Last year I posted about the importance of making goals, not resolutions. Here is a list of my goals from January of 2013:
1. Be more positive in everything I do. (???)
2. Eliminate all unsecured debt. (Completed)
3. Take another real vacation. (Completed)
4. Run a half marathon this year (Completed)
5. Being Mario Mendoza (Maintained)
Only a handful of people caught the fact that my first goal was in fact, a resolution. Why is that a problem? Because it’s hard if not impossible to verify if I accomplished it or not. It was very subjective oriented where the rest of my goals were objective oriented.
In July, I revisited my goals, and made new ones based on the ones I had already completed. They were:
6. Put at least 15% of after tax income into savings (Did not Complete)
7. 8 Half Marathons in 8 Months (4 down, 4 to go)
By making goals and not resolutions, I was able to objectively measure success. I can look back at 2013 and know that I actually achieved something, not just feel like it. So when it was all said and done, I went 4 out 5 with 1 still in progress. For those of you who chose to make resolutions rather than goals, how did that work out for you?
2013 was a fantastic year. I accomplished many things that I did not think were possible at the beginning of the year. I also realized that I achieved many of my goals even before the halfway mark of last year. I’ve taken that into consideration for my 2014 goals. With all that being said, here are goals for 2014.
1. Run 1200 miles
Why 1200 miles? Simple. That’s the amount required to get a Birmingham Track Club jacket. It also requires me to be very consistent all year. It’s a little over 23 miles a week, or a 5k every day of the year. It will also be a goal I cannot complete by June. For what it’s worth, I ran just over 543 miles this year.
2. 12 half-marathons in 12 months.
I’m essentially extending my 8 half-marathons for 8 months challenge for the rest of this year. The challenge is going to be finding races I want to run after April when temperatures start heating up. The only exception to this rule is that if I run a race further than a half, I’m counting it as my de-facto race for the month because…
3. Run my first marathon
I really don’t want to run a half-marathon and a marathon in the same month. It’s expensive enough as it already is. I quietly had plans to run my first half on December 14th, but I made the call two weeks before not to attempt it.
4. Raise the $1300 I committed myself to raise for the BellRunners
Back in October, I signed up for the Mercedes Half-Marathon as a Bell Runner. I committed myself to raising $1300 for the Bell Center in Birmingham. Right now I’ve only managed to raise $25. So what is the Bell Center? The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs is dedicated to maximizing the potential of children from birth to three years of age who are at risk for developmental delay. As a Bell Runner, I have been assigned a child to raise money in his honor. I plan on meeting him when I get back from Pasadena. This is where I need your help. I have a little over a month to reach this $1300 goal. So if you want to help me, you can click this link here to learn more. Thanks for your support!
5. Outline my Autobiography
This goal is not meant to sound egotistical. But this goal won’t make sense if you haven’t read my blog “Hope Can Feed a Starving Man for Years on End…” I have a great memory, but I honestly don’t remember very much from the first 17 years of my life, especially the first 12 years. What I can remember was hellish at times, sprinkled with some good parts, but mostly frustration. It doesn’t help that I know about it, but don’t remember it. There are fragments that I sometimes piece together. But overall, a lot of its a blank. I know my own story. I’ve heard the details so often that I can visualize it, but I don’t remember it. Why is this important? Because some people need hope. I can’t imagine being in my parents shoes facing some of the issues they faced with me. I lived through it, but ultimately they made the choices that allowed me to be me. I don’t remember much, but I want to know all of it. It’s a story that needs to be told. I think I can write it. I’ve got to start somewhere and it begins by getting it into an outline. This by far, is the most challenging goal I’ve set. It’s going to require quite a bit of input from family members.
6. Write on this Blog at least once a month
I started this blog as a way to vent, convey, or just to tell stories. During football season, JP Predict’s takes up a good bit of time. But there is no reason for me to go months between posts. It’s just bad form.
7. Pay off my Second Mortgage
Last year, I paid off all my unsecured debt. It’s been a huge burden lifted from my shoulders. My goal this year is to get it down to just a mortgage.
8. Start saving 10% of every after tax dollar.
I don’t think I need to add anymore detail. Thanks for reading my goals. I’ll periodically update you as the year progresses. Thanks for reading my goals. Now help hold me accountable.
Final Thoughts on a First Impression 