A Review of my 2011 Goals

Since it's the last day of 2011, it's time to do a self-check on how my goals went this year.  I'm a little apprehensive about doing this, because to be totally honest, I think that I really didn't do that great on my goals.  I guess that's just life and new year's resolutions and the good news is that I have next year so...  here goes. 

To see my post about my goals for 2011, see HERE.

1.  Read the scriptures daily.

This is the goal that I completed this year.  Maybe I should just pick one for next year.  :)  I read my scriptures every day this year.  I read the Book of Mormon 3 times.  I read all of the General Conference talks several times.  I read the New Testament, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. 

Reading my scriptures daily brought so many blessings into my life.  I feel like I had the spirit with me more regularly and more noticeably.  I was able to learn more and strengthen my testimony.  I was also able to connect the words of our modern-day prophets with the writings of past prophets.  I was also able to set an example for the young women in our ward, as well as my family.  This has definitely become a habit and I plan on keeping it up.

2.  Attend the temple twice a month.

I started the year off doing great with my temple attendance.  I think, if I remember correctly, that I was able to get to the temple twice a month up until June.  Then, summer happened, trips happened, the temple closed for cleaning, and I didn't make it a high enough priority.  This is definitely something I need to do a better job at and will definitely be one of my goals for next year.

3.  Lose 20+ pounds by eating healthy and working out and/or training regularly.

This SO didn't happen.  I worked out pretty diligently in January, then got sick and it was a battle throughout the year to get into a routine.  I ran pretty regularly in August.  I worked out sporadically throughout the fall.  I absolutely have got to GET IT TOGETHER and get my workouts in.  I'm hoping a new family challenge will help me to kick it in gear here in January, as well as some other goals I'm working on for 2012.

4.  Write daily.

I thought I would do a better job at this goal than I actually did.  I think I just need to do a better job of prioritizing my day and being a little bit more productive so that I feel ok about taking the time to write and work on my own goals.  I have done better with this lately, but only because I've been making it a priority and adding it to my "to do" list.

5.  Develop a new skill or talent.

Honestly, I had forgotten about this goal.  Ooops...I guess that's sort of the point of re-evaluating progress.  However, I think this is another goal that I've been working on and successful at.  I learned to crochet this summer.  I haven't done it much since then and I absolutely need to keep working on it, but I did learn.  I also joined the ward choir and was able to work on my singing...not that I have a nice voice at all, but I did work on it.  The working on singing led to getting my keyboard out and playing the piano, so I will have to check this goal off as one that I definitely completed.

6.  PR at the 1/2 Ironman distance. I'm leaning towards the Bear Lake Brawl in August.

I don't even know what to say about this goal.  It's on my list of goals for 2012.  Last year just got super insane over the summer and I didn't take the time to train.  In fact, my races last year pretty much sucked.  I didn't finish Little Red Riding Hood.  I'm not even sure what I signed up for and am not coming up with any races that I did at all last year.

That has to change.  I LOVE racing and I really need to make sure that I'm doing races because it's part of who I am.  I will say that I have been working on my race schedule for 2012.  Tim is on board with my doing a 1/2IM, so we'll see how that goes.

So, there's my self-evaluation.  I'm thinking that maybe I should just pick 3 goals for next year, so maybe I should pace myself and not have so many things to be working on at once.  I'll write more tomorrow about my goals for 2012, but I'm thinking it will definitely be better. 

Motivation...

I have been struggling with motivation lately...especially in my workouts.  I don't know what the deal is.  It seems like a constant struggle to talk myself into working out.  Usually I feel pretty good after a workout, but lately, I've just felt more tired.  I can TOTALLY relate to this comic.

This morning, while I was lying in bed, catching up on Facebook, I found some motivation.  I'm "friends" with Siri Lindley, who is a phenomenal triathlete coach.  I've never met Siri Lindley, but I have read alot about her and have been totally impressed by her coaching abilities.  I love the athletes she coaches and I love the positive energy she sends out.  Each morning, she posts some inspirational quotes.  When I come across one that I like, I write it down. 

However, this morning, her quote got me out of bed and into my workout clothes and I even got a workout done.  Here's the quote:

"Don't wait until everything is just right. 

It will never be perfect.  

There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions.  

So what.  

Get started now.  

With each step you take, 

you will grow stronger and stronger, 

more and more skilled, 

more and more self-confident, 

and more and more successful." 

