I’m not the first and I certainly won’t be the last when I say people should stop making resolutions and start making goals in the beginning of the year. Resolutions get broken. Goals are something that can be measured, tracked, and met with no debate if it was completed.
At work we are data-driven and goal oriented. So it is no surprise that I am the same way at home. Goals don’t have to be serious. They don’t all have to be inspirational. They just need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Here are my 3 goals for 2013 and a special contest at the end of this post:
1. Re-Watch the complete series of Friends by December 31st, 2013
Sounds silly right? Why would someone lead off his goal list with something so superficial, silly, and meaningless? Well, it’s not that meaningless for me. The reason why i led with this goal is because I’m nostalgic. My cynical self would say I’m nostalgic for a time when there was actually consistently funny, character-driven situational comedies on network TV. But the real reason is this was the first show my wife and I loved to watch together. And since then, our TV likes have fallen out of line.
Why is this important? It’s important because time together, even when sitting next to each other and laughing is time worth spending. It’s also important because she’s my lobster. A few years ago I bought the entire series of Friends on DVD. Season 9, 10, and the Series Finale Episode were never even opened from their shrink wrap.That’s going to change this year. And you’ll see me talking about it on this blog all year long.
2. Run 750 miles by December 31st, 2013
Running was always a scary thought to me. Last July I decided to push those fears, complaints, pits in my stomach aside and see if I could enjoy it. 250 miles later I have decided that not only can I do it, but I love to do it. It is so therapeutic for me to put the kids to bed and go for a 90 minute run at night. Or to wake up early in the morning and churn up some miles before work. I have not stepped up my distances and feel 750 is an ambitious but attainable goal.
I am not interested in making a single race or a specific distance my goal for the year. Many times that leads to intense training and then complete laziness afterwards. Instead my goal is to stay healthy and consistently run all year. You can see my progress in the sidebar of this blog and I’ll be writing about it all year.
3. Volunteer at the Food Bank 12 times by December 31st, 2013
The issue of hunger is very important to me and my local food bank, The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina is the organization that I choose to volunteer my time to. My goal this year is to get involved and be involved all year long.
Certainly I will be involved with various food drives but I will also be attending more of the volunteering opportunities at the Raleigh warehouse throughout the month! There are tons of opportunities to volunteer and I challenge you to do it with me!
***Special Offer***
Goals are more easily attained when you have a buddy to help keep you motivated. So here’s my offer: I want to choose one person to meet with every quarter to check-in on the progress of our goals. If you are local to me, we’ll find a place to meet to grab a coffee (or tea or whatever) on me! If you aren’t local, I’ll send you a Starbucks gift card and we’ll chat on the phone every quarter. We’ll make sure the other stays accountable! And together we’ll hit our goals for the year.
Here’s how to enter: List your goals for the year in the comments section or link to your goals blog post in the comments and I will randomly choose a winner. I’ll choose a winner on Sunday January 6 at 9:00 PM.
In all, I had 15 entries. i took all the names and generated a number to assign each to. They were as follows:
1. Janet K
2. Krista S
3. Jim H
4. Shanna G
5. Morgan S
6. Jen N
7. Brian M
8. Mom’s Bistro
9. Emily A
10. Jennifer C
11. Jay D
12. Andretti B
13. Charlie R
14. Judi K
15. Tricia A
I ran the entries through Random.org and the winner is…
Morgan Siem! Morgan, at the end of each quarter we’ll meet for coffee and discuss our 2013 progress!
Thanks to all that entered and good luck on hitting your goals this year!
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Gregory Ng
GOAL: Visit 100 National Parks as a family by 2020. Favorite Parks: Zion National Park, Mt Rainier National Park, Valley Forge National Historical Park
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