Goals vs. Resolutions in 2014

As we start off 2014, everyone is busy proclaiming their 2014 New Year's Resolutions...and hoping that this year is different than those in the past.  Will I be able to make it out of January with my resolutions still in tact?  What about 3 or 6 months from now?  If you've ever been to the gym in December AND January, then you know exactly what I'm talking about!

But have you ever actually looked at the definition of a resolution?  What is it exactly that you are doing?

Resolution: a firm decision to do or not do something

Resolve: settle or find a solution to (a problem, dispute, or contentious matter)

Resolutions don't give you much to go on.  They only give you a pass/fail outcome where you either succeed or don't succeed, and let's face it - most "Resolutions" end up in the fail column by the end of March.  Just because you made that "firm decision" to do something doesn't mean you have the support system or framework set to be successful at that resolution.

Also, based on the definition for resolve (another form of the word "Resolution"), you are looking at all of the negative in your life and resolving to make changes to those specific things.  As you focus on the negative and all of the things you want to change, you overlook the positives and all the good you're capable of.  Sometimes this could even lead to those positives slipping into future resolutions.  (For example - if you already exercise 30 minutes a day out of desire/habit, but you lose sight and set your focus on changing all those negatives...you could start to slip on that exercise habit and eventually, it could fall in to that "needs work" area of your life.)

Now take a look at a different option...GOALS

Goal: the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result

I'm not saying that it's not a good idea to take a look at those areas in your life that could use some improvement (or "resolve"), but you want to be sure and have a balance looking at the good and the not so good.  When you set goals for yourself, you aren't necessarily looking to "fix" something, you are shooting for desired results.

If you have ever done any type of professional development, you've probably learned the SMART Goals system.  Your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.  As I mentioned early, resolutions don't give you a framework.  They simply say, "This is what I'm going to do," and then you go after them.  Your goals, using the SMART system give you a very specific framework, allowing you to be prepared for what lies ahead.


So in 2014, I have 14 goals I've set for myself pertaining to "Getting Fit" in 2014 - financially, physically, and spiritually.  I will continually work to improve my "health" in each of these areas throughout the year, and these goals give me things to focus on.

#PhysicallyFit

#DrinkIt128 (Goal of 128 ounces/1 gallon of water each day)

#WorkIt530 (Goal of working out at least 5 days a week, 30 minutes a day)

#RunIt3.1 (Goal of training for and running in the 5k Turkey Trot with my mom)

#EatIt (Goal of making our meal plan and sticking to it)

#FinanciallyFit

#EliminateIt (Goal of cutting our current debt in half by the end of this year)

#AvoidIt (Goal of not using our credit cards to make purchases, #Swipeless2014)

#PlanItDoIt (Goal of creating our monthly budget and sticking to it, complete FPU)

#BuildIt (Goal of building personal businesses this year)

#SpirituallyFit

#StudyIt (Goal of reading through the bible this year)

#RememberIt (Goal of memorizing one verse per week)

#PrayIt (Goal of keeping a prayer journal for 2014)

#ShareIt (Goal of sharing the gospel with those that I meet)

Along with those goals, here are two additional to get us to the 14:

#GrowIt (Goal of nourishing and growing my relationship with my husband)

#ReadIt (Goal of reading at least one book each month from various types/genres)

Along with those goals, I have chosen a verse for 2014 after getting an email from YouVersion that encouraged selecting a life verse for the year.  I searched for verses that talked about endurance because that is what I hope to have this year as I go after my goals.  I loved Colossians 1:11-12 as soon as I read through it, but loved it even more when I read it in the Message version.

My #Verse2014 - Colossians 1:11-12 and My #Word2014 - Endurance

My Kangen Journey

I was introduced to Kangen Water after I got home from a 4-day hospital stay at the end of October 2012.

Brad and I decided to start trying for a family in June of 2011, and we learned pretty quickly that it was going to take a little more than trying to get our blessing, so I visited a fertility specialist in August of 2012, a little over a year after we first started trying.  While at our first appointment, our doctor let me know I’d need to repeat the surgery I first had in July of 2007, followed with quite a bit of medication and a set of Lupron injections.

