More importantly, I really want to create a dialogue with and between the awesome members of our community in the comments to this post. If you are reading this via an RSS Reader, please do me a favor and come over to the site so you can engage in this conversation.

I want to ask a few questions and then give you my thoughts on each. In the comments, please share your perspective on this super-important topic.

Do You Think Fitness is Important to Your Marriage?

Obviously, my answer here is Yes! based on my last post and posts from the early days of the site where I made the case for Getting Fit and Having a Healthy Marriage.

Recently, I’ve become even more enthusiastic, and I think that’s because my mindset has changed.  Instead of viewing exercise as a self-centered activity to simply look good or feel good about myself, I’ve really started looking at it as a service to Bethany and my children.  Not only is my self-confidence improved, but so are my moods, health, enthusiasm and energy.

I am a better husband and father when I am fit (or working towards a state of better fitness).

Do You Exercise Regularly? If Not, Would You Like To?

For the last few months, I can certainly say that my workouts have been consistent.  My history with exercise has been one of up-and-downs and starts-and-stops.  My weight has fluctuated 40 pounds several times since college along with my overall wellness.

I honestly think I’ve gotten beyond that with the help of a realistic and effective training program as well as some great accountability partners.  I am a regular exerciser now.

Do You Ever Exercise With Your Spouse? Would You Like To?

Sort of.  Lately, this hasn’t been much of an option for us as Bethany is currently 9 1/2 months pregnant.  However, I’d definitely like to exercise with her as much as possible after the new baby gets here and everything settles down.

Some of my best memories of our dating years (and pre-kid years) include tennis matches, shooting baskets and taking long walks and bike rides.  We’ve allowed life to get in the way of this form of physical connectedness, and I do miss it.

The program I’m following now would definitely allow us to workout together at home as long as we could find a time when the kids are asleep (or they could join us).  This could be an issue with a newborn!  If we can’t exercise together, then we’ll be sure to allow each other a little time to workout individually, and hopefully we’ll be able to do so together from time-t0-time.

What Are the Biggest Obstacles Keeping You from Getting in Shape?

This one’s easy: TIME!

One of the main reasons my previous fitness programs have stalled is that they weren’t sustainable for the long haul.  For example, P90X requires an hour to an hour-and-a-half workouts six days per week.  This sounds doable and does get results, but how long would your lifestyle allow you to maintain this before you get derailed or simply rundown?

Also, it is just so easy to get sidetracked during the course of a busy day and miss a workout.  When this happens, one day turns into two, then three and then I say “might as well restart at lunchtime on Monday.”  Except Monday brings a lunch meeting and the whole plan goes down the tubes.  Hey Gym, see in you six months when New Year’s Day rolls around!

My current program allows me to workout at home and it takes less than 30 minutes a day, five days per week (and two of those days let me get outside when the weather permits, which is awesome).  So, in the time it used to take me to drive to the gym and back, I can knock out a great workout in the morning before work.

This works great for me because all of the distractions of the day can’t get in the way!

Let’s Talk!

I am really interested to hear what you have to say about the role of exercise and fitness in your marriage.  I thought about doing a survey on this topic, but I’d much rather have an open dialogue and get your honest perspective.

If you’re going to comment on one post this year, I’d really like it if you chose this one.  Thanks!

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Check out the original post and leave a comment on the blog here: What Role Does Fitness Play in Your Marriage?

Tags: Ask the Community, Exercise, Fitness, Individual Fulfillment, Time Management

Related posts:

1. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: The Realization
2. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: The Reasons
3. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: Where Do I Find the Time?

You see, I started anew this week on a quest for improved fitness.  You may have heard of the P90X home training system or seen one of their super-persuasive infomercials.  Trust me, it’s the real deal if you have the right sadistic serious attitude to take on some varied, but quite intense, workouts.

I know it’s the real deal not from my three days of agony training thus far, but because I actually bought and used this system over a year ago when Engaged Marriage was but a twinkle in my eye.  I used it for about 10 weeks to build my base fitness level before training to ride my first Century (100 miles) bike ride on my 30th birthday last July.

I was truly in the best shape of my life.  Alas, as I approach my 31st birthday and the birth of our third child this July, I sit here in probably the worst shape of my life.  Completely damn annoying Funny how that happens.

Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage

As I look back at the last year, I can see how I basically got burned out after the big culminating event with the Century and just never returned to my active habits.  I actually turned my attention to a new hobby obsession at that point…and you’re reading it right now!