~Mark Victor Hansen

How could this statement not motivate you?!

I often find myself waiting until all of the stars are aligned and everything is perfect with no distractions and everything going my way before I start working towards my goals.  It's not that I don't want to, I just want "stuff" to be in place so that I can be successful.  But, this quote reminded me of something I already know.  Life will NEVER be perfect. I need to just get my butt in gear and start kicking it.

Now, if I can just remember this tomorrow morning...

Kyra and Cross Country Regionals

This afternoon, Tim and I had the opportunity to see Kyra compete in a regional cross country meet from Logan High School. This may not seem like such a big deal, but there is definitely more to this story.

As long as I've known Kyra, she has despised running. I don't mean disliked...I mean hated running with every fiber of her being. Any time the topic of running came up, her mood turned immediately sour. So, I'm sure you can imagine our surprise when Kyra came home at the beginning of the school year to tell us that she had joined the cross country team.

I couldn't believe it. What in the world was she thinking?!? Why in the world would anyone who truly despises running join a running team?!? Especially the CROSS COUNTRY team?!? Tim and I talked about it. He said that if that's what she wanted to do, then let her do it, but she was not allowed to quit.

So, over the past several weeks, Kyra has been staying after school to run. She doesn't run fast. In fact, she is the slowest runner on her team. However, she has continued to train and work hard. Last week, we saw her run at a meet at SkyView High School. She came in last place and was even lapped by the guys.

Over the weekend, Kyra was super wound up and worrying about the meet today. She was putting all sorts of pressure on herself (unnecessarily) and was actually pretty difficult to be around. She kept talking about running well today. I decided to share a story with her.

When I was in 10th grade, I had a friend talk me into trying out for the softball team. I didn't really like softball. I was already playing volleyball and basketball and it was kinda nice to have the spring off. She really didn't want to go to tryouts by herself, so she convinced me to just go with her and I, being the super nice friend that I am, said, "Sure." Well, she didn't make the team, but I did. I have no idea how. My first year, I rode the pine. My batting average was .000. I didn't play hardly ever. Seriously... However, I worked hard and showed up and cheered like a crazy person. My second year, I was playing first base and if I remember correctly, I started every game. My batting average went up, but still wasn't great. I had improved tremendously. My senior year, I batted over .400 and was on the state all-star team. I explained to Kyra that you don't get good in one season. Performing better requires lots of hard work and dedication and determination. It requires stick-to-it-tivness.

Kyra is one of the most stubborn people that I know; although I still have her beat. The tricky thing is that she typically doesn't use her stubborn powers for good. She told me that she wants to become a better runner. She wants to lose weight and become faster. I told her that I could help her do that...but she can't expect it to happen overnight...or in one week, or in one season. If this is what she wants, then she's going to have to spend MONTHS working towards it. This is when she decided that she wants to do the Ogden 1/2 Marathon in May 2012.

Fast forward to today...we saw Kyra before the start. Her and her friend Harriet barely made it to the start when the gun went off. The rest of the girls took off and Kyra was in last place. I went back to the car to get the super cute flowers we got for Kyra (gorgeous red gerber daisies and yellow tiny mums that looked like miniature sunflowers). I caught Kyra walking, so I yelled at her "Get going!" Then I went and found Tim. We waited for Kyra and we waited for Kyra and we waited for Kyra. There were girls finishing the race and we hadn't seen Kyra yet at all. We started to wonder if she quit. How was it taking so long?

Then we saw her...jogging along. She kept going and she even pushed herself up this hill.

She jogged past us on the road.

She headed out for the rest of her run. Tim and I yelled to her "don't quit" and I yelled "no more walking". We headed back towards the center of the course to wait for her to run by. I'm pretty sure that she got lost, which has happened in all of her races this year, because next thing we know, she comes up to us and has been finished "for awhile." She may or may not have cut the course short.

The moral of this long story is that Kyra didn't quit. She did something that was SUPER HARD for her. She stuck with it. She even wants to run cross country again next year. And she wants to train for a 1/2 marathon. I can't wait to start the training... *insert evil laugh*

Needless to say, we are SO PROUD of her! She proved to herself that SHE CAN DO HARD THINGS! What a great thing to be able to say about herself! I think that the feeling of self worth that comes from running (or whatever challenging activity you enjoy) will always always always improve your view of yourself. I'll be sure and provide updates on how her running is improving.