Lets stick with the format, to start:
Weight
Day 1 Weight - 218
Day 27 Weight - 213
This mornings weight (Day 27 plus 2) - 218
Food
I was successfully on my diet about half of the time, which explains why I maintained my weight, but did not actually lose. I was transparent about my eating, though there were a couple of days I just kind of glossed over as 'bad days'. Popcorn and Donuts are my downfall, and Fried Chicken may be my entry drug.
I worked out approximately half of the time. I do feel stronger, and seem to have more energy much of the time. But, I also did NOT workout about half the time, and should have.
Work Actions
Plain and simple, I did not do enough work in the last 27 days. I successfully coached, yes, and have some satisfied clients. I did speak a couple of time, and got recordings. But I have no NEW clients or NEW speaking engagements lined up. My website, podcast, sizzle reel, and book are not any better off. And, as Parts I & II address, I didn't even win my contests.
Dad Actions
This is a win for me - I did a lot as a dad. I can do more, though. With summer coming up, I will do more. But I've been a good dad. I just asked Riker and he said so.
I did finish the Champion Audiobook, and I took time off for myself - maybe too much. I didn't finish more than this singular book however. I did listen to a fair amount of Podcasts, and some speaking resources.
Assessment
See below for 'Final Assessment'
Progress towards Goals for the last five days:
Get down to 212 for Saturday - almost
Work out 4x - 2x
Successful Conference on Saturday - yes and no
Speak & Deliver Blogpost - 1x
Win Anyway Blogpost - nothing
Reboot Podcast - no
Final Assessment
This challenge was basically a perfect example of a self-fulfilling prophecy - I feared I would fail, and I did on many levels. In fact, in many ways my challenge came crashing down around me.
This was also a test of my Win Anyway Philosophy, and it has succeed to test it. Read Part II for how Win Anyway has kept me from falling into the pits of despair over the contests. As for the rest of my goals...
I didn't GAIN weight.
I DID get back to the gym more often than I'd been going
I DID coach well
I DID do a good job as a dad
A couple of other goals met include doing videos, even if they weren't perfect, and keeping up, for the most part, on THIS blog, which was a new goal in and of itself, and someone else actually started their own challenge as a result of seeing this one
The biggest win, however, is this:
That I failed, and survived. I still found some victories, and I recognize that victory comes, also, in my recognizing how spectacularly I've failed. Realizing how easily I get off the diet, how quick I'll make excuses, how often I'll procrastinate the most important of tasks, witnessing how often I'm wasting my time and talent.
I think there was even a little voice in the back of my mind saying 'you can fail at all of this and if you just win the contest Saturday, none of it will matter.' Yet even that didn't happen.
I've done it all in front of the world, or at least the few of you who've followed along - and hopefully you've at least watched it and thought 'gee, he's ridiculous - I'm glad I'm doing better than that!' Or maybe, in at least a couple of videos, you gleaned the importance of every 15 minutes, or internalized the concepts of Perflexativity.
I win because I have no choice but to realize how ridiculous it all is that I'm not following through and fulfilling my potential, but, not only am I still moving forward, I'm willing to own up to it and do something about it in the next challenge.
Nope. I'm not perfect. I don't have six pack abs, or a fully-realized business, or even a District trophy in 2015 at the end of this Challenge. But I am still....Winning Anyway.
I will be starting another challenge straightaway - essentially at midnight. I'm not certain what the parameters will be, and I won't be doing a video for each day. But I will be working to make it more effective, and invite you to join me. Drop me an email at rich@richhopkins.com or leave a comment if you'd like to be part of a more group-oriented challenge.
#WinAnyway #Perflexativity
14 words for you my friend.
ReplyDeleteDead Last Finish is greater than
Did Not Finish, which trumps
Did Not Start
You started, you finished. Are you where you want to be? You know what areas to improve upon and you appear to have the right attitude about it. To paraphrase another quote; you didn't fail at this, you learned a way it shouldn't be done. You're Mining the Silver Lining and preparing for the next challenge wiser and more experienced.
Keep Winning Anyway!
Absolutely Dave - thank you for sharing this with me, and any who come along :)
DeleteIt seems to me you took on a lot at once and I am not sure if you knew what "winning" meant, aside from the speech contest. When I'm building my business, winning means x number of cold calls, x meetings, x sales.
ReplyDeleteWinning is multi-layered. There is the end goal, and there is what is learned and accomplished along the way. Not meeting a goal is not devoid of winning unless we choose to view it that way - this is essentially the heart of Win Anyway.
DeleteYou may need to make 100 calls to get that one sale. I applaud your continued pursuit of a trophy but in the end, it's not going to pay the bills.
ReplyDeleteAs an old sales guy, I definitely know what that 100 calls feels like :)
Delete