That’s right, I started Engaged Marriage at the end of August 2009 right after we returned from a vacation.  And unless you were one of the 10 people who were hanging out here in those early days, I doubt you’ve ever read a series I wrote called Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage.

Even though my writing’s changed a bit since then, and the formatting of the posts is a bit strange, I actually enjoyed reading the series again recently and ended up motivating myself to get my fat pleasantly plump butt back in gear!  Here are the links if you’d like to check them out:

1. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: The Realization
2. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: The Reasons
3. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: Where Do I Find the Time?

Motivated by Marriage and Family

Have you ever been motivated by the stark realization that you aren’t practicing what you preach?

Well, that was my initial spark when I thought back to all I was doing in preparation for my 30th birthday, looked at the Facebook pictures of my exhaustion joy at the end of my Century ride, and then rediscovered those posts where I was telling the world why they should remain fit.

However, I’ve since realized that my motivation runs deeper.  Here a few of the thoughts that have weighed (literally and figuratively) on me lately and pushed me back to a healthier lifestyle:

• My wife is so strong and tough at 8 months of pregnancy…I should be more like her.
• We have a new baby on the way…I need to get ready physically for all that entails.
• I have a very crazy active 5 year old boy who needs an equally active Daddy…and a sweet 3 year old girl who needs her Daddy to be patient and “present” even after he’s done playing outside with the crazy boy.
• My Dad is in very poor health with lots of heart problems and damage from years of abuse…I need to take care of my own heart.
• A good family friend is battling the last stages of ovarian cancer…I can’t take my health for granted.
• God has been way too good to me and blessed me with all that I could ever ask for…and it’s only right that I honor the awesome gift of a healthy and able body by keeping it that way.
• I preach taking a proactive approach to marriage and life every day…and I need to apply to this to all areas of my own life.

So I have a lot to think about each morning at 6 a.m. as I head downstairs to kick my own ass.  And even more to pray in thanksgiving about when I lay down next to my beautiful wife each evening.

And it makes me smile with every painful step as my body reminds me that I’ve been complacent for too long…

So, what are some of your best sources of motivation?

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Check out the original post and leave a comment on the blog here: Dedicated to Fitness, Motivated by Marriage

Tags: Exercise, Fitness, Individual Fulfillment, My Story, Time Management

Related posts:

1. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: The Realization
2. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: The Reasons
3. Get Fit and Have a Healthy Marriage: Where Do I Find the Time?

Does this sound familiar?

You feel insanely busy with a lot of pressing demands for your time and energy.  You know you need to take care of yourself, but you inevitably put your needs last as you focus on taking care of your family, helping others and advancing your career.

Those things are obviously important, but the truth is that we can accomplish more in all areas of life when we improve ourselves…and we have to quit using those outside influences as our crutch or excuse.

If you’ve been around this site very long, you know that I believe strongly in a holistic approach to marriage.  There is a reason I write about topics like individual fulfillment,  spirituality, and finances & careers. 

A healthy life feeds a healthy marriage, and vice-versa.  Improve your life…for the sake of your spouse.

I encourage you to check out the seven success principles summarized below.  In each case, I’ve suggested a book that will help you take your understanding and inspiration to a deeper level.

(By the way, if you were involved in the Improve Yourself! 2010 challenge-and you actually completed it- these tips may sound familiar.  However, I’ve condensed them to focus on the core qualities and put them all into this single post for easy reading.)

1. Set SMART Goals!

I am a huge fan of goal-setting and believe it makes a profound difference in the level of success we achieve in our lives. Based on my own experience and lots of reading on the topic, I recommend the  SMART Goals approach to setting specific aspirations in all areas of your life, including your marriage.

What is a SMART Goal?

Specific – What are you going to do? Why are you doing it? How will you accomplish it?

Measurable – Establish concrete measures of your progress. Your goal must be quantifiable.

Attainable – Challenge yourself, but be realistic.

Relevant – Be sure your goal fits into your overall lifestyle and greater desires.

Time-Bound – Every goal needs a completion date associated with it.

Recommended Resource:

The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield.  This book is not specific to SMART goals, but it is a classic best-seller on the topic of achieving what you want in life.

2. Take Baby Steps!

If you have heard of Dave Ramsey and his financial advice, you are certainly familiar with his Baby Steps for Financial Freedom.  My wife and I followed this plan to pay off $54,500 in debt, and we continue to apply these principles in our family financial planning.

