Hello February

February....you are more than welcome to come into my life! I am ready to say goodby to January!   No, January wasn’t that horrible, but I don’t like cold!  So while I don’t want to wish my life away, I’m already dreaming about balmy spring days...so bring on February because that will herald in March...and warmer weather!  

Sooooo. Let’s talk about some goals!

I have three main goals for the year 2021.  I want to build my savings account by a specific dollar amount. ($5000)  I want to propel myself 2021 miles in the year via biking, walking, running, etc.   Last but not least I want to lose weight and be at or under 200 pounds  (Roughly 47 pounds to lose this year.)

For my monthly goals I have simply taken those three goals and divided them by 12 to get my monthly goals.  These goals are big and I was getting really panicked within the first days of the year as I looked at the sheer numbers of what I needed to accomplish.  So by turning them down into the monthly goals it tricks my mind by making the goal more doable and attainable!

So the goals for each month....

1.  Ride/walk 168.42 miles 

2.  Lose 4 pounds (one pound a week)

3.  Save $415

I smashed my first goal of mileage!  I got my required miles and I banked an extra 56 miles!   Why yes I did!!!   I call this a huge NSV!   I honestly half expected myself to quit after a week or two.  I think for me the biggest thing was that helped me is that I stopped thinking of exercise as optional.  I made my miles mandatory...as mandatory as brushing my teeth and taking a shower is for me!  

My second goal was to lose weight....specifically 1 pound a week.   I was killing this goal during the first weeks of the month!  I kid you not!   At the beginning of the last week I looked at the figures and I was so excited because I realized that I could pretty much maintain and all would be ok....I would still be well above my minimum needed to call this goal completed!   I could even gain a bit and I would still attain my monthly goal!   But I had a huge gain that last week!   So I ended the month at 1.2 pounds gone.   So I did not reach this goal for the month.  I know I know...it’s a loss overall.  And for that I’m happy.

Third...savings.....I nailed this goal easy!   No problem!  Money in the bank...and I even out above and beyond the minimum needed into my savings account!!!

The goals remain the same for the month of February! I have big goals for the year and I am going to chip away at them one month at a time!    For the miles and my savings I am on track and actually even ahead of schedule for my year goals.  (And I want to keep it that way and keep building that cushion).   For the weight I had a few pounds extra  built in as I had 48 pounds or so to lose and there are 52 weeks in the year.   But I have blown some of that cushion this past month.   No worries.  I can still accomplish my big goal. But wait, I’m not looking at the big picture....only 4 pounds needed this upcoming  month!