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Goals, goals, goals

20 August 2009 by Elizabeth in Food, Ideas, Running

My run tonight was straight out of the twilight zone – my head was in it, but my legs couldn’t keep it together.  I’m nursing some shin pain even as a type, two hours after my run!  (Ice will be involved as soon as I’m done posting, never fear).

A quick detour into dinner-ville before I talk about goals:
quinoa-cakes-sprouts

Red quinoa cakes (made the same way I made these quinoa cakes, but with the addition of lentil sprouts)

stew-and-sprouts

…topped with chickpea stew (yep, much like this chickpea stew), and accompanied by a tasty avocado yogurt sauce.

The sauce couldn’t be much easier, but it added a rich, refreshing note to the otherwise all-too-familiar meal.

Avocado Yogurt “Secret” Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 part avocado (or guacamole; I used the leftover bits of pre-made guacamole, and in fact mixed this right in the Whole Foods container)
  • 2 parts yogurt (I used Nancy’s plain nonfat yogurt)
  • Salt to taste (or be like me and use truffle salt!!)

Procedure:

  1. Combine ingredients.
  2. Serve.

And, believe it or not, I made the stew this morning before work! I sautéed the peppers and eggplant, added the leftover cooked chickpeas and tomatoes, seasoned, heated, and left the flavors to blend while I toiled with my new BFF: SharePoint.  I definitely could not eat like this after work if I didn’t get a head start by pre-cooking time-consuming staples like beans and grains on the weekends.

Goals

I like goals.  I’d love to tell you how to set goals, but there are plenty of sites out there that can describe different methods of setting goals.  (Maybe I will write my own guide sometime, but that is another post.)

What I like most about goals is not meeting them.

Seriously.

I have a lot of goals:

  • rolling 5 and 10 year plans
  • a set of about 10 goals for the year (like resolutions, just not called that)
  • monthly and weekly goals for my life at home
  • fitness goals
  • work goals (project-based, review-based, career-based)
  • an overall “epitaph” goal
  • financial goals

…and the list could go on.  But, instead, I’m focusing on what to do with goals once you’ve set them – and once you’ve met them (or not).

“Magic” (long-term) Goals

Some goals are like magic – you write them down, forget them, and come back to them in a few years to discover that you’ve accomplished even more than you thought you would.  I’ve found this is mostly true of goals with at least a one-year horizon; anything shorter and you don’t “forget” your goal sufficiently to allow yourself to make it happen.  I was really proud of myself when I saved my first $3000…until I looked at my 5-year plan and saw that I had written that in two years prior, though I was broke and struggling at the time since my job had just run out of funding.

Short-Term Goals

Other goals – shorter goals, more concrete goals – need a bit more help.  (These are my specialty – and what I have specialized in at work for a long while – so the long-term goals will be getting the short end of the stick in this post.)  These are the goals that you write down and keep posted where you can see them, or that you repeat to yourself every day when you wake up (or sit down at your desk, or lace up your sneakers).  I use a daily and weekly tracking system for my fitness goals, recording workouts every day and fitness progress (key measurements, for example) each week.  I know that I would still make progress if I didn’t keep close track, but I would not know how best to adjust my workouts to get the results I want in the shortest amount of time.

These shorter goals are also the ones you’re more likely to blow.  I might set a goal to take 2 minutes of my slow training pace in a week, which would be fine to do at my fitness level.  But if I try all week and can’t do it, I’ve created a great opportunity for myself: I get to learn why I didn’t meet my goal, which will help me find a weakness in my fitness plan.

Failure is Still Success

Failing to meet a goal is a win-win situation, really.  If I meet my goal – great, I’ve accomplished something I want to do.  If I don’t meet my goal, I’ve caught a bug in my system and I can take care of it before it affects my progress more or becomes a larger problem.  (I think it’s vital to think like this if you’re going to set goals; if you can’t practice this kind of self-compassion and positive thinking, goals will likely do you more harm than good – they’ll become signposts of failure, rather than stepping stones into the future that you want.)

