Goals 15/16 - June Update & Conclusion

A year has passed since i came on here and communicated my goals.  Here's the final count:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	12	17	70.59%
Pullups	2610	5000	52.20%
Reduce Debt	$21,250.21	$25,882.11	$4,631.90
Keep the Fiance	12	12	100.00%
Volunteerism (h)	4.5	24	18.75%
Meditation (m)	115	1440	7.99%

While i can't say that i'm pleased with the results, i can say that i'm happy that i accomplished what i was able to accomplish.

I read a book a month.

I did 2610 pullups.

I reduced my debt by $4632.

I still have a fiance.

I volunteered for 4 and a half hours.

And i meditated a little bit.

I will take time to reflect on what went wrong and work to improve myself based on what i uncover.  Nothing is a failure if you learn from it.

Goals 15/16 - May Update

I've fallen off the wagon.  There's really no other way to say it.  I think that i became so overwhelmed that i lost motivation.  

Anyways, here's the progress -- with just 18 days remaining.

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	12	17	70.59%
Pullups	2592	5000	51.84%
Reduce Debt	$21,447.17	$25,882.11	$4,434.94
Keep the Fiance	11	12	91.67%
Volunteerism (h)	4.5	24	18.75%
Meditation (m)	115	1440	7.99%

No reason to be down on myself, though.  It is what it is.  While the past often predicts the future -- it doesn't have to.

Goals 15/16 - April Update

Well, April didn't go very well in terms of goals.  Here's the stats:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	12	17	70.59%
Pullups	2480	5000	49.60%
Reduce Debt	$21,744.63	$25,882.11	$4,137.48
Keep the Fiance	10	12	83.33%
Volunteerism (h)	4.5	24	18.75%
Meditation (m)	115	1440	7.99%

Not going to complain, though.  I've still made progress.

Goals 15/16 - March Update

An update of my goals through ~9 months:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	12	17	70.59%
Pullups	2259	5000	45.18%
Reduce Debt	$21,721.43	$25,882.11	$4,160.68
Keep the Fiance	9	12	75.00%
Volunteerism (h)	4.5	24	18.75%
Meditation (m)	115	1440	7.99%

Not much to say other than the numbers don't lie.  I have 3 months left.  I'm hoping to make as big of a dent as possible.

Goals 15/16 - February Update

An update on my goals for time period 6/19/15 - 6/18/16:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	10	17	58.82%
Pullups	1949	5000	38.98%
Reduce Debt	$22,110.57	$25,882.11	$3,771.54
Keep the Fiance	8	12	66.67%
Volunteerism (h)	4.5	24	18.75%
Meditation (m)	115	1440	7.99%

The only notable here is that I've made significant progress on the debt front this month.  Not because attitudes have changed, but because i was lucky enough to have parents who opened an investment account for me when i was younger.  I was able to cash that in and use the proceeds to pay off debt.  

I know that this action might seem like the wrong move, but the investment account was actively managed (read: high fees).  I should've rolled into my Roth, but i really want to get rid of this debt --especially the higher interest shit.  It's like a weight on my shoulders.  Fuck owing people money.

On to the next one.

Goals 15/16 - December Update

Halfway through the "year" and here's how i stand on my goals:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	8	17	47.06%
Pullups	1630	5000	32.60%
Reduce Debt	$24,899.12	$25,882.11	$982.99
Keep the Fiance	6	12	50.00%
Volunteerism (h)	4.5	24	18.75%
Meditation (m)	98	1440	6.81%

Boy, do i have work to do!  

I'm ready, though.  The New Year has given me new inspiration.  I'm confident that i can still reach the goals that i've set forth.  I have until June 18th.

Notes & Quotes: The Truth by Neil Strauss

The following are my favorite quotes from Neil Strauss' The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships.

