Keeping Yourself Accountable

January - Over.

My record based on the Seinfeld calendar for exercising: 27/31

That's pretty good, working out to 87% completion; 90% would be better, 100% desired, but looking back, I have no regrets.

The days I missed were interview related; after a long day of interviews, it's too difficult to go ahead and work out. With that said, every day I do not have an 'X' I actually did SOMETHING, but not enough for me to justify that in my mind, because that would sabotage me later on.

For Example:

"Well, 20 minutes of cardio should be enough to count it, I've already done that twice"

"You know, 10 minutes is ok, because I went pretty hard during those ten minutes"

"Well, I didn't actually 'work out' per se, but I walked a lot around campus"

"I didn't lift weights, but I did lug around my backpack, and that is quite heavy"

"I didn't do anything today, but I did get out of bed, that should count"

Blam, suddenly you find yourself doing nothing, and, worst-of-all, it is all justified in your mind.

This calendar is keeping me accountable, because I can see, and everyone else can see, how much I worked out. I also purchased a scale, and once it comes, I will take daily measurements, and graph it. This will also be posted in my room, for all to see.

"Hmm, I'm kind of embarrassed about 380, but, I won't be embarrassed if that was my starting point and I have lost 30 pounds"

So you can see, it is all about accountability, because we're all too persuasive to ourselves; we can make ourselves believe anything, so don't let your mind start to persuade you, fight back and do what is right!

My First Missed Day of the Year, and How to GET PSYCHED!

I have been keeping up the working out every day thing for 19 days of this year, then, two days ago, the career fair ambushed me. I went so hard all day that I decided not to do my cardio that day. Then, yesterday, I had another marathon, and I plainly forgot to do my weights. So, as a result, my calendar looks something like this:

That's okay with me though. 19 days in a row is quite impressive. So, in order to prove that I'm awesome, I now have to go 20 days in a row, to beat that streak. That means, including today (already rode the bike for 45 minutes) I have to go once a day until Wednesday, February 10th, though by no means does that mean that I want to only go 20 days.

So, I'll keep it short for today, but that's a little update on my main goal of the year. Oh, as far as affirmations, I got my favorite one I think. It's from How I Met Your Mother (a new favorite show) and it's simple: "I'm Awesome".

Oh, also, to get myself psyched up when I need it, I've been using a playlist from the show to get psyched. I can't confirm that this is the proper playlist, but it's based on general consensus from multiple sources. Here it goes:

Barney Stinson's Get Psyched Playlist

1. You Give Love a Bad Name - Jonathan B. Jovi

2. I Wanna Rock - Twisted Sister

3. The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground

4. Don't Stop Believing - Journey

5. Lick it Up - KISS

6. Paradise City - Guns N' Roses

7. Tom Sawyer - Rush

8. The Theme from Transformers [80's Version] - Lion

9. Dancing with Myself - Billy Idol

10. Rock You Like a Hurricane - Scorpions

11. Come Sail Away - Styx

12. Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

13. Panama - Van Halen

14. Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield

15. Talk Dirty to Me - Poison

16. Thunderstruck - AC/DC

17. High Enough - Damn Yankees

18. Hip Hop Hooray - Naughty by Nature

19. Dr. Feelgood - Mötley Crüe

20. Round and Round - Ratt

It's pretty cool, because when I turn it on, I make it so that I get psyched, so when Bon Jovi first comes on, I start to get really psyched. It's all an association thing, so make sure that you associate this playlist with getting psyched up initially, then, afterward, it WILL get you psyched up always!

So...I didn't keep it as short as I thought I would, but still, it's a good playlist, and a GREAT technique for getting psyched up.