100 Things I Will Do In 2010 – February Update
The month of February was really life-changing for me. It really helped me figure out what I want and what I don’t want out of life. Big changes are going to be coming for me and I am full of nothing but excitement for them. I knocked quite a few items off my list in February and by the end of March I should have another five or six done. I’ve decided that I’m also going to keep adding to this list through the year and keep track of other fun memories.
Finished in February:
- 7 – Go snowboarding at Whistler – went during the Olympics in Feb!
- 34 – Walk in the rain - a Squamish necessity!
- 63 – Start a conversation with 50 strangers - probably did close to double this # during Feb alone :D
- 78 – Ride through the glades – rode the glades at Blue Mountain and then at Whistler and loved it!
- 85 – Watch the clouds drift by - sat and watched the clouds drift through the mountains every chance I got out west
- 86 – Watch a sunrise - watched it come up behind the mountains in Squamish
- 88 – Watch a sunset - watched it on the bus ride back from Whistler
- 93 – Ride on a powder day - got to do this twice at Whistler… best 2 days of riding in my entire life
March – new mini goals
- Go the month without watching TV
- Finish my current major freelance project
- Go vegetarian for 21 days
- Do a FS 180 on a kicker
- Do a FS boardslide
- Get under 235
- Finish 3 books
- Go to at least 8 Muay Thai classes
- Finish my 1 and 5 year goals
2010 List – as of March 1st, 2010
- Create a new set of 1 year and 5 year goals – going to finish these in March
- Get a new tattoo - my planned reward for when I get down to 200 pounds
- Get my advanced-green ranking in Muay Thai – went back to class yesterday and plan on being back in advanced class by the end of March
- Go skydiving – going this summer
- Explore an abandoned building – making plans to do this in Detroit – thanks Myla!
- Climb the CN Tower in under 30 minutes – will do this at the WWF climb on April 17, 2010
- DONE – Snowboard at Whistler – went during the Olympics in Feb!
- Stomp a FS 180 off a kicker – gonna nail this in March!
- Do a proper FS/BS boardslide – can do BS boardslides now and will get a FS in March
- Spend a weekend camping with my dog - going in May
- Beat last years record of 30 snow days – at 24 days now
- Get down under 200 pounds – aiming for a 5 pounds a month pace which is somewhat conservative
- Take my Mom to the Art Gallery
- Get rid of clutter from my room – in process
- Ride 50 km on my bike in one go - June 6, 2010 – signed up for the 2010 Ride for Heart 50km ride
- Build 5 Halloween props – got all my materials gathered
- Build a fake disemboweled torso out of latex/foam
- Take my Dad to a football game
- Learn to rollerblade
- Make 95% of the food I eat from scratch – good so far
- Get 5 new freelance clients - 1 down
- Do a 48 hour weekend fast
- Learn 5 magic tricks - got a wicked teacher for this! Thanks Anastasia!
- Go to the Science Centre
- Go to the ROM
- Deadlift 315 pounds - back to lifting this month
- Squat 225 pounds - back to lifting this month
- Read 25 books – 2 down
- DONE – Spend a weekend snowboarding with my little brothers – went a couple of times
- Grow a herb garden
- Climb a tree
- Ride the entire single-track trail at Albion Hills – back to biking this month
- Ride the entire single-track trail at Glen Eden – back to biking this month
- DONE – Walk in the rain – a Squamish necessity!
- Become proficient at AJAX
- Do a 22 km run – Sunday October 17, 2010 – Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon
- Launch the zombiepedia website
- Go to the carnival
- Bake a cake
- Volunteer my time for a good cause
- Try being vegetarian again for 21 days – doing this for the whole month of March
- Try being vegan for 21 days – going to do a raw diet with Carolina for the month of April
- DONE – Get a raise
- Revise and stick to a new budget – budget done, now to stick to it
- Have a 100% TV-free month – doing this in March – I have a lot I want to get done this month
- Build a Facebook application
- Take a night class
- Paint a giant painting
- Go to the shooting range – making plans to do this in Detroit – thanks Myla!
- Learn 5 new effects in After Effects
- Teach the dog to not be scared of the nail clipper – making progress
- Make a new snowboarding video - have been taking a lot of footage lately
- Create 10 website layouts - 1 down, working on 2
- Build my portfolio website
- Try indoor rock-climbing
- Learn to Salsa
- Donate blood
- Make a gift for someone by hand
- Visit a Renaissance fair
- Snowboard in the summer - http://www.snowparkniagara.com/ – aww yeah!
- Be part of a zombie movie - shooting in the spring!
