Trophies, Self Discipline and More Goals

The other night, as I was laid up on the couch with a terrible cough and cold, I downloaded a game on my Kindle called Diamond Dash.  You have 1 minute to earn as many points as you can by selecting groups of three or more.   For you other internet game fans, it's very similar to Bejewled.  Anyways, as you play the game there are little trophies you can earn.  Some of them are rewarded for certain scores,  others are given for specific patterns or plays.  Well, I discovered that I liked earning the trophies and meeting those goals as much, if not more, than I enjoyed playing the game!  I decided to take what I learned about myself and really apply it to my real world dreams!

I'm enjoying setting goals for myself.  I'm enjoying even more visualizing or in some cases already meeting these goals.  In my world as a stay at home mom right now, these daily decision keep me going in a focused direction. It helps me remember that the things I do every single day really do matter! Whether its a to do list in the morning, a plan for the week, or long term goals, I'm excited about meeting them.  It's a really great sense of accomplishment.

I shared my big 30 for the year in my last post, but since I love being able to check things off, I made a shorter, more attainable list for the next 3 weeks.  These goals will help me bring in my 30th birthday with a bang!  And all of them are some way connected to all of our lifestyle goals that our family is hoping to accomplish...healthier living, living with less, and paying off debt.

So, without further ado, here are my short term goals for the next 3 weeks!

1.  Hit 6,000 blog views!  (My blog is currently right around 5,600 views.  I usually generate about 40-60 views per blog.  I would LOVE to hit 6,000 views by my birthday.  PLEASE, share my blog with friends.  I need to write 8 posts between now and then, and each of them needs to have about 50 views if I want to hit 6,000!  I love new readers and subscribers!!!)

2.  Be under 320 pounds by 5/8/2013!  

3.  Ride at least 100 miles on my recumbent bike.  That will keep me moving right along for my hours of exercise (the 100 hours in 2013 goal), and help me arrive below 320!  Win-win-win!  I will be averaging between 5-7 miles most days.

4.  Journal my food.  Every. Single. Day.  No shortcuts!  This is perhaps the most effective thing I can do to stay on track with eating.  

5.  Drink 100 ounces of water.  Every.  Single.  Day.  CHUG!  CHUG!  CHUG!:)  When I get sloppy about meeting this goal, I start eating more, mistaking my thirst for hunger.

6.  Fax my medical results.  I need to do this this quarter and last year I forgot about it and we missed out on a bonus payment to our HSA because of my forgetfulness   I NEED to remember to do it this year!  This will keep me accountable for long term changes AND help get some extra cash to pay down those medical bills!

I'm going to be making a list that can be checked off every day for my daily goals (riding bike, journaling and water.)  But, I will have a reminder on that list for all the other little things I want to accomplish.  None of these are particularly hard goals...but all the little things add up to a much happier future!