{"id":4297,"date":"2017-02-17T04:11:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-17T09:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hectic-dad.com\/hectic-dad\/?p=4297"},"modified":"2017-02-23T21:04:20","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T02:04:20","slug":"i-fell-off-the-wagon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hectic-dad.com\/hectic-dad\/i-fell-off-the-wagon\/","title":{"rendered":"I Fell Off The Wagon, Now What?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let’s make this clear from the outset…I’m not writing this post\u00a0to\u00a0you<\/strong>. Nope, not in the least. I’m writing it for your friend. You know, the one you’re always having to ask questions for. That friend who just can’t seem to get it together. Poor guy or gal…they’re just a shining example of how\u00a0not to do it<\/em>. C’mon, you know the friend. The one who makes you ask,\u00a0“What time is\u00a0too early<\/em> to start drinking wine when the kids are being little jerks? Asking for a friend…”<\/p>\n

So we’ll all just agree that I’m writing this for\u00a0your friend<\/strong>. In no way is it aimed at you (or even me, for that matter).<\/p>\n

It’s mid-February folks. We’ve been at this whole 2017 thing for six weeks\u00a0now. If you’re like me you started off the year all shiny and excited. Ready to tackle the new year with gusto. You might’ve even read my post about making changes that last<\/a> and then read\u00a0why new year’s resolutions fail<\/a>. If you didn’t, take a second to get up to speed, I’ll wait…<\/p>\n

Hey, you’re back!<\/p>\n

So what do you think? Did you start the year off right and prepare yourself for success? Are you knocking it out of the park, meeting all your goals and fulfilling your expectations. If you are, I sincerely applaud you (despite the fact that I’m grousing\u00a0about you when you’re not around as one of those\u00a0successful people<\/em>). Really, I do applaud you, because despite sounding so eloquent in those two posts, I’m facing disappointments from January yet again .<\/p>\n

It’s not so much that I set resolutions that I didn’t stick to. I took the time and set some S.M.A.R.T. targets. I even called\u00a0them\u00a0targets<\/em> so that my friend Andrew wouldn’t whine about my calling them\u00a0“goals”. Everything on the list was doable and measurable.<\/p>\n

Yet, I’ve got a fistful\u00a0of fails among the successes. And I’m frustrated by it. January was a mixed-bag for me, and I’m trying to figure out why.<\/p>\n

\"\"Let’s use an example close to all of us…this blog. I had an awesome editorial calendar lined up for January. In mid-November I put together a list of the things that I wanted to write about as 2016 came to a close and 2017 dawned. It was a well-conceived list of topics that fit together. Not only were they timely, but they were going to act as the foundation for the rest of the blog posts throughout 2017. We were\u00a0going to take a journey through 2017 together and end up\u00a0so much better<\/strong> than how we started.<\/p>\n

And then real life happened. I had a planned knee surgery on December 30th. I’d known about it for weeks, so I\u00a0thought<\/em> I’d accounted for it in my editorial calendar. But I planned to do too much\u00a0and under-prepared. The surgery went well and\u00a0then I started physical therapy.\u00a0What I didn’t account for was the sheer effort required during the\u00a0four weeks of physical therapy. I would go to\u00a0PT for 30 minutes, twice a week. And each time I left I was exhausted!\u00a0So exhausted I couldn’t move…or think. The worst part was, I couldn’t get my act together\u00a0even after I recognized the problem of exhaustion at the end of the first week. Did I set myself up for success the night before rehab by setting out things to read or do while I was sitting down icing my knee? Nope. Did I prepare for the fact that I would be able to do a lot less after PT? Nope. I kept acting like I was suddenly going to turn into Superman and be able to do everything that I\u00a0normally<\/em> did.<\/p>\n

And that led to setbacks\u00a0and frustration. I would berate myself for not preparing and try to\u00a0power through<\/em> the situation. And eventually I’d collapse on the couch exhausted from\u00a0over-exertion. I wouldn’t face the fact\u00a0I have limits.<\/p>\n

The biggest hit was to my writing, especially for the blog. Since I didn’t appropriately plan, I’d get behind in other things. Stuff that had\u00a0hard deadlines<\/em>. Things\u00a0that had to be done at specific\u00a0times or days. And those things took precedence. The blog languished. Then I’d get mad because I wasn’t writing. And that wouldn’t help the cause. Can you say “death spiral”?<\/p>\n

Then my Mom (of all people) pointed out that I hadn’t posted in a while. She told me that she checks the blog every day and that she was getting tired of doing that with nothing to read. It’s pretty bad when your 80+ year old Mom is nagging you about your blog. Talk about boarding\u00a0the guilt train!<\/p>\n

So what did I do? The same thing that every introverted, self-reflecting, nerd does…I went to the internet and started researching what to do when I fell off the wagon.<\/p>\n

\"\"Let’s face it,\u00a0the gyms are emptying out and lots of folks are scratching their\u00a0heads on ways to reset and restart. And I’m absolutely in that camp (not the gym camp, but the reset and restart camp). There were dozens of articles about the problem, especially related to exercise and dieting. And lists. OMG there are tons of lists out there to help you reset and restart.<\/p>\n

But after thinking about it for a while, a list makes a lot of sense in this case. What I had tried didn’t work. The real reason doesn’t matter. It’s just a fact…some things worked and some didn’t. That’s life. The point is that the entire year hasn’t been lost. Shoot, we’re still at the very start of 2017. So I’ve got a list that you can use to reset and restart. And the best part of this list…the part that sets it apart from all the others you might find…it’s got\u00a0Music Videos<\/strong>!<\/p>\n