- Start a new business venture
- DONE – Start a conversation with 50 strangers – probably did close to double this # during Feb alone :D
- Learn to make a Paella
- Decorate a Munny!
- Go on a random and pointless roadtrip
- Write a children’s book
- Become a triathlete – changed to June 19, 2010 – Guelph Lake Try-a-tri Triathlon – 375m swim / 10km bike / 2.5km run – started swim training
- Try wakeboarding
- Train with a champion
- Zombie around with my ghouly friends!
- Sculpt something out of clay
- Give a speech
- DONE – Re-pierce my labret – it didn’t close up as much as I thought
- Eat chicken wings in Buffalo
- Spend an entire day at the beach
- Go on a brewery tour
- DONE – Ride through the glades - rode the glades at Blue Mountain and then at Whistler and loved it!
- Surprise someone
- Work at a haunt – making plans! :D
- Do 10 pull ups - currently training
- Do 100 push ups - currently training
- Go to a big music festival
- Learn Yoga
- DONE – Watch the clouds drift by – sat and watched the clouds drift through the mountains every chance I got out west
- DONE – Watch a sunrise - watched it come up behind the mountains in Squamish
- Go kayaking
- DONE – Watch a sunset – watched it on the bus ride back from Whistler
- Hike part of the Bruce trail
- Do a handstand pushup
- Eat a tasting menu
- Eat 5 things I’ve never tried before
- DONE – Ride on a powder day - got to do this twice at Whistler… best 2 days of riding in my entire life
- Build a haunted gingerbread house – found a sweet blueprint
- Explore a cave
- Make a Turducken!
- Finish 3 major projects at work
- Reformat my laptop - in process
- Backup all my important files - in process
- Eat at a White Castle – making plans to do this in Detroit – thanks Myla!
Other memorable fun stuff from 2010 not on the list:
- Went to the Olympics!
- Started a chant at a Hockey game in a bar
- Officially shelved my shy side
- Did a 600m vertical hike up the Stawamus Chief
- Learned to love side hits
- Discovered my Canadian pride
- Did a wicked overnight road trip to Mont Tremblant
- Had a zombie board game night
- Made lobsters for the first time ever
- Learned to slow things down a bit
100 Things I will do in 2010 – January Update
January is over, so as promised, here is my updated list. Finished a few, and underway / planning a bunch more! I’m finding that keeping this list is really motivating for me and I’m really looking forward to finishing them all off. I’m starting to get in touch with people to setup dates for some of these and they feel more and more like reality and less like wishful thinking.
Finished in January:
- 29 – Spend a weekend snowboarding with my little brothers – off on another 3 day @ Blue next week too!
- 43 – Get a raise
- 74 – Re-pierce my labret – it didn’t close up as much as I thought
February – new mini goals
- Finish up my new set of goals
- Finish my current major freelance project
- Go snowboarding at least 10 times!
- Get comfortable doing 180s on mild slopes
- Practice hopping into the boardslide position on a piece of wood / fake rail
- Get under 235
- Finish 3 books
2010 List – as of February 1st, 2010
- Create a new set of 1 year and 5 year goals
- Get a new tattoo - my planned reward for when I get down to 200 pounds
- Get my advanced-green ranking in Muay Thai – went back to class yesterday and plan on being back in advanced class by the end of March
- Go skydiving – going this summer
- Explore an abandoned building – making plans to do this in Detroit – thanks Myla!
- Climb the CN Tower in under 30 minutes – will do this at the WWF climb on April 17, 2010
- Snowboard at Whistler – will be there February 19 with Ian, Sacha and Chris
- Stomp a FS 180 off a kicker – will get it done this season!
- Do a proper FS/BS boardslide – will get it done this season!
- Spend a weekend camping with my dog
- Beat last years record of 30 snow days – at 14 days now and will be riding almost every other day this month, shouldn’t be a problem
- Get down under 200 pounds – aiming for a 5 pounds a month pace which is somewhat conservative
- Take my Mom to the Art Gallery
- Get rid of clutter from my room
- Ride 50 km on my bike in one go - June 6, 2010 – signed up for the 2010 Ride for Heart 50km ride
- Build 5 Halloween props – got all my materials gathered
- Build a fake disemboweled torso out of latex/foam
- Take my Dad to a football game
- Learn to rollerblade
- Make 95% of the food I eat from scratch – good so far
- Get 5 new freelance clients - 1 down
- Do a 48 hour weekend fast
- Learn 5 magic tricks
- Go to the Science Centre
- Go to the ROM
- Deadlift 315 pounds
- Squat 225 pounds
- Read 25 books – 1 down
- DONE – Spend a weekend snowboarding with my little brothers – off on another 3 day @ Blue next week too!
