What’s on your “meant to” list?
I meant to call my grandmother, aunt, sick friend.
I meant to work out.
I meant to get tickets for the event.
I meant to practice… the piano, yoga, or cooking a new dish.
Some of our meant-to-dos are quick and easy. Missing one or two times hardly seems cause for distress or guilt. The point isn’t to beat yourself up. The point is to do what you meant to do.
Once every quarter for fifteen years I travel to Vancouver to do planning with my clients there. Vancouver — a beautiful city with snow capped mountains rising above the Inner Harbor and English Bay — is a perfect place for walking. It’s also a foodie’s paradise. All good, right? There’s only one problem, every time I go to Vancouver I mean not to gain weight. I mean to exercise every day in the great outdoors (unless it rains), and I mean to skip the delicious breads.
But…
My clients have celebratory dinners, the food ordered in for lunch is just too delicious to turn down, I need the food to boost my energy, it’s too cold or rainy to walk, I’ve been on my feet all day and am so exhausted, I really don’t think I can exercise, it’s too rainy to go outside…
What’s so tricky is that it’s easy to understand how my intentions wind up on my meant-to-do list. My excuses are fantastic.
When I got back from my last trip to Vancouver (three pounds heavier) I realized my reasons for actually doing my meant to list needed to be much stronger than my reasons not to do it.
So I did a very Discover Your Yippee exercise, I made a list.
Why do I want to stay fit?
- I feel better and look better.
- I want to be in shape enough to hike the Inca Trail and trek in Nepal.
- I want to be fit enough to ski next winter.
- I need to stay strong and flexible to play with my grandchildren.
- Being able to take on physical challenges fits my self-image and allows me to break stereotypes about women my age.
- If I’m fit I won’t have as many regrets or be fearful and angry about growing old.
WOW!
Now that I understand that keeping up my fitness routine in Vancouver means that I’ll be ratcheting up my self-esteem, breaking stereotypes and hiking in fabulous places, it puts everything in a new light.
If you are not doing your meant-to list, it may be that you don’t realize how high the stakes are.
Take just one item from your meant to list and ask yourself why it’s important.
Why clean my basement?
- I’ll feel more in control.
- I’ll save time because I will (finally) know where everything is.
- I can give some stuff away to charity and create a tax write-off.
- It will save me a lot of hassle when I move next year.
- I won’t have to hate going down there.
- I won’t think about it every Saturday morning when I wake up.
- I will have more space in the laundry room.
Once you have compelling reasons, they can become a source of inspiration. Imagine how you will feel when it is done! Roll around in that feeling, jump up and down and celebrate it.
What small steps can you take today, this week, this month or this year to get your meant-to done? Break it down and plan for it. Put it on your calendar!
When I go back to Vancouver I am going to schedule a day off during my stay, different hours for my planning sessions and scheduled time for outdoor and indoor exercise. My WHY list will help keep me on track.
What have you meant to do and how are you getting on track? Let us know! We’d love to hear from you. We are all in this together.
Until next Tuesday. YIPPEE!
Elizabeth