My life has had a new restart date about 100 times. This date is the day that I say, “I’m going to start doing all of the things that I want to do, accomplish all of my lofty goals, and be as successful as I know I can be.” This date is usually my birthday or New Year’s Day, but sometimes they are other holidays–July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc, that I pick for a new start date. (I do realize this is being posted on Christmas Day, but it is not because I mark this as a day for a fresh start as much as I plan to keep a schedule when I post to this blog, Tuesdays and Fridays, and Christmas happens to be a Tuesday.) This time I just picked a Monday, one of the last Mondays of the year to start. What is different this time versus the last 99 times I told myself that today will be the day I will start accomplishing things? There is a list.

1. I plan to keep my goals realistic. In the past, I came up with these great ideas, writing 10000 words a day, running a half marathon every weekend, holding every baby, petting every puppy, and generally saving the world. These goals are fantastic, but not realistic, unless you have built a strong foundation. The foundation starts small, one cornerstone, and builds and builds. So these things are achievable, but not from day one. My goals are going to keep me uncomfortable so I do feel a sense of accomplishment instead of just going through the motions day in and day out. I don’t want to be one of those people that are comfortable, like the men and women at the gym that do the same workout, with the same weights, in the same order, every single day. This is exercising, but it is not working out. It is not working toward growing stronger and stronger and sometimes amazing yourself. I want to work out and not exercise. All goals need to be like this.

2. I plan to be successful by being more organized. Throughout the years I have learned that I do not work well without a schedule. If there is no structure to my week, to the things that I plan to accomplish, none of it will happen. I am not a person that can micromanage every second of my day because I also do not adapt to change quickly, which means if I already have too many plans, I get angry and irritated if those plans change. Having some scheduling is important but having some leeway in my scheduling does not work either. There has to be some balance.

3. There will be repercussions to not meeting the deadlines. Many times, I spend time doing nothing, scrolling on my phone or playing FIFA 19 on the Xbox. There will be times that I need to sacrifice these things for my goals, maybe it is not watching TV that night or getting up an hour early to get things done, simple things really when you think about dedication to the goals you want to accomplish. On the flip side of this, if I do not do these goals, if I do not meet the deadlines, some penance needs to occur. This can be as simple as not having a phone for the day or some sort of food or money deprivation. The purpose will be that there are many things that I do not want to do.

4. I need to stay out of my level of comfort. This does not mean that every day has to be impossible. Every day just has to be productive. That productivity will snowball and eventually this comfort level will grow and grow.

I do not have to set goals for myself anymore. I am pretty much at peace with my  life. I have many blessings. A great wife, five wonderful kids, a fantastic career, and all of my bills get paid, but I want to set these new goals. The motivation now is teach my children, to let them see their father as a giant, with success and strength, and this giant is the shoulders they have to stand on to achieve more. This is why I show up my 100th time starting over, this is why if I am unsuccessful this time, there will be a 101st. I want to show my kids that they can do whatever they desire, because I did it too.