- Grow a herb garden
- Climb a tree
- Ride the entire single-track trail at Albion Hills
- Ride the entire single-track trail at Glen Eden
- Walk in the rain
- Become proficient at AJAX
- Do a 22 km run – Sunday October 17, 2010 – Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon
- Launch the zombiepedia website
- Go to the carnival
- Bake a cake
- Volunteer my time for a good cause
- Try being vegetarian again for 21 days
- Try being vegan for 21 days
- DONE – Get a raise
- Revise and stick to a new budget – budget done, now to stick to it
- Have a 100% TV-free month
- Build a Facebook application
- Take a night class
- Paint a giant painting
- Go to the shooting range – making plans to do this in Detroit – thanks Myla!
- Learn 5 new effects in After Effects
- Teach the dog to not be scared of the nail clipper – making progress
- Make a new snowboarding video - have been taking a lot of footage lately
- Create 10 website layouts - 1 down, working on 2
- Build my portfolio website
- Try indoor rock-climbing
- Learn to Salsa
- Donate blood
- Make a gift for someone by hand
- Visit a Renaissance fair
- Snowboard in the summer - http://www.snowparkniagara.com/ – aww yeah!
- Be part of a zombie movie - shooting in the spring!
- Start a new business venture
- Start a conversation with 50 strangers… stranger danger! – not really counting this accurately I guess, but at 5+… easy to do on ski lifts..
- Learn to make a Paella
- Decorate a Munny!
- Go on a random and pointless roadtrip
- Write a children’s book
- Become a triathlete – Sunday August 15, 2010 – Toronto Island Triathalon – 750m swim/30km bike / 7.5km run
- Try wakeboarding
- Train with a champion
- Zombie around with my ghouly friends!
- Sculpt something out of clay
- Give a speech
- DONE – Re-pierce my labret – it didn’t close up as much as I thought
- Eat chicken wings in Buffalo
- Spend an entire day at the beach
- Go on a brewery tour
- Ride through the glades - hopefully at Whistler
- Surprise someone
- Work at a haunt – making plans! :D
- Do 10 pull ups
- Do 100 push ups
- Go to a big music festival
- Learn Yoga
- Watch the clouds drift by
- Watch a sunrise
- Go kayaking
- Watch a sunset
- Hike part of the Bruce trail
- Do a handstand pushup
- Eat a tasting menu
- Eat 5 things I’ve never tried before
- Ride on a powder day - praying that I can do this at Whistler this Month
- Build a haunted gingerbread house – found a sweet blueprint
- Explore a cave
- Make a Turducken!
- Finish 3 major projects at work
- Reformat my laptop - in process
- Backup all my important files - in process
- Eat at a White Castle – making plans to do this in Detroit – thanks Myla!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
100 Things I Will Do in 2010
I like to do stuff. I dislike not doing stuff. So to keep me doing stuff, I came up with a list of things I will do before the end of 2010. Why make a list of things you aren’t going to do when you could do the opposite?
I did something similar a couple of years ago and it worked out really well and I ended up finishing most of the list. This time I made a list of 100 things. Some of them are pretty mundane and simple and some are a little more involved. Some of the things can be done in a moment or a day and some will take the entire year. Nothing really major – these are all things that I believe I will accomplish before the end of this year.
I’ll keep this updated at the end of each month! Time to get cracking!
2010 List
- Create a new set of 1 year and 5 year goals
- Get a new tattoo – my planned reward for when I get down to 200 pounds
- Get my advanced-green ranking in Muay Thai
- Go skydiving
- Explore an abandoned building
- Climb the CN Tower in under 30 minutes
- Snowboard at Whistler
- Stomp a FS 180 off a kicker
- Do a proper FS/BS boardslide
- Spend a weekend camping with my dog
- Beat last years record of 30 snow days
- Get down under 200 pounds
- Take my Mom to the Art Gallery
- Get rid of clutter from my room
- Ride 50 km on my bike in one go
- Build 5 Halloween props
- Build a fake disemboweled torso out of latex/foam
- Take my Dad to a football game
- Learn to rollerblade
- Make 95% of the food I eat from scratch
- Get 5 new freelance clients
- Do a 48 hour weekend fast
- Learn 5 magic tricks
- Go to the Science Centre
- Go to the ROM
- Deadlift 315 pounds
- Squat 225 pounds
- Read 25 books
- Spend a weekend snowboarding with my little brothers
- Grow a herb garden
- Climb a tree
- Ride the entire single-track trail at Albion Hills
- Ride the entire single-track trail at Glen Eden
- Walk in the rain
- Become proficient at AJAX
- Do a 22 km run
- Launch the zombiepedia website
- Go to the carnival
- Bake a cake
- Volunteer my time for a good cause
- Try being vegetarian again for 21 days
- Try being vegan for 21 days
- Get a raise
- Revise and stick to a new budget
- Have a 100% TV-free month
- Build a Facebook application
- Take a night class
- Paint a giant painting
- Go to the shooting range
- Learn 5 new effects in After Effects
- Teach the dog to not be scared of the nail clipper
- Make a new snowboarding video
- Create 10 website layouts
- Build my portfolio website
- Try indoor rock-climbing
- Learn to Salsa
- Donate blood
- Make a gift for someone by hand
- Visit a Renaissance fair
- Snowboard in the summer
- Be part of a zombie movie
- Start a new business venture
- Talk to 50 strangers… stranger danger!
