I'm not a runner.

Though I’ve been running for the past few months, about 3 times a week, I am not a runner. I love to sprint for quick runs but I’ve never been a long distance runner. I’ve never quite mastered pacing myself, never had the lungs to go the distance, and I just haven’t wanted to. I like to see quick results. When lifting weights, I would MUCH rather lift heavy weights a few times then lighter weights for longer reps. I would rather work quickly to get things cleaned up rather than slow down, take my time and clean at a slower pace. When putting photo albums together, I don’t like to fiddle with pictures for minutes upon minutes. When dieting I would rather do a hard quick diet, get the results I want than slowly diet and exercise to see the results. I like a quick fix.

This summer of goals has been tremendously helpful in molding me into a better person, or like the book I’m reading Seven Levels of Intimacy quotes all too frequently, “Become the best version of myself.”
Goal # 2 (Run twice a week) turned into doing the 3-month program Body for Life (which I just finished a week ago!) and now doing Body for Life has turned into running a half marathon in December! Similar, goal was # 9 (helping my mom completely clean out one room in the house) turned into cleaning the attic out and having a garage sell at my parent’s house! I made $70 out of the deal too! It inspired me to clean out some stuff in our apartment getting a few boxes together for the garage sell while helping my parents. I love how goals inspire people. I live my life with daily checklists (either mentally or actually writing down lists) but goals are different, I can’t just quickly check them off my list, they always require some planning and usually a little sweat to get a goal accomplished. I’ve been so excited to look back on my summer goals so far and I’m excited to finish them up in the next few weeks.

A few things I’ve learned. Don’t focus on the things you CAN’T do, rather step back and see what you can do right now. It’s not always about seeing ‘fast results’. Keep at your goals and you’ll see the results before too long. I’m a happier person when I’m working out and eating right. Getting enough sleep is extremely important. Share your goals with others, you never know when you might inspire others and it helps keep you accountable.