There are all kinds of reasons I might not meet a goal, but a few minutes of thinking and looking back at any training logs or other “data” usually clears things right up.  My analysis goes something like this:

  • How close did I come to meeting my goal?  If I came very close, what kept me from hitting my target?  Should I call it “good enough”?
  • Were there any unusual circumstances that kept me from meeting my goal (friends in town, new project at work, sick, finances, etc.)?
  • Was my goal something I really cared about and prioritized?  If not, is it a goal worth keeping?
  • Was my goal reasonable, or did I try to do too much too soon?

Depending on how that line of questioning goes, I will either scrap the goal altogether, try the same thing again, or change the goal to make it better suited to me.  I get to learn what I’m capable of, see what I really care about, and tailor my life and plans more precisely to what I want to be, do, see, and have.

Does it get any better than that? :)   All of this from failing!  (But I warn you: this is real failure, not the kind of failure that never gets off the couch.)

Caution: Goals Ahead

Just like their close cousin the To-Do list, goals can be overwhelming.  Even though my list of goal categories is long, I don’t set more than 3 short-term goals at a time in any category.  After all, short term goals should be met sooner rather than later, right?  Here’s how I keep my short-term lists short and sweet:

  1. Set a firm limit on the number of goals that you’ll consider at any point in time.
    • Write down all of your goals, hopes, dreams, etc., then sift out the three that seem most intriguing, easiest, most important, etc.
    • If that doesn’t work, try the rule of 1/3 +1: Take away 2/3 of your goals, then add one back in.  Repeat until you’ve got no more than 5 goals left.
    • Sleep on it – come back to your long list a day or three after you’ve written it and see what still sounds good.
    • Worst case scenario: put the goals in a hat and draw three.  You can always come back to the rest.
  2. Be honest and realistic!
    • Don’t set a goal to run a 2:30 marathon in three months if you haven’t run in years.  If a 2:30 marathon is your goal, recognized it as a long-term goal – then break it into smaller steps (start by building up to a 3 mile run, find a training program, choose a race, join a training group, get fitted for shoes, etc.)
    • Don’t set a goal to drink wheatgrass every day if you hate it! Your goals should bring out your best and motivate you to improve – don’t get seduced by fads or things you feel like you “should do”.  (However, those “should do” things can be great starting points – for instance, if the daily wheatgrass shots you’d hate would be your answer to having more energy or eating more vegetables, make a goal about eating more vegetables, getting more sleep, or trying another energy-booster.)
    • Don’t set a short-term goal to do yoga for 3 hours a day if you work full-time and have a long commute.  If you’re only home and awake for 3 hours after work each night, chances are you won’t be able to spend them all doing yoga.  If 3 hours of daily yoga practice is really important to you, you can likely find a way to make it happen – just not immediately.  In the meantime, you could set a short-term goal to practice for a more sustainable amount of time each day.
  3. Keep Simple Records
    • There are a ton of great goal-tracking websites and methodologies, but you don’t need to go overboard with your tracking system.  A simple “X” on the calendar each day that you meet your goal works pretty darn well.
    • Update your progress no matter what – don’t fall behind in your tracking, even if you’re not progressing toward your goal.  (You will not come back and fill it in later.  I promise.)
  4. Don’t stress if you aren’t on track!
    • Go back and read the part about failure = success again!  Unmet goals are great opportunities to learn about yourself, even if all you learn is that you made an unrealistic goal.  (I’ve made plenty.)
    • If you can’t even get started on your goal, move on to analysis.  Why aren’t you starting – is it too hard? Are you trying to start at the end when you should be starting at the beginning?  Do you need help or more information to get started?  Did you think you wanted to build that awesome model dinosaur you saw online, order the kit, and realize you’d rather look at the cool thing on that blog than make it yourself?  All of these are good things to learn, and good prompts for new, better goals.

The path to success is paved with these small failures, at least my short-ish path to the moderate successes I’ve had so far.  Failing means you tried, right?

