Saturday, January 14, 2012

Pursue


Some pursue happiness, others create it. --unknown

One of the items on my list for every new year is go out and buy a new calendar. Preferably after the new year has started so I can get it on sale. This year, no exception. I bought a motivational calendar that has twelve different inspirational photographs and sayings to spur me on towards my goals this year. I got to thinking it would be fun to write about each months message from my own perspective. That being said, here is January! The word of the month is "Pursue".

To me, this is an action word. I love action words. I'm old enough to know things just don't fall in our laps just because we want them to. That goes for anything we desire, no matter what it may be. Simply said, if you want something, you are responsible for creating the conditions in which it will materialize.

I'm not one for resolutions, but I am looking for results in 2012. To get results, I will need to pursue certain ways of living my life. I want to increase my power to weight ratio (nice way of saying drop 20 pounds). Pursuing this means I need to eat better, eat less, work out diligently and take better care of myself. I've got the balls in motion on this pursuit, and am being rewarded already with the scale returning friendlier numbers when I stand on it. I want to have a decent half marathon time in March. Pursuing this means paying close attention to the runs, getting in my speed work (which I loathe) and my long runs (which I adore). This pursuit needs to be done with great care and thought to avoid any more injuries and to insure my success. I am signed up and part of team iWarrior, taking on my first Warrior Dash obstacle course race in May. Pursuing this has meant learning how to make my body do a pull up when it wouldn't budge a single millimeter first time in the gym. It has meant working hard on my upper body strength, which has many benefits besides just doing well on the obstacle course. I want to run a full marathon in the fall. The pursuit of the marathon means I need to balance my work and home life very carefully. It also means taking very good care of myself to allow my body to take on this kind of training regimen. I went for my annual physical the other day, and had a great chat with my primary care doctor about my goals to make sure this aging body could take on the challenges. She gave me a thumbs up, and then we chatted about how much I inspired her during our half hour together. I love it when someone walks away with inspiration from something I said or did.

So, as we head down the path we will call 2012, take ownership of your goals and dream. Use your courage, determination and vision to achieve excellence in all that you pursue. Dream big, love big and live big. Dare to transform yourself.