The great thing about the “baby step” approach is that it is fully applicable to any area where you want to improve yourself and meet some big goals.  Taking baby steps is simply the act of breaking down your overall goal into bite-sized chunks.

Every day that you apply yourself to achieving success is another baby step in your journey of self-improvement.  If your goals are fitness-related, it could be losing one pound, exercising three times this week, or even passing on dessert one evening.  Don’t get overwhelmed and discouraged by a larger goal of losing 20 pounds.  Just keeping baby-stepping your way toward success each day!

Recommended Resource:

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey. This book is a personal favorite of mine and a book that changed my family’s lives.  If you want to get your finances in order, pay off debt and “change your family tree”, then you must read it.  And Dave’s entire approach is centered on his famous Baby Step system to meeting big goals.

3. It’s About Time!

If you have not read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you owe it to yourself to check it out.  The seven habits Dr. Covey outlines are legitimately vital and practical.

My favorite principle from the book is Habit 3: Put First Things First, which is focused on personal time management.  Basically, there are four areas, or quadrants, where we can classify every task in our lives: Urgent/Important, Not Urgent/Important, Urgent/Not Important,  and Not Urgent/Not Important.  The key to success is to maximize the time you spend in “Quadrant II: Not Urgent/Important” and this is where many of us struggle.

When we manage our time effectively enough to focus on issues that do not require immediate attention (not urgent) but are in fact important to our lives, we become strategic planners and we take actions that will benefit us in the long-term.  If you are a regular reader of Engaged Marriage and/or you put the tips from post into action, you are spending at least part of your time on Quadrant II activities.  Nice work!

Except in emergency situations, there is nothing necessarily urgent about your fitness level, your financial strength, your spiritual life or even your marriage.  That’s why it’s so easy to get into a rut in all of these areas.  When we lose focus and don’t manage our time effectively, the more urgent (even though less important) tasks begin to rule our days.

By setting goals and devoting your time to meeting them, you are setting yourself up for success and becoming effective in that area of your life.  When you use your time wisely, you not only help yourself, but you are making progress in your marriage and family life as well.

Recommended Resource:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  If you want to learn how to be more effective with your time and efforts in all areas of life, I highly recommended that you read this best-selling book.

4. Personal Responsibility is Everything!

Here is an incredibly simple but extremely powerful concept: it is your problem, your job and your responsibility.

Personal responsibility is key.  That’s what QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life is all about.

In QBQ, John Miller implores us to get away from the blame-game and our inclination for making excuses for the challenges we face in both business and our personal lives.  Instead of asking who is to blame for the situation, we should ask, “What can I do to improve the situation?” so we can take ownership of the problem and take proactive action to solve it.

Whether you make great progress toward your goals in life or you struggle, the results you see are directly related to the effort and commitment that you apply.  I often find that I get off-track from my goals and priorities, and I make a lot of excuses to myself to justify it.  However, I actually get the results I desire when I quit my pity-party and take responsibility for my actions and my results.

Recommended Resource:

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life by John G. Miller.  This is an awesome book that has the power to change your life.  I highly recommend that you read it and take its message to heart in your daily life.

5. Don’t Be Perfect, Be Remarkable!

When you actually set goals for your life, one of the lessons you learn quickly is that you can never meet them with the perfection that you initially intend.  I can personally think of many times that I have stumbled along, and progress is never as steady and smooth as I  hope.  However, when I stick with it and focus on success, I know that I am still on the road to be remarkable.

Seth Godin created a book that is centered around a fantastic idea that I have tried to apply to all areas of my own life.  You do not need to be perfect, you simply need to be remarkable in what you do.  That’s what The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable is all about.  It’s an idea book, a manifesto for change and a call to action.  It’s awesome.

So, just what does it mean to be “remarkable”?  The back cover of the book gives some great examples:

Remarkable is being unafraid to stand out.

Remarkable is failing often and then trying again.

Remarkable is having a fire in your belly and an idea that won’t quit.

Remarkable is when you stand for something and make it happen and change the world – or your business or your life – along the way.

It is easy to see how these ideas relate to business and why being remarkable in your career leads to success.  But I don’t think this idea is limited to professional life or entrepreneurship.  Don’t you think you can be remarkable in the way you handle your finances?  In your approach to fitness?  In your marriage?