My strategies for long-term goals are different, but I will have to get back to those another day…if I write much longer, I’ll fail to meet my “get at least 7 hours of sleep so I’m not a zombie” goal :)

Enough vacation, back to vocation

17 August 2009 by Elizabeth in Ideas

This isn’t really about running or food…it’s just about me, in honor of the new job I start todaoy! After all, fitness isn’t just about what you eat and what you do with your feet – your head, heart, and bank account play a part as well.  Once this is out of the way, I hope to be less preoccupied…thanks for hanging in there with me :)   You can skip this one if you don’t want to hear about my last few jobs.  No hard feelings.

I started working when I was 15 (truly it was when I was 8, but that requires too much personal explanation for now), so I have had a lot of jobs.  During college, I had as many as six jobs at a time, and even after I was out of school I used to work up to 90 hours a week.

I’ll chalk all of that up to a combination of expensive school, crazy overachieving, and an upbringing utterly devoid of financial management skills.

I’m putting all that aside for a walk down the most recent miles of job memory lane, in honor of the new job I start tomorrow.

Four years ago, I had a wonderful job doing research for someone important at my university, partially supervised by the amazing, inspiring, nearly perfect boss I had when I was in school.  I got to use all of my research and metadata smarts to create a database and web portal that had a real impact on some academic things related to technology spending. The biggest lessons I took away from that job were:

  • Effective time management doesn’t mean pushing yourself to the breaking point.
  • Don’t overbook yourself just because someone asks you to do something – they’re not usually implying that you’re not doing enough.
  • Always sell the importance of what you’re doing.

Just before that, I was the production manager on a friend’s film.  I enjoyed most of it – organizing and planning! – but the outcome was not what I had imagined.  I learned an awful lot:

  • Buy-in from key stakeholders is far more important than the quality of your plans and ideas.
  • Get everything in writing, even if you are working with trusted friends.
  • No matter how smart, talented, organized, etc. you are, there are always things beyond your control.  There are non-rational behaviors that have to be acknowledged. There are situations that just won’t work, even if everyone is doing their best.
  • Don’t give more than you want to give.  No one will appreciate it, and in the end you’re only hurting yourself by giving up things that are dear to you.

Next I took a job that I shouldn’t have taken, except that I was burning through my savings because I never got reimbursed for some of the film expenses.  It was a necessary stepping stone out of academia and into the “real world” of work…in marketing, which is always a bit surreal. Takeaways:

  • Trust your gut.  Don’t be desperate for a job.  If it seems weird, it’s weird.  It’s important, not selfish, to identify “good match for me” vs. “questionable match for me.”
  • Car dealers have ways to pad your invoices built into the invoicing software. Buyer beware.
  • You probably shouldn’t take a job if they tell you in the interview that you are going to save the team and turn things around and you’re not the manager.  Peer pressure only goes so far.

I worked in retail, briefly, because I thought I wanted to.  I’m not really sure what I was thinking, but self-defeating behaviors are natural, right? :) I learned…

  • I don’t want to work in retail.
  • Just because I liked something once does not mean I will like it again.

So I went back to marketing, this time for a company that was just transitioning out of start-up mode – a tiny, mostly-friends-and-relatives company.  We had a culture clash (literal culture clash – they were all from another country, and I’m plain old American). I didn’t ask for the salary that I knew I wanted and deserved up front, and they weren’t sure if they were interested in having a marketing department (made of…me!  Just me.  Their first and, I believe, only.). Lessons:

  • You can’t do much very well or very quickly if you don’t have support from your supervisor.  This lack of support may or may not have something to do with you – if you can’t make any progress after several months and can’t get any feedback, it’s hard to overcome. (Tips are welcome, though.)
  • You can only manage things that either want to be managed or are being forced to be managed.  Managing part of a group of friends when you’re 10 years younger than anyone else and they have never had a manager before is not going to go smoothly. No one should expect it to.
  • Some people might never respect you, no matter how good you are at your job, how much work you do, and how much your supervisor appreciates what you do.  If you’re doing your best, it might be time to find a different route.

