I'll Lose Money If I Don't Stick to My New Year's Resolutions

Phew! At the time of writing this, I am eight days into my cleanse and I'm feeling great. I've been spending this time reflecting on my intentions for the year and trying to figure out how to make them actually come to fruition. This quote from The Art of Simple really resonated with me:

Quite honestly, I’m kinda on the fence about making resolutions on January 1—I appreciate the sentiment, but I know how seldom those resolutions are actually resolved. Sometimes, they merely serve as a catalyst for frustration when January 7 rolls along, and you’re already back to your Dr. Pepper-drinking, staying-up-too-late ways.
But I am in to: fresh starts, and I relish the bright-eyed, clean-feeling-in-the-air about a new year. I’ll take any excuse to spend time mulling over thoughts with a mug in one hand and a pen in the other.

I want to go on a personal retreat this year (like I did last year, but I won't host it myself this time around), and July is a great time for me to step back for serious reflection again. It aligns with the academic year for me. I also want to push myself to reflect once a month (via a blog post) so that I am checking in with myself frequently (and even changing my goals if they no longer feel like the direction I want to head). 

I am serious about my year of "Health & Wellness." I have a clear, step-by-step plan for how to meet all my goals, and I have all the systems in place to make it happen. As I was getting everything set up, I googled, "Best fitness apps" and got reacquainted with the Pact app. I heard about it years ago but never did anything with it. 

Pact is amazing! It allows me to create and track my goals in the app. I said that I am going to run two times a week (I have to wear my phone in a belt, so that the app can verify my movement) and that I am going to do yoga once a week (I have to "check-in" on my phone when I get to the YMCA and my GPS will verify that I stay for at least 30 minutes). If I complete my goals, I earn money! If I don't achieve my goals, I have to spend money. I decided to put $5/workout on the line. We are on a tight budget this year, so I definitely don't want to waste money by not exercising! 

When I actually made a financial commitment in the app (literally linking it to my PayPal account), it was like I entered a whole new level of seriousness about my goals. I realized, "I'm actually going to do this! I'm really going to exercise at least three times a week." It sucks that I needed the threat of a punishment to elevate myself to that level of seriousness, but I'm fine with it. I don't really have a problem with extrinsic motivation systems if people set them up for themselves. 

Even though my year will be focused on "Health & Wellness," I want to focus on it in a way that enables me to set up the habits and patterns that I want to maintain for ever after. I don't want to have some crazy intense fitness year and then go back to be a couch potato in 2017. I want to use this year to focus on my energy on figuring out what will work for me for the long term. 

I'm so excited for a [knock-on-wood] lifetime of health and wellness!

The picture is from our trip to Florida to visit family. The rental company let us choose any car parked in the "mid-size" aisle, so the boys gravitated toward this truck. I loved watching Henry give Tate a boost into the back. I feel like this app is going to give me the boost I need to stick to my goals!

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