I do.  And whenever I start to feel lazy, uninspired or apathetic, I take a moment to remind myself of all I hope to achieve in my life.

I certainly fail often.  But, I always try again.  I take a moment to close my eyes and remember the fire in my belly that led me to make such bold statements about my SMART goals and aspirations.  I will change the world, if only for my wife and my family.

Recommended Resource:

The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable which is edited by Seth Godin. This is an awesome book that has the power to change your life.  The book is actually a compilation of short writings by 33 of the world’s smartest business people.  It is built upon the idea of being remarkable, which originated in Seth Godin’s bestseller Purple Cow.

6. Communicate for Success!

When I take some time to reflect on my life and identify areas where I have been successful, I can quickly see that good communication is a key to success.  In my career as a consulting engineer, it’s not math or even reason that sets apart the best engineers and companies.  Nope, it’s the ability to convey complex ideas in understandable terms both in person and in written form.

Engaged Marriage has a lot of growing to do to meet my goals for this site and its reach to married couples throughout the world.  However, I think it’s fair to say that our first 7+ months here have been quite successful.  Obviously, the content is critical for the success of any blog.

But I think the real growth of Engaged Marriage has been fueled by the sense of community that we’ve developed as well as my own efforts in reaching out through social media to colleagues and perspective readers.  I think the recent Love Everyday project provides a good example of this approach.  And it all comes down to a commitment to consistent and effective communication.

The same cause-and-effect relationship exists for most aspects of life: finances, parenting, sports, politics, sales, even war.  High-quality communication is a certain key to success.

And, oh yeah, communication plays a bit of a role in this whole marriage thing as well.

The book behind this success principle is centered around the idea that understanding how our spouse/significant other best communicates is a major help in achieving the extraordinary in our relationships. That’s what The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate is all about.

While working as a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, Dr. Gary Chapman identified five specific love languages:

• Words of Affirmation
• Quality Time
• Receiving Gifts
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch

I bet that even without reading the book you can immediately relate to some of these categories.  Can you already see which areas you speak best in, and which areas apply to your spouse?

The Five Love Languages will lead you through a fun and rewarding process of discovering the love languages in your marriage.  And with that knowledge, you can improve your relationship with your spouse.  See what I mean about the importance of great communication?

Recommended Resource:

The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Dr. Gary Chapman.  This is yet another awesome book that has the power to change your life. I highly recommend that you check out what may be the single most important book you can read for your marriage, aside from The Bible.

7. Don’t Settle for Mediocrity!

If you’ve read many posts here at Engaged Marriage, you have probably picked up on the fact that I feel strongly that we should all be proactive and give our best efforts to our marriage and family life.  One of my favorite mottoes is: “When it comes to the most important relationship in your life, don’t be normal.  Normal sucks.”

I feel the same way about all aspects of my own life: career, spirituality, finances, parenting, friendship, fitness, hobbies, writing and all the rest.  Does this mean that I don’t have bad days in all of these areas?  Does it mean that I am expending insane amounts of energy in all of them all at once to try to be the very best in the world?  Does it mean that I consider myself a failure whenever I slip up in my progress?

Of course not.  I’m a normal guy and I’m human, so I know I won’t be able to excel at all things at all times.  However, that doesn’t mean that I have to settle for mediocrity in my life either.  And I feel passionately that I don’t want to be mediocre, and I always want to be getting better even if it’s only in small increments.

I want to improve myself…life is just too short to do otherwise.

The final book recommendation is all about climbing out of the rut that you find yourself in and seeing the awesome opportunities that are all around you.  No More Mondays by Dan Miller (a fellow contributor to the Love Everyday project by the way) is an awesome book that focuses on helping you find work that you love in both traditional and non-traditional ways.

Although the book focuses on career issues, I believe its lessons and guidance will help you in many areas of your life.  It was actually one of the inspirations behind Engaged Marriage, and I hope you will take a few minutes to read my full book review of No More Mondays and the story of how it motivated me.

Recommended Resource:

No More Mondays: Fire Yourself and Other Revolutionary Ways to Discover Your True Calling at Work by Dan Miller.  I highly recommend that you read this book and take its principles to heart.  I think you’ll love it.

Do You Want Killer Success?