A more sophisticated job fell in my lap, then went from contract to perm.  I was doing web work, but not exactly marketing…20% design, 50% customer service, 30% project management.  I loved what I did and knew I was making a difference, really helping people.  It’s hard to explain why I left; the shortest summary is that there was a cultural mismatch, and to succeed I would have had to become someone I didn’t want to be and give up things that matter to me. I know folks do that for their jobs, but I’m not ready or willing to do that.  Nonetheless, I am really grateful for the opportunity I had there. What I’m taking with me:

  • I worked hard in school and early jobs to become who I am and develop the skills and habits that I have, and I am willing to learn, change and grow.  However, I’m not willing to give up or ignore what I’ve cultivated.
  • I enjoy organizing, planning, and developing solutions.
  • Perfect on paper doesn’t always translate to perfect in real life; you might not be able to explain what’s wrong to people far-removed from the situation, but that doesn’t mean your experience is lying to you.

So that is how far I’ve come in five years; I’ve got even farther to go before I’m done.

When I was younger, I wanted to be a vet and an architect.  I spent most of my formative years training to be a concert violinist.  When I moved away from that, I swore I’d always work for a non-profit, that I’d never work in an office, and that I’d always have to do something creative. I’m neither a vet nor an architect and I’ve broken all those “rules”, so perhaps my biggest strength is my willingness to grow and re-evaluate, and to capitalize on the opportunities that I create (and that show up on my doorstep) :)

I might not be the person I thought I’d be 10 years ago, but I’m darn happy to be where I am in my life and doing what I’m doing.  Every time I make a change, I learn something new and get a bit closer to doing “the perfect thing”, whatever that is – even if it has nothing to do with my job title.

(If you like, there’s a running lesson in here, too – you might not follow the path you think you’re going to follow on your fitness journey, but you will end up somewhere good if you keep learning, trying, and growing.  Little detours and speedbumps are important tests of mettle; without them, accomplishments would mean a lot less.  Think about it – the satisfaction of walking onto a course and running a 21 minutes 5k without any training?  Doesn’t sound as sweet as finishing in 25 minutes after working for months, maybe years.  There are exceptions, of course…I’m just waxing general here.)

I’m really excited to go off to my new job!  I won’t be updating until tonight (though I hope to be able to update at lunch once I’m settled in), but I hope to give you a glimpse into the crazy organizing that went into quelling my anxiety/excitement about this big change.  Wish me luck!

Progress

05 August 2009 by Elizabeth in Fitness, Food, Ideas

Thirty years ago today, I did not exist.

Twenty years ago today, I was coming up on the start of third grade. The biggest event in my nuclear family’s history had not yet occurred.

Ten years ago today, I was coming up on eight months of some of the very best times I have ever had, though they belong to an era long gone now.

Five years ago today, I had just barely gotten back into the country from a summer of fellowship-funded travel (studying microcinema in western Europe); my sister’s wedding was about to take place and who even knows what project I was whipping through for that.  (Email archives note that I was trying to nail down her bachelorette party, which I believe took place on the 12th). [insert tremendous pause during which I read several lengthy text files of old college email]

Last year, we were preparing for hurricane season, and were still getting started with a monstrous project at the office that didn’t get finished until May of this year.

Why so pensive?

Today is my last day at my job!

I have a new one starting soon, never fear.  But I really hadn’t seen this move coming.  And, in one of the truest clichés, I’m nowhere close to where I thought I’d be – but I think I’m somewhere far, far better.

No photos of yesterday’s lunch and dinner eats, but the team adjacent to my team took me out to lunch to say “See y’all later,” and “Congratulations, you bastard.” Turkish again, yum!  I had menemen, which is an egg-feta-tomato-pepper scrambley sort of dish (and a good prompt to start singing “It’s raining men(emen)!”).  It was a great, fun outing, complete with a cute toast from one of the nicest guys anyone could ever work with.  (And, one of my co-workers ordered a kabob that may be a source of jokes for months to come.  These guys, I will miss them!)

I was feeling strangely adrift when I got home, so WB went out and picked up healthy nachos from our go-to “fast food” (a local burrito place that has a vast array of vegetarian options and detailed nutritional info on their website so that I know with at least some degree of certainty what went into my meal).

