English translation: Word of the Year

This afternoon, my friend Tracy told me about a blog that she stumbled across earlier today. The writer’s most recent blog entry described how each year she picks out her “word of the year” to help inspire and motivate herself throughout the year. I thought it was a wonderful idea and have decided to adopt it for myself. So, here goes …

My Word of the Year for 2008:

com·mit·ment (Pronunciation Key: kuh-mit-muhnt)

1. the act of committing.
2. the state of being committed.
3. the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself.
4. a pledge or promise; obligation:
5. engagement; involvement
6. confinement to a mental institution or hospital

Ok, so we’ll just move past and disregard definition #6. Definitions 1-5, especially definitions 3 and 4, are more what I’m talking about for my word of the year. The upcoming year is going to be ALL about commitment for me. This is the year I return in full earnestness to my journey to improve my health, lose the weight, and step up my exercise/training.

I’ve actually done pretty well overall the past couple of months, but there have been times that it’s gotten sketchy even then. It’s mostly been more of the same old yo-yo situation I’ve found myself in over the past 3 years or so. That will NOT be the case in 2008.

I’m not typically one who makes New Year’s Resolutions. I think, for the most part, people don’t take resolutions very seriously. However, I have made the decision to set some very distinct goals for 2008. The term “goal” has more of the distinction of being something one is actually working toward more than just a resolution, in my opinion. With my goals, I’ve tried to keep them realistic and attainable. I’ve also made sure each could be broken down into smaller short-term goals to help make it easier for me to measure my progress through out the year. And now, without further adieu …

My 2008 Goals:

1. Lose 60 pounds

a. Attend weekly Weight Watchers meetings
b. Lose an average of 5 pounds per month

2. Run a 5k race

a. Walk/run at least 3 times per week
b. Complete 16-week conservative Couch to 5k training plan

3. Complete a 25-mile bike ride (possibly the 2008 Solvang Prelude)

a. Learn to ride my new bike
b. Ride at least once per week either outside or using a trainer.

Well, that’s it. I’ve COMMITTED (nice work in of my Word of the Year, dontcha think? ;)) my goals here in my blog. I hope those of you who are my regular readers will help encourage me along the way and hold my feet to the fire to get each one of them completed before Jan. 1, 2009. Here’s to an awesome 2008 …