Day 293

Happiness is...

Waking up on Saturday morning with a start, thinking you missed your alarm clock, and realizing you don't have to work that day.

Having a good hair day.

Your child walking by you in the house and randomly saying, "I love you Mom".

An entire package of double-stuffed Oreos that no one but you knows is stashed in the craft room.

Coming home after a long day of work, to find your spouse cooked dinner and has a plate waiting for you.

Finding a pair of Cole Haan boots that fit your ginormous feet AND are on clearance.

Reaching a hard earned goal.

These are just a few examples of happiness in my own personal world. You'd be surprised at how easy they are to find if you take a moment to think about them. Happiness comes in all shapes and sizes, from big ones like a child's birth- to little ones like a child (FINALLY) falling asleep after being up all night sick or crying.

If there's one other thing that makes me happy, it's plans, lists, and spreadsheets. I just love to see things all laid out neatly in an organized way so that I have a clear cut understanding of what is involved and how long it may take to accomplish things. That's not bad, right?

Right?

Anyway, tonight I re-opened my triathlon training book after having put it aside for several weeks. I have spent a lot of time thinking through what kind of goals to set for next year, and am ready to re-commit to...wait for it....a plan.

Starting tomorrow, I will start training with an Olympic triathalon and full marathon in the horizon for 2015. The Olympic is most likely going to turn into an Intermediate or another Sprint like this year, because the time commitment needed to train for an Olympic distance is just not one I can probably attain. But, I feel like I would be back sliding in my fitness if I started with the Sprint distance training at this point.

Wow. Who'd of ever thought I'd be saying that.

So tonight's picture represents personal happiness, and the utter amazement at what you can accomplish if you have a goal, a plan, and a spreadsheet. Do yourself a favor and take a few moments to allow yourself to think though what makes you happy, and use that to then build a personal goal. It doesn't have to be exercise related. Maybe cooking makes you happy- then you could have a goal to learn how to make chicken stock from scratch. Maybe reading makes you happy- how about a goal of reading 12 books in one year by your favorite author? But whatever your goals are, I am positive that a spreadsheet will help get you there...