So How's Your Year Going? 😩

I started off 2024 like thousands, ok MILLIONS, of other people - by creating goals for myself.

Ah, but this year I read a book called “The 12 Week Year” by Morgan & Lennington - so oh yeah, I’m going to set goals like I would for the year but…

with only a 12-week horizon.

Here they are…

1. Lose 20lbs. - getting below 263 lbs (again…)

2. To abide in Christ, to be filled with and moved by the Holy Spirit

3. Grow my audience for X (Twitter), YouTube, and this newsletter by 100% - From 144 followers to 288.

4. Create a Daily Plan and follow it

Well, based on how I’m doing - apparently, yes.

The Quick Update

Losing 20lbs.
I am down 4lbs - which I’ll take but I have 4 weeks to lose 16 more so… 😬 

Oh, I am also doing some walking, squats, and working with dumbells and exercise bands 4 times a week - this I feel is going pretty well.

If you know me, ask to feel my biceps 💪

Tbh, it’s crazy - maybe the lack of weight loss is due to the immense muscle mass I’m gaining. 😏

Abiding.
I’m reading my Bible and praying daily - I guess that should be expected but sometimes…

I pray before I get out of bed, grab a coffee, read the Bible, then pray again.

Praying always to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to receive wisdom.

And to honor and glorify Him, and serve the people he puts in my path.

I’ve been praying the 23rd Psalm and the Serenity Prayer (full version) - they are both helpful to me.

I know some don’t like rote prayers but… you do you…

Audience.
I finally broke 100 followers last week on X (please don’t make me keep putting Twitter in parenthesis). BAM! I hit 114 as of Friday.

But…

I found out a couple of days ago that my growth on X was largely from bots.

After cleaning up the bots, I’m at 55 - yeah you read that correctly FIFTY-FIVE

Not the direction I want to be going.

Daily Plan.
The Daily Plan is a bit hit or miss but when I use it I feel pretty accomplished and it lowers my stress.

It’s a new habit, so that makes it a bit hard.

And it takes time, which is enough resistance for me to give it a pass too often.

But I’m going to keep at it.

What I am learning

1) I am not a man of my word.

Tbh, it took me a few hot minutes to land on this.

I would come up with hundreds of reasons, and they weren’t really excuses.

They just weren’t the real reason.

• I don’t create my plan because I am not a man of my word

• I don’t keep my plan because I am not a man of my word

• I don’t stop eating at 7:30p because I am not a man of my word

• I don’t exercise because I am not a man of my word

You get my point.

This gets me pretty hostile with myself:

“Is this how you want to be known, Jay? As a man who can’t keep his word? Then do the stinkin’ exercises, write the stupid plan… or give up here and be a nothing - saved, but still smoking from the fire”.

Well, that’s heavy 🤷‍♂️ - Anyway if it’s you…

OWN IT! And then do something about it.

2) I am gifted at faking progress.

“Jay, maybe you’re not doing the right kinds of exercises?”

I know… I should watch 20 videos on different exercises to see which would be best for me.

I want to write 6 X posts a day, but there is the writer’s course you signed up for.

This is why I have the Daily Plan.

I write out what is the highest-value task I need to complete tomorrow.

Along with a set of habits that get me closer to my goals - like I record a video 5 days a week - do I publish it? No. Is it scripted? No.

It is just practicing talking to the camera.

I need to break the habit of doing things that feel like progress but are really just a waste of time.

Anyway, I truly hope your year is going a bit better than mine. 😄

And I hope that some of this was helpful to you and to the goals you are chasing.