The first quarter of the year has come to a close. It is crazy how fast the first 3 months of 2014 went by. I want to evaluate myself in a sense on how I did with my first quarter goals.
Goal #1: Lose 35 pounds.
Up to the beginning of March I was in the cycle of losing weight then gaining it back then losing it again. Finally the first week of March I got really ill and it sparked a fuse in me, I decided to cut out Fast Food entirely, soda, and all fried foods. and I ended up losing a total of 20 pounds!!!! Not quite 35 but it is still a great loss regardless and I will take it! I created a plan to reward myself for every 10 pounds I lose its a way to reward myself, encourage more hard work, and focus on small goals to ultimately achieve a large, long term goal. If you would like to view how I rewarded myself for each 10 pound loss so far you can view them at Rewarding Small Victories Leads to Ultimate Success and Reward #2: Amazon Mini Shopping Spree blog posts.
Goal #2: No Soda or Gluten
It pains me to say that this was a rough one. I did really well with it last year but I had a tough time getting back on it. If you have ever given up gluten or attempted to you know how hard it is. I never completely gave up gluten but I did shrink my gluten intake greatly, especially in March. I don't know why it was hard for me to give up soda in the beginning since it really does give me the worst stomach aches and headaches but I finally got my act together and completely gave it up in the middle of February and am still sticking to it.
Goal #3: Read 5 Books
I did it!!! It probably should have been harder to do than it was with trying to finish school and work being crazy busy but I love to read. I actually read 6 books this quarter. I read Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed by E L James, The Mortal Instruments: City of Glass and The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes by Cassandra Claire, and Divergent by Veronica Roth. All six books are fabulous, I enjoyed reading each one of them. Each series is very different in my opinion and I recommend reading all of them but I think my personal favorite was Divergent. My favorite quote from the book, "We've all started to put down the virtues of the other factions in the process of bolstering our own. I don't want to do that. I want to be brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest." I don't want to spoil the book, but if you haven't read it I really recommend it! If you would like to see the lessons I learned from this amazing story feel free to check out my blog post Striving To Be Brave, Selfless, Smart, Kind, and Honest.
Goal #4: Finish School work in VA and 1 of my 2 online classes
Unfortunately, I did not succeed as well in this goal as I did #3 and it could be that #3 took up the little free time I had or I just struggle in getting certain things done for school like writing papers and taking large tests. I did finish half of 1 online course and must be done before the end of May. I filed the paperwork and paid to recieve my diploma in August so I better get to work!
Goal #5: Finish fixing up my room.
I am proud to say that it is for the most part complete. In the last 3 months with the help of others I completed putting together the furniture (desk, 2 bookcases and tv stand) in my room, got a flatscreen and bluray player, organizers for my desk, new curtains and curtain rod, new sheets and comforter, nail polish rack, jewelry organizer, closet shoe holder, and other little things to add the personal touch. So for now I believe it is complete. Of course there will always be little details I will need to attend to but all the big to do tasks are complete. The next thing I want to focus on doing is getting some artwork and photos up to make my room a bit more personable.
Goal #6: Workout 5 days a week.
I did not succeed at this goal at all. I would have periods of exercising everyday and then none. It was difficult on those times when I was running from one job to another, but I also was having trouble exercising because I would get fatigued extremely easily. I found out recently that I have a Vitamin D deficiency. I hope to get this under control as soon as possible, because many have said that once I do I will feel a ton better so I look forward to that!
Goal #7: Reach 1500 page views on my blog.
I am at about 1300. Not too bad but I have also learned that its not about all the pageviews. I don't care to be popular or have a ton of people read my blog, I only care to share my experiences, my growth, the things I learn and hope it helps people or even inspire them. It isn't about how many times a post gets viewed its about hopefully that one person that reads it that really needed it right then. Thank you to all those that do read and support my blog it continues to help me feel that maybe I have something of merit to share and maybe I am not at my best yet but I am getting there. Life is a work in progress, if we aren't progressing than we are regressing and that is not an option!
Looking at my progress through these last 3 months I am really proud of myself. Of course I didn't accomplish everything perfectly but that is not the point of goals they are to get you focused and to strive towards an endpoint you may not have seen as clearly. Goal setting I really believe is crucial in success, and I would say this first quarter was overall a success.
Finally what we have all been waiting for did I win the weigh in for the first quarter family challenge......YES!! I am the victor of the first quarter. So not only did I lose 20 pounds but I won $100...stay tuned to see what I do with it!
Have you looked at your progress since the first of the year? Want to set some new goals or modify old ones? Well now is the time April is about to begin and a new quarter for the year!!
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