No Excuses November: Challenges

Obviously No Excuses November is a challenge in itself, but it is ultimately about overcoming obstacles, establishing goals, making new routines and taking time out to really find what kind of person you want to be. It isn't all about getting things done and being more productive. It is about challenging yourself to become a better person all around.

 

We’re presented with challenges every day. My most obvious immediate challenge is just getting my butt out of bed in the morning to get that cardio in. Now that I’ve missed both Monday and Tuesday I officially have no leeway – there is no excuse to miss Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

There are always going to be obstacles to your goals. There are always going to be things that you’d rather do instead. Things that sound more fun than cleaning or more delicious than chicken and vegetables. Things that are prettier yet more expensive and less practical. The end objective is irrelevant, you still have to have that will power, determination and motivation to reach your goal.

There have been obvious challenges for me already this month: getting my morning cardio in, saying no to all the leftover Halloween candy at work, spending two hours on a Monday night cooking when I could be relaxing after my workout. Some challenges aren't so obvious - and these are the ones I feel are really worth discussing.

One of my not so obvious challenges that I’ve encountered in just these few short days is that, in some regards, I am just entirely too ambitious. No Excuses November is about establishing your goals – I’ve said it a million times. But when we set our goals, we have to make sure they are realistic. Anyone ever heard of SMART goals? Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. I have a graphic hanging up in my station at work.

Things take time to accomplish and things come up that we didn’t necessarily plan on. I’m guilty of this on a normal basis but more so since this project has begun: I’m setting too many daily goals. They’re just small ones. Things I want to get done or finally tackle that I’ve been putting off. Things that need done at some point but that I’m moving up and deciding to do NOW. But I’m being unrealistic. And in the spirit of no excuses, I’ve been unnecessarily hard on myself. There is a point we have to come to where we have to acknowledge the possible. No, nothing is exactly impossible, but some things can be a little unrealistic without an additional 4 hours in the day.

In the spirit of being realistic I have decided that my weekly Tuesday routine should be to just relax. On Tuesdays I want to take time to get the things done that I meant to finish Saturday or Sunday or Monday but didn't get to. I want Tuesdays to be the day I can fall back on and know that I have when I may have over extended myself with previous agendas.

That being said, I definitely did not catch up on the two things I haven't managed to finish from this week (vacuuming and and PT job application). I did, however, make some super fun gingerbread cookies with one of my friends after my workout this evening :-)

And I managed to make a homemade pizza over my lunch break. It was delicious and extremely easy to make. I'll leave you with the "recipe" (I have this awful habit of not measuring spices). I took an ultra thin pizza crust and coated it with some extra virgin olive oil. I sprinkled some garlic into the olive oil and then topped with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. I sliced up some baby tomatoes and then seasoned the entire pizza with oregano and basil. So good! And it only took 15 minutes to prep and cook!

Happy No Excuses November - don't get discouraged and stick with it!!