living the life of a student constantly trying to learn as much as I can. Youth ministry changes with the culture and we all know that culture has changed and will continue to change with time.
- I am committed to passing the torch on to the next generation of youth leaders. While I have no plans to leave youth ministry anytime soon, I know that most likely at some point and time I will pass the torch of youth ministry to someone else (even though I will always be actively involved in the lives of students in someway) because let's face it, I will get old. With that in mind I am trying to mentor the next generation of youth leaders in any way that I can (including teaching at Ohio Christian University and leading youth worker training events when opportunities arise). I don't claim to know anything about youth ministry except for the fact that I love working with teens and I want to see them come to Christ, maybe that makes me an expert, but for me it just means I get the chance to show the love of Christ to students.
- I am committed to being a better blogger this year, with the goal of at least one post a week on varying topics. update: okay so this one needs some work! but I'll get better.
So these are my goals for 2010, how bout you? Thoughts?