- Learn to make a Paella
- Decorate a Munny!
- Go on a random and pointless roadtrip
- Write a children’s book
- Become a triathlete
- Try wakeboarding
- Train with a champion
- Zombie around with my ghouly friends!
- Sculpt something out of clay
- Give a speech
- Re-pierce my labret
- Eat chicken wings in Buffalo
- Spend an entire day at the beach
- Go on a brewery tour
- Ride through the glades
- Surprise someone
- Work at a haunt
- Do 10 pull ups
- Do 100 push ups
- Go to a big music festival
- Learn Yoga
- Watch the clouds drift by
- Watch a sunrise
- Go kayaking
- Watch a sunset
- Hike part of the Bruce trail
- Do a handstand pushup
- Eat a tasting menu
- Eat 5 things I’ve never tried before
- Ride on a powder day
- Build a haunted gingerbread house
- Explore a cave
- Make a Turducken!
- Finish 3 major projects at work
- Reformat my laptop
- Backup all my important files
- Eat at a White Castle
Over the past year I’ve really struggled with keeping myself consistent in my diet and exercise routines. It’s lead to me losing almost half of my progress and thinking about that has really made me feel terrible and even less motivated.
I’ve spent the last few days going over all the contributing factors and possible reasons as to why I had let myself do this. I thought about where I could be physically and mentally now had I not let up. In the end, I came to the conclusion that everything I thought up of was just a bunch of bullshit excuses. There’s no point in dwelling on all of that negativity. The fact is that it all boils down to me making the choice to be lazy. I have nothing to gain by focusing on all those negative thoughts and they will serve only to keep me demotivated.
Instead, I am going to focus on the positives. I have a lot of positivity in my life right now and a lot of things to look forward to. I already know what I need to do to get me towards my goals because I’ve done it before and I recorded each step of it here. So I’m going to take a few days to re-read my old journal entries and re-live those accomplishments. I’ll take that energy and focus it on getting back to what I had previously achieved and then even more. I already know it can be done and I have decided to do it again.
December 9th, 2009 Weigh-in
My last mini goal was to hit 250 by today and I made it! Next mini goal is set at 245 for 2 weeks from now.
Taken on Wednesday December 9th, 2009
Weight: 253 (-4.2 lbs / -41.2 lbs)
Bodyfat %: 30.8 % (-0.7% / -5.1%)
Hydration %:47.5 % (+0.4% / +3.5%)
I am on pace to hit my next mini goal and by maintaining this pace, I will hit my first main goal of 230 by my birthday midway through February. I expect the losses to slow down some somewhere around then at which point I will change up my workouts and switch up my nutrition plan to keep things motoring along.
November 25th, 2009 – Weekly Weigh-In
I’m going to record my weight once a week now on Wednesday mornings and record the results here. I chose Wednesday because I think it will give me the most accurate measure – I typically take my cheat meals on a day on the weekend which ends up adding water weight, all of which should be gone by Wednesday.
Anyway, I weighed in at 254 today – just over 10 pounds down from 10 days ago. It feels really good, even though I know most of that is water weight. My future losses should level off in coming weeks. At my current size I can safely lose 2-3 pounds a week without losing muscle. My first mid-term goal is to hit 230 by my birthday on February 13th. To make that goal, I need to lose weight at a steady rate of 2.1 pounds per week. Judging from the rates I’ve lost weight in the past, I will hit my goal by keeping consistent.
Next short term goal is 250 by December 5th!
Overall Fitness Goal Ideas
Did some thinking about what I want the fitness goals I want to reach. These are just some overall goals. They aren’t yet measurable because I need to spend a bit more time making them so. I’d rather write them down and get something started then to wait until they’re perfect – something I do too often.