1. More than 3% of babies are not actually fathered by the male parent who thinks he did.
2. Each gut reaction tells a story.  It is a story about who you are and what you believe.
3. Questions are powerful: The right question can expose flaws in the system.
4. Many a man has shot himself in the head rather than face up to the consequences of what he's done in his secret life.
5. Nothing's going to change until you take deliberate and committed action to change.
6. People are what matter, not things.
7. A lot of times, people in a family think it's just one person who causes all the trouble.  But a family is a system, and a sick person is the product of a sick system.
8. Only when our love for someone exceeds our need for them do we have a shot at a genuine relationship together.
9. Life's not worth living if you're living someone else's life.
10. The goal is not monogamy or nonmonogamy.  It's for you to be living a life that brings you happiness.
11. If you can't control your lust, the universe will take care of it for you.
12. Doctors used to claim there was a disease called drapetomania -- a disorder in which slaves were seized by the irrational and pathological desire to be freed from their masters.  They're all just words, made up by people with degrees, to enforce social norms.
13. "For the majority of its history, marriage was an economic and political institution, mostly about merging resources, forming alliances, or creating a bloodline for inheritance.  Not until the late eighteenth century did people marry for love.  And it took until the late twentieth century for marriage to start becoming an intimate partnership rather than a patriarchal institution." Stephanie Coontz
14. Anything that doesn't bring you alive is too small for you.
15. The whole notion of classifying certain behaviors as normal and abnormal hurts people more than it helps them.
16. A far better way to encourage a partner to open a relationship is to start by giving her the freedom that you want for yourself.
17. Guys bring their dating problems on themselves.  They program their daughter with an aversion to men and sex for fear that she'll meet someone just like her father, then they meet someone else's daughter and expect her to just jump into bed without anxiety or reservation.
18. Once fear and loss is taken away, you get past jealousy.
19. One of the unfortunate axioms of human behavior is that what others shame people for the most is usually what they're doing in secret themselves.
20. Perhaps the problem with most relationships is that the rules start to become more important than the values they're supposed to be representing.
21. It's not society that holds us back, it's ourselves.  We just blame society because not only is it easier but it's a nearly impossible weight to move.  This way, we don't actually have to change.
22. I used to think that a good relationship meant always getting along.  But the secret, I realize, is that when one person shuts down or throws a fit, the other needs to stay in the adult ego state.  If both people descend to the wounded child or adapted adolescent, that's when all of the forces of relationship drama and destruction are unleashed.
23. Perhaps that's the price of making your fantasies a reality.  You realize pretty quickly that they were more fun to imagine.
24. For me, the best way to understand what actually transpired in any given situation is to write about it until the truth emerges.
25. In the dance of infatuation, we see others not as they are, but as projections o who we want them to be.  And we impose on them all the imaginary criteria we think will fill the void in our hearts.  But in the end, this strategy leads only to suffering.
26. What being a woman is: to become one's own mother.
27. The universe listens -- and it gives you not just what you want, but what you deserve.
28. The only relationship that's truly a failure is one that lasts longer than it should.  The success of a relationship should be measured by its depth, not by its length.
29. Relationships are like divining rods for locating one's faults and weaknesses.
30. It seems I've mistaken being out of control for freedom.
31. It's a lot to take in and I struggle to understand it all.  Then I decide I don't need to understand it.  I just need to do it.
32. I realize that I made a mistake by equating variety with freedom.
33. Six Core Needs: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual, and sexual.
34. Don't trade long-term happiness for short-term pleasure.
35. Turns out that relationships don't require sacrifices.  They just require growing up -- and the ability to stop clinging to immature needs that are so tenacious, they keep the mature needs from getting met.

Goals 15/16 - November Update

Here's the progress on my goals...(for the period of 6/19/15 - 6/18/16)

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	7	17	41.18%
Pullups	1571	5000	31.42%
Reduce Debt	$25,147.61	$25,882.11	$734.50
Keep the Fiance	5	12	41.67%
Volunteerism (h)	3.5	24	14.58%
Meditation (m)	81	1440	5.63%

I'm behind but I have some time to make up for it.  I'm happy with my progress in the "Books" department, and I still have a fiance, but those are the lone bright spots.

December is a new month and a new opportunity to get closer to my goals.

Goals 15/16 - October Update

Over a third of my "goal year" has already passed.  Here's where I'm at with my goals:
(33% completed means I'm on pace)
 

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	6	17	35.29%
Pullups	1536	5000	30.72%
Reduce Debt	$25,353.43	$25,882.11	$528.68
Keep the Fiance	4	12	33.33%
Volunteerism (h)	3.5	24	14.58%
Meditation (m)	81	1440	5.63%

Books - I was struggling the whole month of September trying to finish both Money by Tony Robbins and The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene so I decided to set those books down.  In turn, I started and finished both The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and God's Debris by Scott Adams.  I learned that it's much better to move on from a book you're struggling with and read things that excite.  

