Day 29

So after yesterday's post I started thinking.  I did what I always do when I need to make a decision: I googled it, and I talked to John (yeah, I google things when I'm faced with a decision).

The only real thing I could find on google was from Day Zero Project, which just said the goal was to complete 101 preset tasks in 1001 days.  Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).  Changing wasn't addressed.

So I talked to John, who felt that I should be able to change things.  So I'm setting up a list of rules for changing my goals.

1. The new goal must always be in the spirit of the old goal.  Example: Wedding Wire goes under, so I can't be one of their bride's choice vendors.  I can't change my goal to "Swim with the dolphins" but I could change it to "Become a little black book vendor for Style Me Pretty."


2. For one reason or another, the old goal must now be irrelevant.  Ok, maybe irrelevant is a slightly strong term, but it must be clear that the old goal no longer accomplishes the ends I wanted.  Using the last example, Wedding Wire isn't the goal, achieving recognition is.  But as long as Wedding Wire is around, that's the goal.  A caveat: If being on Wedding Wire was the point of the goal, as opposed to being recognized, then Wedding Wire going under prior to me appearing would be a failure in the goal.


3. Goals can never be removed because they're too hard.  Self-explanatory.


4. I have to explain exactly why this change is being made.

So with that, I'd like to fully explain why Goal 101, Get three professional massages in one month is changing to Receive chiropractic treatment that creates a noticeable and lasting effect on my well-being.  Yesterday I said "When I wrote that goal, it wasn't a luxury, it was a plea to fix myself in the best way I could think of."  This is entirely true.  For one reason or another, I hadn't thought of chiropractics as a way to fix the pain in my neck and back.  I defaulted to the method that made the most sense to me.

Now that I've found a way to treat the cause of my pain instead of the symptoms, my goal as written no longer meshes with my goal as intended.  It's gone from a plan to help to an over-the-top luxury.  Changing my goal allows me to keep the spirit of the goal without adding anything unneccessary.  I'm now in the active process of completing goal 101, and I hope that my doctor will tell me soon that I can move to well-patient adjustments because I'm in shape again.