New Year’s Day falls at a crummy time. It’s cold out, I’m broke from over-spending at Christmas, and worn out from all the holiday hoopla. Also, just about every blog post or article you happen across during the month of January seems to be about setting and reaching goals. It gets boring.

For me, the time to think about goals is on (or near) my birthday, which just happens to be in the spring, and since spring is a time of rebirth, new goals seem especially fitting.

A few years ago, I made a list of “by the time I’m 40″ goals. While I’m not quite there yet, that milestone is looming larger. This year, I reviewed my progress on those “by 40″ goals, and for the most part was pleasantly surprised. One of them was to be working for myself, and I’m doing that. Another was to be in a less-precarious financial position, and though there is always room for improvement, our electricity bill has been paid on time for the last few months, so I feel pretty good about progress in that area.

There is one “by 40″ goal that I’m not making the kind of progress I expected, though. I have been working to become more physically fit for several years because I plan to be the fittest I have ever been within a year. From

Not my arm, but I wish it was!

nutrition to strength to endurance, I want my body to be in tip-top shape. When I listed this as a goal I thought “That shouldn’t be too difficult. I’ve never been in really great shape.” Alas, it has been harder than expected.

Over the last few years, I’ve made substantial, positive dietary changes and started running on a regular basis, so I have taken steps in the right direction. There are just more steps than I thought, so it’s time to start moving a little faster. I’m not going to bore the world with a breakdown of my work out plans for the next year. I am going to offer some observations about the ways my fitness-related goals and my business-related goals seem to be synergistic. (Ha! There’s my addition to the list of annoying, pretentious business words!)

1. Increased confidence. Feeling physically strong makes me braver when it comes to talking to people. While it may (or may not) be true that slimmer people are more successful statistically than chubbier people, the confidence I gain from feeling strong doesn’t have anything to do with looks. I think it has more to do with endorphins. Or maybe I subconsciously think that if I can run 5 miles, I can also talk to some random person about my work. If you find talking to people difficult, try working out just before you go to your next networking event or whatever. (A shower in between is recommended, of course.)

2. Success in one area encourages success in another. There was a time that I thought I needed to focus on my separate goals…well, separately. Now, I see that increasing the distance I can run at the same time I am increasing the number of words I write each day works. It’s like something clicks and everything moves forward at once. There is the danger of overwhelm with this approach, though, so keeping the idea of balance in mind as you march forward important.

3. There’s no reason to wait. No matter what you are putting off, stop putting it off. If you want to run your own business, start finding out what will be involved and make a plan. If you want to run a marathon, start looking at marathon training guides, or find a running group. There really isn’t a valid reason to not do the things you want to do. People who know me are baffled by my desire to become a runner, and there are about 200 million reasons I “can’t” be. But, last Saturday, I completed a 5K without walking – my time was terrible, I finished in the bottom 20, but I met my personal goal, and that is important.

4. Lessons learned are transferable. The challenges that you face when pursuing a goal are going to be similar, regardless of the goal. If you want to travel the world, money might be an issue. It is also an issue if you want to own a house, start a business, join a gym, or even plant a garden. Once you figure out some creative solutions to the challenges surrounding one goal, you will have an easier time when the same problems crop up as you pursue your next goal.

5. People will help you. It’s been interesting to learn how many writers are also runners. Through talking with people about writing, I’ve found lots of encouragement to run. Whether it’s through comments on blog posts, chatter on Twitter, or in-person networking events, professional contacts offer me advice, cheers, and general support in reaching my other goals. Just as you may find that your friends and family can give you guidance in your business endeavors, your colleagues will often support your personal goals.

Others have noticed how reaching one goal can spur you on to reach another. Leo Babauta says that quitting smoking was the “change that put the others in motion.” Peter Bowerman talks about how reaching a goal feels like climbing a mountain, to reach the peak, then seeing another, higher peak, and climbing to reach it, too. He calls it “peak to peak.” For me, though, striving towards multiple goals simultaneously works.

Have you experienced a snowball effect in reaching your goals? Or, do you need find success in one area before you take on another? All of the blooming and new growth outside my window (and my recent birthday) has me pondering not only new goals, but the process of achieving goals. Please share your own observations!

Yesterday, I decided to go for a run. The weather was perfect, I had a handy-dandy, new pedometer to measure distance and an excuse to be down town, near the river park, which is perfect for running. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Things went

Perfect for walking and jogging...

badly from the start.

First, I am currently covered in hives. If you’ve never had hives, add that to your list of shit you’re grateful for. Because, whether you know it or not, you are glad you’ve never had hives. The hives began appearing last Thursday or Friday, in their normal spot on my chin. I wasn’t worried until one of them began to grow and showed no signs of letting up. It would have been smart to start taking Benedryl at this point, but noooooo….. The nasty little blisters spread up my face next. I thought it was just a slightly worse case of the itchies than usual. Silly dava.

Next they spread down the other side of my face, behind my ears, on my scalp and down my chest. Then one of my eyes started itching and I started to worry. A hive in the eye? No, thanks! By Sunday night, I was scratching like crazy woman, and FINALLY decided it would be prudent to take some Benedryl. Duh.

The hives are part of an allergic reaction. I have no idea to what, but usually they appear in May and I think either privet or Bradford pear blooms are the culprit. This is the first time they have shown up in the fall. Besides hives, I also get an upset stomach, the shakes, endless headaches and mild heart “flutters” as my grandfather (who has the same sort of problems) says.

