It's the Little Victories

You know that feeling that you get when you've been biking up a hill for a while, and you finally reach the top? What about when you're working out, just counting down the minutes until you can lay down on the floor and just know that you did something good for your body? Or what about resisting temptation by turning down that cheeseburger or milkshake, and ordering a cup of steamed veggies instead?

You know what I'm talking about. It's these "little victories" that seem to give us a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. It's saying to yourself, "How much more can I push?", or "How little can I spend this month?" and then DOING THEM.

Shandus is much more of a planner than I am. Her lists and post-its keep her organized and on track for all the things that she plans to do in a day, and gives her a sense of accomplishment when she's done them. I have never been like this. I often think about all the things I have to do, pick one of them, and work on it for a little while, never really getting that much accomplished. I HATE this about myself. I am essentially setting myself up for failure by giving myself big goals without establishing small ones to achieve along the way. Here's a hypothetical example. Suppose Shandus and I were to write out two lists--one about getting in shape and the other about paying off student debt (because these things seem to have become the focus of our blog to date). Her list would look like this:

To Do-
1) Wake up and do ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Basics 1 at 6:15.
2) Drink Strawberry Yogurt Soy protein smoothies for breakfast with Ryan at 7:30.
3) Go to work, ensuring to pack my lunch and two snacks.
4) Eat snack 1 at 9:30- Peanut Butter Sticky bar.
5) Lunch at noon- Crispy Fish Tacos.
6) Eat snack 2 at 2:30- String Cheese.
7) Come home from work and eat dinner.
8) Make sure to tally up all calories consumed for the day and write them down.
9) Try out a new workout dvd while Ryan is at work.

Debt-
1) ATTACK smallest debt first while paying minimum on all the rest.
2) Put a line through that debt on our fancy "Debt Attack Board".
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2.

On the other hand, mine would look like this:
1) Workout and get ripped.
2) Eat right so I can lose weight.
3) Go to work and make money.

Debt-
1) Pay it off till it's gone so that we can save up to buy a house and be rich.

Well NO WONDER Shandus is so much more diligent about finishing tasks than I am! While she has all these little victories during the day, I am MUCH more concerned about the end result. While Shandus is DOING the things that make you healthy and fit, I am more concerned about THINKING about them. Instead of celebrating the little victories, I put too much stock in the end of result. After all, the expression "means to an end" has no meaning if you aren't concentrating on any "means" and still expect to get to the end.

Now of course, I know what I've got to do to get fit and become debt free, but sometimes it's the actual ability to write that down and formulate a written plan that keeps you on track.

I think that if you really want to accomplish something, you have to take it one day at a time. And I think that's what this whole blog is really all about. Because eventually, if we keep eating right and exercising regularly, we'll be fit. And if we keep paying off debt and living below our means, we'll be rich. As Dave says, "If you wanna be rich, do what rich people do. If you wanna be skinny, you better not ask for advice from a fat guy."

So, pull out those yellow pads. It's time to write down your plan!