Push Reset!

By Jaime Willis

Remember that goal you had? The one you were so gung-ho about just a few months ago?  The one that no one and nothing could have got in your way?

What happened to that goal?

I'm sure you could list a million excuses.  Work got busy.  You fell ill.  You had to divert resources to an emergency.  You had relationship problems.  The point is, you fell off the wagon.

Now what?

There was a reason you chose that goal in the first place, wasn't there?  Is that reason still true?  Is this goal still aligned with your core values and your vision for your future?

If the answer is yes, GET BACK TO IT.

Don't beat yourself up over what happened in the past.  The past is over and you can't change it.  You can only move forward.  Find something you can do towards your goal now and get started.

You can do it!

Weekly Wednesday Inspiration #3

-by Jaime Willis

Welcome to Wednesday! We're halfway through the week -- woohoo! I hope your week is going well. If it isn't, do me a favor and "etch-a-sketch" the pain or sorrow or anger from earlier in the week and start today out with a fresh, new attitude. Hold onto a great memory, keep a smile on your face and watch how your day will follow your lead!

Quote of the Week:

"There are two goddesses in your heart," [Coach Joe Vigil] told them. "The Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Wealth. Everyone thinks they need to get wealth first, and wisdom will come. So they concern themselves with chasing money. But they have it backwards. You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom, give her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become jealous, and follow you."

-Excerpted from Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. I'm reading this book right now and it is truly inspiring!

Picture of the Week:

As seen on Reddit, submitted by sawbutter.

Video of the Week:

This ten-minute video about how we are motivated is compelling viewing, and not just because someone is animating Daniel Pink's speech as he gives it.

Have an AMAZING Wednesday!

Jaime's Big Goal

I, Jaime Willis, will run fifty 10-kilometer "races" by the end of 2011.

Like everyone else in this universe, I always, always have a goal about my body for New Years. Lose weight, gain muscle, eat healthier, etc. And, over the last several years, I've been pretty consistent about achieving those goals. It seems like its that last little bit of weight that is always the hardest to lose (or to keep off). Although good health is ultimately a lifestyle thing, having the same "weight" goal year after year is boring.

So this year, I'm switching things up a bit. I still want to lose a bit of weight, but I want to do it by challenging myself. So, in the style of Eddie Izzard's marathon extravaganza, but scaled down to minimize injury to my creaky hip and knee joints, I am going to be running 50 10Ks (6.2 miles) this year. That's one a week, with room for just a couple of whoops weeks.

My rules:

1) The entire distance has to be run at once. No adding all the walking around for the week.

2) Walking, jogging, running, and ellipticalling (totally a word!) all count as "running."

Starting when? Actually, starting last week! I've run two 10Ks so far, and have 48 to go. While most of my 10Ks are going to be gym races, I will be doing a few road races as well. Want to join me?

Sunday, May 15, 2011: Capitol Hill Classic, Washington DC.

Saturday, June 11, 2011: Lawyers Have Heart, Washington DC.

Saturday, June 25, 2011: Reeds Lake Run, East Grand Rapids, MI.

If you have a 10K road race you'd like to recommend I run, please email me.

One way to stay motivated to keep working on a goal like this one that is going to take ALL YEAR to finish is to create a reward chart for yourself, so you can see the progress as it happens.

Above is the chart I've made for my 10k project. Make your own chart on powerpoint, or buy one that fits your needs. Never underestimate the power of stickers to motivate you!

Great Motivation Chart/Tools:

• Life Calendar. Create a smiley face for each day of the year. You decide what you are going to do to earn a smiley face.
• Hand-drawn Chart. Maggie Mason colors in a square for every 15 minutes she exercises.
• "X" Chain. The productivity secret that Jerry Seinfield uses.
• Stickers and Charts. An entire website devoted to making goal charts for kids.
• Stickers! Oriental Trading has more cute stickers for your chart than you'll know what to do with.
• Joe's Goals. Keep track of multiple goals online or on your phone!

Keep plugging away at your big goal!

Momentum & Inertia

- by Matt Leedham

As a child, I can remember riding my little BMX bicycle with pads on the handle bar and cross bar. I would run out of the house, pick it up off the driveway and go shooting off into the neighborhood to join my friends. My favorite part was getting started. I’d put the right pedal as high as it would go on its rotation and stand straight up on it so that I was well above the bike. My weight would push the pedal down quickly, and I would get my first jolt of movement.

Once I got moving though, it seemed much easier to increase my speed or just let my bike carry me down the road without much effort at all. Why is that?

The law of inertia states that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion – that’s why it takes a little extra effort to get started. But once momentum sets it, you’re on your way!

What’s true for bicycles, cars, trains, and planes is also true for motivation, confidence, achievement, and happiness.

“Momentum fuels motivation. It keeps you going” writes Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, founders of 37 Signals. They’re referring to employee motivation in their book Rework. But the same is true for personal goal setting and achievement.

The key to momentum and overcoming the law of inertia (while at rest) in our personal lives is small wins.

Small wins help you see your progress and fuel the fire to keep going. When setting big, aggressive personal goals, break them down into bite-size chunks by creating:

1. Achievable wins along the way that serve as signposts and milestones indicating your progression toward success,

2. Regular “pulse checks” with yourself to know that you are progressing as planned or need to tweak your path, and

3. A very specific action plan that you can work on today, checking things off as you go.

And there is one more step that is absolutely critical to keep the momentum going. You must celebrate the small wins!

Tell your friends and family, treat yourself to something you enjoy, or just pat yourself of the back and be proud that you are making progress!

Is Your Goal Really Your Goal?

- by Jaime Willis

"I want to be a billionaire so freaking bad," sings Travie McCoy in a very catchy radio tune.

Lots of us have lofty dreams like this, right? I want to be a millionaire. I want to own a Lear Jet. I want to get into Harvard Med School. I want to win an Oscar. I want to be on the Oprah show.

What I find fascinating is that very few of us ask ourselves WHY we want to have those things. When you drill down beyond the fluffy exterior of your dream to its core, you may be surprised at what you find.

Travie McCoy, for example, goes onto sing that he would use his billions to help Katrina victims, the hungry, and the less fortunate. The thing is, does McCoy have to have billions to do those things? Absolutely not! He could be helping rebuild New Orleans and feed the poor right now.

Back when I was teaching law school admissions test preparation, I actually spent a fair amount of time convincing my students *not* to go to law school. Not because law school is an inherently bad goal, but it just wasn't the right goal for them--they were doing it to make their parents happy, or to delay "real life" or because they were hoping to become rich (law school really isn't the road to wealth for most graduates anymore, sorry to burst your bubble).

The same principle applies to people who are obsessed with losing to a certain number on the scale. It's not the number that you are really aiming for--it's the feeling you get when you feel strong, healthy, and sexy, right?

When you are trying to figure out what goal(s) you are striving for, ask yourself what your motivation is for getting to that goal.

Is there any other way to get there? For example, "I want to get a law degree to help refugees gain asylum in the United States." Do you have to have the law degree to work for a non-profit or NGO that does just that?

Is your goal a goal or a means to another end? For example, "I want to be rich so I can travel more." Can't you figure out a way to travel without having to be "wealthy" first?

Don't limit your success by too narrowly defining what success looks like!