Deciding to go for a run wasn’t an earth shaking decision, but I did have to think about it. I had no idea if sweat would make the hives worse or if I would get all shaky and sick somewhere in the middle. Besides being hivey, I was overdressed. I live on a mountain and it was much cooler at home than in the valley. Then, my brand-spanking-new pedometer didn’t work. It said I had only gone 2 miles after an hour, less than half my normal pace. Just to top it off, my shoes made blisters at the base of my big toe on both feet.

It was miserable. By the time I got home, all I wanted was another dose of Benedryl to stop the headache.

Still, I was glad I went. It’s so easy to just not do something when you have an excuse like hives or headaches. But then, after you don’t do whatever it is, you feel bad about it, like a slacker. Feeling like a slacker in addition to itching all over really is the definition of misery! Regardless of the goal, doing something to get closer to it helps, even if you aren’t in the mood at that moment.

You might not feel better about it immediately, but you will later. You’ll look back and think, “Wow. I’m glad I made those 50 cold calls! I wouldn’t have these 4 new clients if I hadn’t.”

Have you ever done something you needed to do, even if the circumstances were less than ideal? Were you eventually glad you did, or did it backfire for you? 

Most people have goals and most people have trouble doing all the things necessary to reach those goals. I’ve been experiementing with different techniques for a few years now, and this week realized a couple of tools are really helping.

A Fun, Gadget-Type Tool

Like many others, I struggle to get enough exercise. My job is sedentary and my waistline shows it. For several years I’ve been trying all sorts of things to move more. A couple of weeks ago I bought a pair of Nike+ shoes.

If you haven’t seen them, these shoes have a spot for a sensor (which you must buy separately, of course) that communicates data about your workout to your ipod. When you sync your ipod, the data goes to the Nike+ website and  you can track it there. Yes, graphs. Awesome!

Having the shoes and the sensor encourages me to take a walk/jog everyday at lunch and to track the results. It’s fun. I listen to music, check my pace and find myself wanting to sing out loud. These shoes were the right tool – at least for now. I’m enjoying them much more than a gym membership.

A Serious, but also Silly Tool

Positive self talk just seems silly. Like Stuart Smiley. Who wants to be like that? Not me. Yet, I have found that writing myself little encouragements throughout the day is a huge help. It goes something like this:

Think about how much you’ve gotten done today. Count the good stuff, don’t beat yourself up over the bad.  Victory! A nutritious, healthy lunch. You didn’t eat a hamburger: good job!

And so on. You get the idea – it’s very stream-of-consciousness type stuff.  I don’t share this stuff with anyone (before now, anyway), but it really does help me get through that long part of the afternoon at work when all I really want is to take a nap. It’s also very useful for days when I’m a little down.

Those are two tools I’ve been using to stay motivated lately. Do you do anything that might seem a little silly but that helps you get your stuff done?

Last week, a friend offered me some freelance work.  She needed a bunch of 250 word articles about general health, exercise, nutrition, fitness and the like.  I didn’t have too much going on last week so I wrote 20 or 25 of them.  After thinking so much about being healthy, I pretty much had to go to the gym on Monday morning.

The interesting thing was that, besides working out, writing all those articles made me want to write more.  So I wrote a couple of newsletters and a couple of proposals.  It’s been a productive week.

Then, after going to the gym at 6:15 am (the only time in my schedule on Mondays) I felt great. The workday went by quickly; I was in a good mood all day.  I even did a little yoga that evening.  So the writing encouraged me to exercise, and the exercise encouraged me to eat better and to relax. This seems to be a clear cut case of success breeding more success.  Or at least I hope that’s what’s going on.

In an effort to capitalize on all this inspiring productivity, I am going to set a few goals I would normally dismiss as too much. Hopefully, I will learn that the best way to find both inspiration and motivation is through doing.

Recently, I have decided to undertake yet another fitness endeavor.  I bartered some freelance writing for a gym membership.  As part of the membership I can attend various classes, including one called “Body Pump.”  Body Pump is a combination of calisthenics and weight training.  I went to the first class on a Friday afternoon, which was good, because the next class wasn’t until Monday morning and I could still barely walk then.  I haven’t been so sore since high school.

All this pain has inspired me.

You see, the thing about exercise and good nutrition is that you have to keep on doing it for awhile before it works.  There is no instant gratification.  It takes a few weeks to see the results, even though you may hurt like hell in the meantime.  But, every time I stand up and cringe I remember that I actually did go to the classes, and made it through without totally collapsing, and that if I keep going, the changes will happen.

Every afternoon I take a quick walk at lunch in order to be outside and away from the office for a few minutes.  Since beginning these latest efforts at fitness, my legs have felt a bit unsteady during the walk due to the soreness.  So the whole time I am walking I am thinking about how, within a few weeks, the changes will be visible and not just painful.

Then, thinking about being fit, and how much easier it was to go to the class than I expected, I start thinking about other things I want to succeed at.  Like writing.  So when I get home, it’s easier to sit down and write than it might have been if my legs weren’t sore and I hadn’t succeeded in going to a class to make them sore.

Amazingly, in the last couple of weeks, I’ve added one new freelance clients and have proposals pending with two more.  Even if only one of the two becomes a client, I will have doubled my monthly freelance clientele!  Just like the sore muscles, the struggle to find time to do a good job for those clients is inspiring.  I know that if they are happy with my work my professional life will begin to change slowly right along with my fitness level.

Right at this moment, it feels like each small success will lead to another–and that is definitely inspiring.  It’s odd to think that being horribly sore brought on this bout of optimism.