My 12 Week Transformation Begins Today

Today is the first day of an 85 day transformation. As I begin, I am both excited and cautious about where this journey will take me. On the up side, it has the possibility to dramatically change the direction of my life, as well as the lives of those around me. At the same time, it could be three months where nothing changes at all. The road in which I decide to take rests squarely on me. 

Sprinting

As a child, I was always great at running sprints. I may have started out slow, but I'd always find a way to come up from behind and finish strong. In a goal driven life, like the one I chose to live, we borrow the concept of sprinting to equate a short period of time by which we give life all that we have in order to create momentum. That momentum allows us to change our current situation into something else, preferably something better than where we are today.

Leaving Las Vegas last week, I made a decision to sprint into the next rest point, which is October 17, 2014. By this date, I would like to make considerable improvements in my health, wealth, and education.

Why A Sprint?

It's Short

A sprint, unlike the marathon, requires a short, but extremely intense, burst of energy toward a goal. Sure, one may feel winded after completing it, but it's over shortly after it starts. The positive side to all of this is that the pain and discomfort will be short lived, but the results will be amazing.

It's Fast  

Have you ever heard this saying, "Fast is fun, slow is painful?" The idea behind this statement is that we all want to see growth in our lives, the faster the better, right? For some, and this was me for many years, I wanted to keep everything under control and live life at a pace that I could control. Unfortunately, every day that I'm overweight, struggling financially, or living without a terminal degree, it hurts. Wouldn't it be better to fix the problems as quickly as humanly possible versus waiting years to do the same thing? Absolutely! I say.

It's Rewarding

One of the advantages of living in a microwave society is that we want to see the benefits of our labor sooner rather than later. Therefore, delaying gratification only three months sounds much better than three years, right? Knowing this fact, it's easier to fight off distractions and other short term desires with a promise to indulge once it's over. As a result, the outcome will be so much more sweet and rewarding.

Challenges

I Won't Feel Like Doing It 

Yes, there will be moments (ok, a lot of moments) where I won't feel like taking action. I will try to put it off until tomorrow or justify why I shouldn't complete the task. To this challenge, I have to remind myself of what I want to see happen at the end of this sprint. In short, what is my WHY?

Life Will Try To Get In The Way

No matter how much we plan, life sends the unexpected event or series of events into our journey. When this happens, I have to remind myself of the quote, "Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him" by James Allen. What kind of man do I want to be? Pushing through life's unexpected events will reveal it all. 

How Can You Help?

In the past, friends would often ask the question, "How's your workout coming?" To which I would reply, "Oh, it's going great!" Moving forward, feel free to ask the following questions instead:

• What page of the dissertation are you on? 
• Today's Answer: Page 54
• Goal: 139 
• What do you weigh today? 
• Today's Answer: 219 lbs
• Goal: 190 lbs  
• How many more until you reach the rank of Director? 
• Today's Answer: 127
• Goal: 0

By putting measures on each goal, you can easily tell whether or not I'm making progress from week to week. We call this being accountable.

Closing Thoughts

A quick thank you to everyone who has and continues to support me. This journey is one that I may be doing for myself, but I know that I'm not doing it by myself. Here is to a life changing 85 days.

Let's Go!