January 4
__Read Genesis: Chapters 22-28
__Walk 3 miles: Actual miles walked_____
__Eat 5 fruits or vegetables_____
__Virtue: Temperance-eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
Mistake Three: Not keeping records
Most of the business gurus seem to stress setting measurable goals. Without a measurable goal, how do you know if you’re on track at the end of the day?
The same principle applies to health. For example: if you resolve to eat less and exercise more, exactly how do you know if you’ve accomplished that goal at the end of the day? Beneath that simple goal, you find complicated questions: How much less do you need to eat? How much more do you need to exercise? What exercise should you do? If you miss a day of exercise or if you eat an extra piece of pizza, how do you compensate tomorrow to reach overall goals such as losing 20 pounds or breaking free of your hypertension medication?
Losing 20 pounds will be accomplished by behaving in a particular way for many days; so, the 20-pound goal will be accomplished more successfully in the people who set measurable daily goals. If we win or lose our lives in day-tight compartments, then it’s in the accomplishment of the daily goal that we achieve long term dreams.
Solution: Keep a simple daily record
The better the performance, the more likely you will find detailed records. Successful people in every area of life keep good records. The super coaches and athletes keep good records. Very healthy people often keep records. James Loehr tells (in his book, Stress for Success) how he coached Olympic and professional athletes to superior performance by asking them to keep records. He tells how to use similar records to improve your performance with work and with your health. I highly recommend his book to understand the power for records.
Is it artificial to keep records about your health? Yes, I suppose so. But, being trapped in a box (called house and office) instead of working outside is artificial. Driving a box (called a car) instead of walking is artificial. Having monstrous amounts of food available without doing any physical work is artificial. It may take something artificial to counteract our modern environment.
Keeping a record of your accomplishment of daily goals which lead to long range goals does more than keep you honest with yourself. It also keeps you focused on what’s important. Just defining what you will track with your record can work magic.
It’s better to track healthful activities done and not unhealthy activities. By tracking the good things you do, the record will be more fun and you’ll be more likely to repeat the good activity. This goes back to using the good to replace the bad.
Also, a good record system to improve your health should take no more than five to ten minutes per day. For example: don’t record every calorie eaten–that’s not something you can do for the rest of your life. Instead record simple activities you can quickly track and which make a dramatic change in your life.
We’ll talk more tomorrow about how to make a health goal. So far we’ve mentioned these characteristics: day-tight goals, strive for something positive (not stopping something harmful), take baby steps, make it a measurable activity, and keep a daily record.