I LOVE Olympians! Their sheer focus, determination and passion for perfection and winning is astounding. Saying I am in awe of them is an understatement. Just think about the astonishing goals they set out for themselves. I took pause while I marveled over the gymnastics, track and field, swimming and diving competitions. The physical fitness, the mental acuity, the agilty. Not enough words in the dictionary to give these athletes the praise they deserve in my book. So of course I could not help but think about it being time for a in check on my New Year’s commitments. It’s early August and we are almost 2/3 into 2012, or for the half empty crowd, 2/3 finished. I found myself on an airplane to the west coast and was feeling a bit of the stress and tension of the nearly 5 hour flight when I thought to myself, how true to my commitments have I really been? Distractions happen to all of us. We make these resolutions each year, and then the year seems to slip by and we are having the same conversations with ourselves.
So, in the spirit of full disclosure, my 3 New Year’s commitments for 2012 are:
- A monthly massage.
- Start Yoga.
- And as I sit here on the plane, I struggle to recall the third one which tells me I probably have not done too well fulfilling this one if I can’t even remember it. Oh yes, a monthly day of rest (quite contrary to what these olympians do!)
So, I will be honest and say I have not had a massage since March. I was on a good roll there for the first quarter…
Nope, no yoga either, although I am having a daily conversation with myself about health, and my desire to enter the half century mark like a lion. I did get suckered into purchasing the NutriBullet 
while laying awake in Tracy, CA and could not stop watching the infomercial. It is the Super Food Nutrition Distractor! OK...it just came in the mail. My daughter Lexie an I are going to Wegman's this weekend, and maybe a Farmer's Market to buy fabulous fresh ingredients to try it out! And I even bought some Flax Seed at GNC as we awaited our Amtrak train back from NYC to BWI. I will write a review of the product in a future post!
And what about that day of rest each month? Ha! I mock thee!
So what do we do with the self-talk that has not manifested into action? What keeps us from making that behavior change? Why is my health not a priority?
Many organizations conduct mid-year check in’s as a component of the performance management process. This is an opportunity to ensure a dialogue between the leader and the associate occurs about goals and results. Are the goals aligned to the mission? Have environmental factors been modified that may require a tweak or revamp of the goals? I believe it is a smart practice.
I am declaring a tweaking of my goals. While I’d love to have a massage each month, I have determined it is far more important to spend quality time with family. My dad turned 83 this summer and I want to spend more time with him. I think my time and resources are better spent traveling to Connecticut and Buffalo so Kate can spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. How blessed is she to have two sets that love her? And I want to be a more ‘present’ mom to Kate and step-mom to Lexie. And Todd has worked very hard this year to hold down the fort while my travel schedule increased significantly, so he deserves some appreciation and attention. So my retooled commitments are:
- Quality time with family.
- Quality time with family.
- Quality time with family.
My gold...and this way I won’t forget what they are.