Pullups - Lowest month of pullups yet.  My back has been hurting a little and I wonder if doing nothing but pullups is a bad idea.

Reduce Debt - Fuck!  I hate debt.  Seeing that I've only put a $500 dent in my debt situation fucking sucks!  (Not enough to create real change in my spending habits, though)

Keep the fiance - Surprised the fiance with a single rose and a bagel for breakfast on our wedding "Countdown Day."

Volunteerism - Didn't do a damn thing :(

Meditation - Only sat for 10 minutes the whole month.

I mustn't procrastinate.  I need to focus on achieving the goals early as opposed to having a "tomorrow" mentality.  Here's to having a more successful update at the beginning of December.

Goals 15/16 - September Update

Still chugging along with my goals for 6/19/15 - 6/18/16:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	4	17	23.53%
Pullups	1369	5000	27.38%
Reduce Debt	$25,353.43	$25,882.11	$528.68
Keep the Fiance	3	12	25.00%
Volunteerism (h)	3.5	24	14.58%
Meditation (m)	71	1440	4.93%

We're three full months into it, so 25% is considered "on pace."

Books - Slightly behind but i'm in the middle of two books, including Tony Robbins' 600+ page beast Money: Master the Game.

Pullups - September saw the fewest amount of pullups thus far, but I'm still where I need to be to complete this goal.

Reduce Debt - I've paid $528.68 toward my debt.  I'm kind of disappointed in myself here, as I need to dig outta the hole asap.

Keep the fiance - Yup!  She's still around.

Volunteerism - Behind on this goal.  I must remind myself that volunteering doesn't have to be "official."  Simply picking up trash at the park would suffice.  Work to do here.

Meditation - Still struggling.  Not much else to say.

All in all, I'm happy with where I'm at and feel as though I will be able to meet all my goals before my 31st birthday.

Goals 15/16 - August Update

Progress on my goals:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	4	17	23.53%
Pullups	1095	5000	21.90%
Reduce Debt	$25,536.19	$25,882.11	$345.92
Keep the Fiance	2	12	16.67%
Volunteerism (h)	3.5	24	14.58%
Meditation (m)	71	1440	4.93%

I actually have more debt this month than i do last month, so while i'm still in "less debt than i was last year" i haven't improved in this area.  That's the beauty of tracking.  You can see exactly where you've been and where you're at and figure out what you need to do to progress.

I also didn't volunteer this month so shame on me for that.

Anyways...fuck it!  Onward.

Goals 15/16 - July 2015 Update

As i mentioned in this post, my focus this year (June 19 - June 18) is on longer-term goals.

Here is the status as of 7/31/15:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	3	17	17.65%
Pullups	672	5000	13.44%
Reduce Debt	$25,339.14	$25,882.11	$542.97
Keep the Fiance	1	12	8.33%
Volunteerism (h)	3.5	24	14.58%
Meditation (m)	8	1440	0.56%

So far, everything is on track except for meditation.  Also, "not getting further into debt" might not be lofty enough of a goal.  Pretty much all of that progress is forced in the form of bills.  However, it's nice to see that I'm a tiny bit closer to getting out of the hole.

Goals 15/16 - Introduction: Current State of Affairs

As i mentioned in an earlier post during the Introspective Journaling 21-day challenge, i've given myself the following goals for my 31st year of existence:

• Read/watch 17 books or documentaries
• to do 5000 pullups
• to not go further into debt
• to "not fuck up my relationship" with my fiance
• dedicate 24 hours to service/volunteerism
• meditate for 24 hours

My challenges in the upcoming months will be dedicated to the completion of these goals.  As i pretty much live by Google Sheets, i've created a spreadsheet to track my progress.  The spreadsheet, appropriately titled "15/16" can be viewed (and commented on) by clicking on that link.

I'm looking forward to completing these 6 goals and becoming a better person because of it.  Follow my progress!