I hope that these seven tips have opened your mind a bit and inspired you to set and meet new goals in your life.  I truly feel that we all have the potential to achieve so much with the gifts that we’ve been given by God.  And we owe it to our spouse and family to be good stewards of the blessings given to each of us.  Be Remarkable!

What success principles have you found most helpful in your own life and marriage?  What other resources would you recommend to help others in the community here grow and achieve personal success?

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life by John G. Miller.

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Thank you for being a subscriber!

Check out the original post and leave a comment on the blog here: Improve Your Life! 7 Keys for Killer Success

Tags: Book Review, Individual Fulfillment, Time Management

Related posts:

1. Improve Yourself! Week 2: Baby Step Your Way to Success
2. Improve Yourself! Week 3: Prioritize Your Time for Progress
3. Improve Yourself! Week 5: Don’t Be Perfect, Be Remarkable!

The votes are in, and the winner of Improve Yourself! 2010 is…[drumroll]…[loud cheering]…[unbridled anticipation]…

…Krystal!  Congratulations Krystal on your well-deserved title of Improve Yourself Champion.  I’ll be contacting you by email to get you your $100 Amazon gift card.

By the way, Krystal wasn’t the only $100 winner in this challenge.  Through the generosity and enthusiasm of my friend Brad Chaffee of Enemy of Debt, Sherry also won $100 for being one of those that joined the challenge from Enemy of Debt and stuck it through to the end.  Congratulations Sherry, and I hope you have enjoyed yourself enough to stick around at Engaged Marriage now that the challenge is over.

And the “Non-Winners” Are…

As the weeks wore on, many of those that began the challenge with such enthusiasm at the turn of the New Year began to drop out.  As promised in my announcement post, it is now time to post the names of the lost.  This is all in good fun of course, but if you find your name here, you have some explaining to do!

Amanda (Garibay Soup)

Aimee Williams

Ellyn

Kelly

Samantha

Kristin Gentry

Esteban

Mrs. Money

Tony

Stu Gray

Jackie

Corey – Simple Marriage

Carrie – Make Mine Happen

Louise

Daniele O’Toole

Hailey

Megan

Teresa

Chris Goforth

Andy Jobst

Lacey Sonderegger

NorCalRN

Cat

Golda

Divine and Debt Free

Julie

Krystle

Milk & Honey Mommy

Bucksome

SavingDiva

Jodi

Laetus

Shannon L.

Jeff

Amanda G

Kim

Michelle

Cynthia Gottfredson

Heather Silver

Cindy Taylor

FallBride

Melissa

Nick

bentwingedbird

Nina

Angie Mack

And yes…Dustin Riechmann of Engaged Marriage!

A Final Shout Out to Our Fantastic Sponsors

Finally, I want to take one last opportunity to thank our generous sponsors.  Without these fine folks, this challenge would not have been possible…or at least not nearly as cool.

Personal Finance Notebook is a great site created by Patrenia Spears after her family paid off an incredible $93,000 in debt! Her posts are intended to empower her readers to achieve their financial goals. Her tag line says it all: “A website that offers ideas, education and the motivation needed to create a personal finance portfolio to be proud of.”

Budgets are Sexy is simply awesome. J. Money provides a site that is packed with really useful info about the world of personal finance, and he does it in his own (pimpin’) way. Entertaining and informative.

MomStart is a fantastic resource created by a mother of two who provides an incredible amount of reviews, giveaways and writings related to all of the new things going on in the world of parenting.

Enemy of Debt is the place to be if you want to get out of debt or simply celebrate the goodness that your debt-freedom has brought to your life. Brad is a passionate and informative resource offering a unique perspective on the personal finance scene.

Make Mine Happen “Stop Dreaming and Start Doing” by putting the motivational and informational posts at this site to work in your life!

Until (maybe) next time, thanks again for supporting and participating in this challenge.  I hope you have learned something that will help you improve yourself and your marriage!

Blessings!

Dustin

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Thank you for being a subscriber!

Check out the original post and leave a comment on the blog here: Improve Yourself! 2010: The Grand Champion

Tags: Free Stuff, Improve Yourself!, Individual Fulfillment

Related posts:

1. Announcing “Improve Yourself! 2010″
2. Improve Yourself! Week 2: Baby Step Your Way to Success
3. Improve Yourself! Week 5: Don’t Be Perfect, Be Remarkable!

It is now time to crown the champion of the contest and award them with a well-deserved $100 gift card to Amazon.  I had originally planned to pick the top three participants based on their achievements, but that was frankly just too tough.  Plus, I make the rules around here, so I picked five!