- Increase flexibility and balance – through Yoga / balance board work
- Full side / front splits
- Increase endurance – through long, low intensity cardio
- Run 20 km
- Bike 100 km
- Board all day
- Increase explosive strength – through plyometrics / HIIT
- Improve high jump / broad jump
- Sport-specific – through practice
- Improve ollie / 180 / presses
Next step is to come up with a rough exercise routine – probably split by day to focus on each of these. I’m not going to get down into super-specific routines. Instead I’ll come up with a list of things I can do for each goal and make sure I do some of them, then do more the next time.
Today’s workout will be cardio – time to setup the recumbent bike. I got space cleared out in my workout room.
In other news… I’ve decided to stop buying pop. I’ll still have it every now and then when I’m out, but as I am cutting back on that as well, it should be down close to nil.
Goal Statement
Below is my new goal statement. This has been written on cards and left in various places I will see it. The basic idea is that I am advertising the idea to myself to force my mind to accept it on a subconscious level. Much in the way that advertising causes us to subconsciously recognize brands, my goals will be imprinted on my mind to promote success.
The goal itself has these qualities:
- Dated – there is a firm deadline that will give me a sense of urgency to accomplish this goal.
- Personal Tense – my goal starts with “I” – this is my goal – when I read it I will identify with it personally
- Present Tense – written as though I have already achieved it “I AM”- this promotes the feeling of accomplishment in my mind when I read it
- Positive Emotion – written with the emotion that I will feel when I accomplish my goal
- Emphasis – added emphasis to the personal and present tense
- Positive and Specific Goal – my goal is very specific and positive
I am writing my goals this way because the human mind is wired to take everything it reads literally and this format is the most acceptable to it in terms of imprinting a suggestion. I need to do this to keep my mind focused on what I want. I know that if I don’t, I’ll get distracted again.
Current Goal Statement:
My Goal – by February 13th, 2010
I am so happy and energized now that I weigh 230 pounds. My size 36 jeans and large shirts fit perfectly and it feels great to look good in my clothes.
Refocused and writing again.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted again. Whenever I stop posting usually coincides with a downward slide in my habits. Without sugar coating it or making excuses, I’ve been lazy over the last year. My weight has gone all the way up to 260 pounds. I’m still down 30 from my highest but I’m also up 50 from my lowest – and that sucks. I still feel very strong and I still look a lot better at 260 this time than when I was originally 260 due to increased muscle mass. But it’s time to get back at this.
I created a new set of goals – something that I had been neglecting. This is the main issue I had with getting put off track. If I don’t have a proper set of goals I’m just floating around with no direction. Hard to keep focused when you don’t know what you’re focusing on.
I’m going to focus on two main things:
- Setting and re-evaluating goals – long-term, mid-term and short-term
- Writing here – every day – even just random thoughts
If I keep focused on my goals everything else will come naturally from that alone. If I keep writing here it will force me to stay on track.
I changed the layout of my blog. I got side-tracked into trying to make it into something more than what I should have. This blog will go back to what I originally intended – my personal journal and information I find interesting / helpful. I will be completely honest and blunt in my writings here and keep it focused on what I am going to achieve.
Even as I finish this entry, I feel myself with more energy and motivation already. Time to get at it!
Day 0/63 – 9 Week Challenge Begins / amanreborn.com redesign
I did my testing for the 9 week challenge at Kombat Arts this morning. My legs are killing me but I feel amazing and I am really set on keeping my focus and pushing myself over the next 9 weeks.
We ended up being tested on the following:
- Wall Squat – maxed out at 2 minutes – I think I could have kept going and I’m going to retest this myself tomorrow to see what my max is – snowboarding really helped with this one
- Plank – maxed out at 2 minutes – I was surprised I made it this long and I started shaking within the first 30 seconds
- Handstand Push ups – none – I couldn’t get into a handstand even – I’m really going to work on this and I think a lot of it was in my head
- Full Pull ups – none – This didn’t surprise me with the weight I gained over the last 8 months – I was able to go from none to 4 at the last 9 week challenge so I know I can improve this
- Hill Run – 4:09 – Ran up and down the ski hill at Centennial park twice. It was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and by the end my legs were jelly.
- Weight – 257 – This got me really disappointed in myself – I was 218 at the end of the last 9 week challenge. Time to move forward though – live and learn.
9 weeks from now is August 16th – 63 days to focus on improving myself. Here are my goals for the challenge:
- Wall Squat – over 3 minutes
- Plank – 3 minutes
- Handstand Push ups – 4
- Full Pull ups – 4
- Hill Run – under 3:15
- Weight – Under 235
I also redesigned amanreborn.com. I thought the old look was too dark and I was getting bored of it. The new design is a lot brighter. A new look for a new start!