I had the surgery in September of 2012, and at my follow-up appointment, I was quickly prescribed about 3200 mg of various medications.  All of those medications, along with a doctor prescribed change in my diet, led to my trip to the ER, which you can read more about here.  The final diagnosis: ACIDOSIS, meaning my body was dangerously acidic.

It was definitely a difficult and frustrating week, and it left me feeling hopeless and scared.  Not only did I feel like I was back at square one regarding my desire to have a baby, but I NEVER EVER EVER wanted to feel that way again.  I told Brad several times on the day we went to the ER that I felt like I was dying.  I felt silly saying that at the time until we realized just how serious things were and how sick I really was.

We hadn’t been home too long when I got a call from my high school youth minister, Jimmy Reynolds.  He introduced me to some very simple facts about WATER, and then asked me a question.  Seven very simple words changed my life forever: Would you like to try the water?  As I mentioned earlier, I was desperate to NEVER get that sick again, so I was willing to try anything.

Part of my prescribed fertility treatment was to take care of myself and try to get as healthy as possible – the healthier I was, the "easier" it would be to conceive.  Not to mention I had endometriosis on my bladder, which caused CONTINUAL bladder infections (so severe I would end up vomiting for days at a time and miss countless hours, sometimes days of work).  Needless to say, I had already cut out caffeine, and I eventually decided to cut out everything but water.  I was drinking between 3 and 5 bottles of Dasani water a day, so I was pretty shocked when the kidney specialist told us just how dehydrated I was…enough to need 5 bags of IV fluids over the course of 3 days, which I was told is just about the entire amount of fluids my body requires to function.

Did you know that the bottled water you religiously drink, thinking you are hydrating and helping yourself is actually ACIDIC?  It doesn’t even qualify to go through city pipes, and if it did, they’d be rusted and ruined! On the scale of acidity, 14.0 being alkaline, bottled water is 2.5.  TWO POINT FIVE.  If you’ll take a look at a pH scale, you’ll quickly see that level promotes sickness and disease in your body.  

After talking with Jimmy about the various types of water people drink today, I quickly learned just how wrong I had been about what I thought was a healthy habit to have.  Each of those bottles had directly contributed to the acidic state of my body and were leading causes of my severe dehydration.  I was able to have a loaner machine in my apartment for 30 days, thanks to Ty Musser, my middle school youth minister. He was extremely helpful in our introduction to Kangen water.  He came and installed the loaner machine and talked with us for a good 2 hours, answering all of our questions and telling us some of the stories from things he had seen.

Brad and I agreed we would do anything possible to keep from going back to that state again, so we purchased our machine in January of 2013 after getting settled in to our new home and finishing up with the holidays.

I had high hopes that the water would keep me out of the hospital and, more importantly, keep my hydrated (which it has done both), but I had no idea all of the other ways it was going to help me.

One of the wonderful side effects of the endometriosis I have is IBS, and I have a pretty severe case of it.  I had my FIRST (and yes, there have been multiple) colonoscopy when I was 17.  Each test (colonoscopy, scopes, gallbladder tests, cat scans, endless blood work, etc.) has come back with the same results: inconclusive.  And each doctor left me with the same outcome: no answers, no suggestions, and NO relief. (I received my first OFFICIAL diagnosis of Endometriosis at 21 and IBS at 27…I went to my first doctor appointment for severe stomach pains at the age of 16.)

It is this area of my life and health that has seen the MOST improvement, and this alone was worth purchasing the machine for me: I went from having diarrhea between 5 and 7 times a day, EVERY. SINGLE. day of the week (and no, I am not exaggerating for added effect), to not having it AT ALL.  (If you are praising Jesus right now, SO AM I!)... I realize this might be a little TMI, but it's also TTT (totally the truth) and part of my story, and I hope that I can share the waters with other people that have a similar story.

I have been able to see other improvements from the water as well, including added energy, no soda withdrawals (I now CRAVE water), no headaches (these were actually starting to become a weekly occurrence as well), but I am even more excited to see what’s to come.  I hope to learn ways to manage (or even eliminate) my endometriosis pain and the side effects of PCOS.  I know this isn’t the end of my Kangen testimony.  I am hopefully that someday I will be able to add a chapter about beating infertility. I’ll keep you posted on that one! ;)