In case you haven’t been following the challenge closely (or you were a drop-out), I have included the “final report” from each of the five finalists.  Please read these fantastic achievements and select your favorite in the poll below.

Voting ends Sunday, March 7th at 11:59 p.m. central time so don’t hesitate!

The Final Reports From Our Five Finalists:

Jen

Wow…8 weeks went by really fast. My original goal was to work on not getting so irritated when my husband offers advice or instructions in what I call his “talking to a two year old tone.”  I can honestly say that while I may still get a little irritated I have stopped saying mean or rude things back and starting a fight.

After reading The 5 Love Languages I was reminded of how important it is to show him how much I love him in the way he wants and needs me to. That resulted in me re-discovering how much I love him making it easy to not want to fight with him and get irritated. All in all, I learned that even if we don’t have “big issues” to work on it is not ok to coast along.

All the attention I have been paying to my role in our relationship has resulted in me making our marriage a priority and that is a good thing! The bonus was Mark noticed the changes I made and read The 5 Love Languages himself and that resulted in some great conversations between us. I feel closer to him and more in love with him than ever. No more letting things just go along.

The second part of my goal was to focus on a different spiritual quality every week. I have a book that helps you focus on a different quality that promotes spiritual growth. This one was a lot harder for me and I did not get through 8 qualities…in fact I’m still working on #2. But I don’t feel like I can move on to the next until I fully embrace the 2nd quality. This is something I will continue working on and really want to work my way through the whole book. The bonus to this goal was that I had great conversations with my Dad about my struggles spiritually and found that has had has some of the same issues and he helped me work through some of them.

I’m not sure if I can pinpoint anything I should have done differently to be more successful…I’m just happy that the changes I made lead to amazing conversations with my husband and my Dad, and that I truly feel like my husband and I made what was a great relationship that much closer to an amazing relationship. I can’t wait to see how we continue to grow and change. I now know that with constant attention to our relationship in good and not so good times we will only be stronger for it!

Sam

I feel really good about the financial goals that I’ve (we’ve) met over the first eight weeks of this year. I set out with a goal to save at least $700 and pay down at least $1500 in overall debt. I really underestimated the debt repayment since we paid nearly $6k in overall debt ($5926 to be exact). It did help to receive a tax return, but we could have chosen to spend that money on junk instead of paying down debt. We paid off one auto loan and we’re well on our way to paying off a student loan in a month or so!

However, we didn’t do so well with savings. We only saved an additional $185. But we also had about $800 in unexpected expenses over the past couple of months, so I don’t feel so bad about missing the savings goal. Although, I know we could do better here.

Dustin, I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this challenge. It really has given me some perspective and has given me a better base for getting our debt paid down. I get so overwhelmed by the amount of student loan debt we’ve acquired, but during this challenge I’ve seen so much movement in our debt reduction that I feel encouraged again.

Ambere

“My goals for the year pertain to fitness/health.

I am to lose 10 pounds by 3/1/10, in order to get back to my healthy weight from college.

Starting on Jan. 6th I’m going to start eating paleo.
I’m going to run at least 30 min 4x a week.
Go for a 1 mile walk at night.”

Looking back on the last 8 weeks, I’m proud to say that I have lost 14 lbs! That reaches my weight loss goal! Overall my husband and I have done really well on out paleo diet, and eating healthy. I wish I could say that my running has been going as well. I only went 3 times a week most weeks, and we only went walking probably 4 nights a week. Although this challenge is ending my husband and I are starting P90X, we did the first workout today.

This challenge has been great for our marriage as we have been supporting each others’ fitness/diet goals, and we will continue to do it in the future. It has also helped us to communicate more about our budget and track our spending better, as one of his goals was to get our credit card debt payed off. (Almost there, should finish next month!)
Thanks for sponsoring this and all of the wonderful posts for improving our marriage!

Toby

Diets take a team, and that is something this blog helped me with! I got motivated and set 3 goals: 1. loose 25 pounds, 2. pay off credit cards by June, 3. take GMAT (entrance exam for MBA programs).

Well, I meet goal 1 going from 255 to currently 227. I plan to keep pushing hard till I can reach 215 but it just takes time.

I also have been working hard to pay off the credit card. Only one more month and all $10,000 of credit card debt will be paid off! 3 months ahead of schedule! I started using wesabe.com and it is really interesting to see how the money is being spent.