Nachos are one of my favorite quick meals – they’re  extra-healthy if you load up on veggies, go light on the cheese, and use baked chips.  This restaurant doesn’t offer baked chips, so I usually leave at least 1/3 of my chips behind for another meal (they are tasty, but I am not usually interested in consuming 500 calories of fried cornmeal in a sitting).

I had big plans for last night, but I fell asleep at 7:30…luckily (?) I woke up at 4:30, a full hour before my alarm, so I’ve had some time to catch up on things and do a make-up 20 min mat pilates session.

pilates

The book I use is The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler.  I first got it from the library, but I liked it much more than any DVD or online class I had seen (and way better than the instructors at the local gym).  I ended up with a used copy for about $4 – the cheapest pilates teacher ever :)   The book has a lot of great details and is perfect for any level of student (except perhaps the most advanced).  The explanations, illustrations, and photographs are great, and the first 2/3 of the book is all about the history and theory of pilates.

Pilates makes my cat itchy.

pilates-cat-1

pilates-cat-2

After that I got to play housewife and iron for WB, who has a big day today (though I’m sure he will kick some butt!!).

ironing

I always forget that we still use his tiny bachelor ironing board.  Now I’ve decided to hold out for a ring before I get the real, house-sized ironing board :)

Then it was time for a “See y’all later” green monster:

gm-later

In this one:

  • 3 kale leaves
  • frozen peach bits (barely a tablespoon, cleaning out the freezer!)
  • 3 frozen strawberries
  • Part of a soy latte
  • Almond milk
  • Water

I chugged it in the car while wonderful boyfriend drove me to my last day of work.

Today I have a teambuilding workshop that takes almost my whole day – quite a last day, but at least I get to spend it with my team.  We’ve ordered in lunch…from Jimmy John’s!  I got a smaller unwich this time – we can compare photos later and see if this one is more manageable.  I’m not anticipating much of a celebration…we’re just not that organized here.

I did it!

24 July 2009 by Elizabeth in Food, Ideas

I made my decision, made my formal announcement, and am now prepping for the big change.  There were tears (not mine, at least not publicly), but I think it will be for the best.

I also did all of my runs this week, even though I was dog-tired.  I made this wonderful interval plan for Wednesday’s run, but I didn’t really follow it…I made it through all 3 miles on both Wednesday and Thursday, but my brain was all over the place and I had to run on the treadmill both times so the pace was up and down.  I usually end up getting comfortable around mile 2.8 in these runs.  All I’ve got left this week is some yoga today and a 7 mile run tomorrow morning.

My food was really boring so I’ll spare you the details.  The coolest thing I ate yesterday was a fruit and nut Kind bar – it tasted just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!  It was a good snack, but not such a good breakfast.  (But I went out with a colleague for Turkish food at lunch since I was starving, which was actually the coolest thing I ate yesterday – I am a sucker for a mezze platter.)

It’s a cereal kind of day so far.  I made healthy cereal bars for our upcoming vacation:

cereal-bars-1

cereal-bars-2

(I’ll post the recipe if they actually stick together – the humidity here is a killer)

and Jenna at Eat Live Run is giving away a batch of MojaMix.  I couldn’t resist entering with my “Post-Run Recovery Mix” that might be more fruit than grain:

  • Rolled Oats (I wasn’t thrilled with any of their bases, but this was the best I could do)
  • Cherries (anti-inflammatory)
  • Apricots (iron, good for digestion)
  • Goldenberries (protein, vitamin A)
  • Dates (there are benefits, but mostly I just love ‘em)
  • Almonds (calcium, vitamin E)
  • Raw cacao nibs (keep the runner’s high going)
  • Flax seeds (omega 3′s, still more fiber)
  • Chia seeds (soluble fiber, may help with rehydration)
  • Sesame seeds (calcium and a nice nutty crunch)

I’m off from work today, but I’ve got a busy day ahead – errands,  cleaning, 21 thank you-type notes to write, and a haircut at 4.  Plus, I’m hoping to squeeze in some reading time at the pool!

Splurging!