As for the GMAT I have decided not to take the GMAT and instead just apply for MBA programs that didn’t require it. I know it is a little cheating but it is going to get me to the same end goal.

Thanks all for the support! I am not stopping because the challenge is over so hopefully the good progress will continue!

And my wife reminds me that I am supposed to talk about our marriage, too! Well, it definitely brought us together, let us get our goals together and really encouraged us to work together to reach them. We were more open with finances, and it really helped us pay off the credit cards way earlier then initially anticipated.

Krystal

So, I wanted to be a better mom.

Tall order, eh?

But I did it.

(Notice, I didn’t say I want to be a *perfect* mom. Why set oneself up for failure?)

My SMART goals looked like this:

I want to be a better, more engaged parent…

…By caring about ME through diet, exercise, taking my vitamins, trying to get adequate sleep and not feeling guilty about taking some necessary ME time.

DONE. I have been eating better, including a 5-day sugar kick, which made me feel so much better. I have been working together with my husband (parenting is a team effort!) to get our baby sleeping better so we sleep better. I have been exercising, taking my vitamins and, when necessary, turning the kids over to Hubby for a few if I need a little alone time.

…By taking better care of my kids’ bodies.

DONE. Again, not perfect. We haven’t gotten rid of the Kraft mac n’ cheese, but it’s only a once-a-week thing. I’m not trying to HIDE veggies in their foods, I’m working with them to get them to eat the stuff they truly like, and getting them to try new things. It’s working, slowly. I am sure if I am consistent, they will learn to like more variety.

…By stimulating my kids’ minds and spirit

DONE. We have limited TV and Wii time. I read to them more. My four-year-old is reading to ME. He is excitedly learning math. My baby now pulls books off the shelf and carries them around and will sit and listen to one. My kids are also so much happier when I stop doing housework and PLAY with them. I am thrilled with the progress that has been made on this goal and will continue to do these things.

…By stimulating my kids’ souls, making the home a more pleasant place.

DONE. I have become much better at NOT becoming irritated when they do KID things. I have been cherishing moments that once would have annoyed me. My little ones are growing up so quickly. I will CRAVE these days when they’re big, grown boys. I am trying to soak it all in. These moments are so incredibly precious.

…By managing my time more wisely, therefore allowing more of my less-stressed self to be given to my kids.

A WORK IN PROGRESS. I have been working to de-clutter my home so that it’s easier to keep clean, so I don’t have to push my kids off. Some areas are DONE. Some still need work, but every little bit that gets done takes off some of the stress.

My blog is called Musings from Mom School. Mom School, because once you’re a mom, the learning never ends. I am constantly learning how to better myself as a parent. This challenge allowed me to focus on it, but it also has taught me that the learning and self-improvement will keep going all my life. I will continue to Improve Myself throughout 2010 and beyond. As my kids grow and change, so will my parenting.

Another positive from this challenge: Becoming a better parent makes ME happier, makes the KIDS happier, makes my HUSBAND and MARRIAGE happier and makes our home in general a more positive place.

I never really realized that me getting annoyed when my son, for example, rams his monster truck into my foot for the fiftieth time while I’m fixing dinner actually has a landslide effect on our evening. I get irritated and yell at my son, he gets upset, my husband gets upset, the baby gets upset because we’re all upset, and we’re all just crabby. It’s no way to live. By redirecting my irritation and encouraging my son to, for example, zoom his trucks down the hall instead, no one gets upset and the night is still peaceful (and after the boys go to bed, Hubby and I aren’t left scowling at each other).

I have learned that little changes like that can make a big difference, and I LOVE the improvements I’ve seen in my household throughout this challenge. I can’t wait to see what else we can do.

This has been a fantastic challenge. Thank you so much for doing it.

There you have it…five of many incredible stories that have been shared through this challenge.  Thank you to all of you for your participation and/or support!

Don’t forget to vote below.  And please note that voting is on the honor system.  Please vote based on who you think truly deserves to win for their accomplishment, and please only vote one time.  We have a great community, so I know I can trust you to treat this final vote with respect.  Thanks!

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Tags: Improve Yourself!, Individual Fulfillment

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1. Vote for Your Favorite Marriage Blog!
2. Announcing “Improve Yourself! 2010″
3. Improve Yourself! Week 6: Stick With It!