22 July 2009 by Elizabeth in Fitness, Ideas

As I’m sure will come out over the next while, I’m a bit of a finance junkie.  I save over 40% of my gross income (over 50% of what I earn post-tax, with 18% currently going to retirement), and since I really hate clutter I just don’t buy much.  We spend a pretty penny on food compared to what we could spend if we didn’t eat organic foods, and we recently upgraded from an apartment in an area that was quickly becoming an undesirable location to a place that’s twice our previous rent (but still affordable – undesirable locations are cheap!).

When we do buy things (clothes, furniture, household miscellany), we make sure they’re of the highest quality that makes sense – and if that seems too expensive at the time, we just wait until we can get what we should get rather than buying something to bridge the gap.  For instance, we recently upgraded from a stack of milk crates to a bookcase from the Container Store in our office.  The total cost was less than $200, but we debated this purchase for more than 6 months.  And the car I mentioned having but never using?  It turned 10 years old this month and broke 100k miles last fall.  (It’s ugly and was never really a fine piece of machinery, but it runs.)

This is particularly relevant because…I am typing from my brand new, just-arrived-today Macbook Pro!  I bought an iMac last year to replace my dead Compaq laptop (I do web work from home on occasion, and it was time I had a computer that would do what it was told).

I didn’t really need this laptop, but my window for getting  a discount was closing.  And it’s useful, and it’s probably best that I bring my own computer to work for personal things (like blogging).

It’s gorgeous.

I love it.

It’s perfect and sleek and new.

My boyfriend came home with flowers and ice cream today, and the birthday gifts continued for a second night. Just 5 more days!

Oh, and I made my really tough decision earlier.  I think it’s the right one, but the next two weeks will be tough…except the part when I’m on vacation for my birthday ;)

And there was this:

  • A 3 mile interval run (13, 13, 2 min walk because my soleus was killing me since I wore heels all day and had to walk a lot, then 12 min).
  • A crazy dinner made with squash, peaches, jalapenos, garlic, and tempeh

There is more splurging underway…I just bought several new outfits at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale, and I also bought a new bag for work.  Photos to come when everything arrives.  For now, sleep – my new macbook excitement has kept me up an extra hour!  Forgive the bland post.  Real life excitement doesn’t always translate so well.

Staying (getting) grounded

20 July 2009 by Elizabeth in Ideas

For what it’s worth, my chakra analysis always says that my root and sacral chakras are always under-active.  (Source, and source for all further notes about chakras, including a diagnostic quiz)

“The Root chakra is about being physically there and feeling at home in situations. If it is open, you feel grounded, stable and secure.”

Home is a difficult concept for me.  Figuring out “home” is one of my goals for the year.  I am definitely a late bloomer in some ways; I might still be years ahead in many areas, but I’m just this year learning to relax.  I got a weekly massage for nearly two months – that was a good start :)   And I took my first “do nothing” vacation ever.  It’s strange, though, because I’m very happy in my life – maybe this one’s just a bit dim.

The sacral chakra is about feeling.  “When it is open, your feelings flow freely, and are expressed without you being over-emotional.”

Huh.   Yep.  I’ve learned to hold back, perhaps too well.  Touchy friends at difficult life crossroads, office politics, family tumult…they’ll teach you to keep quiet. :)

Whether or not these issues stem from energy centers in the body, they are definitely truths about my situation.  I have always envied friends who go home to their families to reconnect with something – that’s not yet my situation, maybe not ever. I used to spend time outside to “find myself again”, but the city I live in now is a bit short on nature.

Running and yoga are both supposed to help, as both force you to be aware of your body.  The site I referenced above also recommends a grounding exercise.  (Every time I think of being “grounded” I remember reading some silly (and likely fake) story about how Drew Barrymore puts dirt in her shoes to help her “stay grounded”.)

It’s not dirt, but I find that Zencast (free) helps get my day off to a good start.  It’s not particularly religious, and I find that even if you disagree with (or are unfamiliar with) the Buddhist aspects of the discussions, the ideas are still useful in plain old daily life.  I think this one about happiness is a good place to start, if you’re interested.

Enough thinking for one morning, on to lunch and perhaps some yoga…or “grounding”, if you will.

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