Goal Setting: Make 2018 Your Best Year Yet

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New year, new goals! It’s the perfect time to take stock, and plan for your best 2018 possible. With less than nine months until our first 3-Day of the year (you read that right!), setting goals now for your training and fundraising will set you up for success. To help you get started, we have tips to help you set goals that are attainable but still inspirational.

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Write them down

Writing goals down helps them stick in your mind, and gives you a visual representation of them to keep throughout the year. Set short term goals that you can check off each week or month. This will keep you motivated, and allow you to take smaller steps towards whatever your year-end goal might be.

Make them specific

As you outline your goals, make sure you’re detailed in your wording.

For example, instead of saying, “I want to train more before the 3-Day,” say “I want to train three times a week, and walk at least 20 miles per week through June.” Give yourself numerical, trackable goals.

This helps you be honest with yourself about what you truly think you can achieve, and track your results more easily.

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Be realistic but enthusiastic

Goal setting can be difficult, because you want to set yourself up for success, but still challenge yourself.

By being enthusiastic about what you want to achieve, while allowing for realism about your time constraints or other commitments, you’re going to amaze yourself with what you can achieve.

Take action

Once you set those goals, don’t forget to do them! Lots of people make resolutions for the New Year, and then forget about them. This is why writing your goals is key. Put them in a spot you will see every day so you’re always reminded of what you want to achieve.

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Believe in Yourself

No matter what your goals, remember that you are awesome just as you are! If you slip up, or face setbacks throughout the year, never give up. You can do anything you set your mind to! We think every 3-Dayer is truly something special.

What are your goals for 2018? Tell us in the comments!

If one of your 2018 goals is to join the 3-Day, the perfect time is NOW! Through February 5th, you can get $20 off your registration fee. Sign up today!

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5 Simple New Year’s Resolutions That Will Help You Prepare for the 3-Day

Ah, the turning of a new year. It’s a time when we stop to remember the last 365 days (well, 363 at this point, but who’s counting) of challenges and opportunities, setbacks and victories, tears and laughter, and look ahead to all that 2015 will have to offer. For many of you, the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® is on your 2015 radar, and while any day is a great day to start moving forward toward the goal of participating in the Komen 3-Day, January 1 is as perfect a time as any to make some resolutions that will bring you closer to that objective.

Register – Seems simple, right? And yet, loads of people think about doing the 3-Day®, talk about doing the 3-Day, even call the coaches to ask questions about registering, but sadly, many of those well-meaning folks never end up registering. Taking that first step can be the scariest part of all. But making the big move to actually sign up for the 3-Day is making a commitment to improve the lives of countless strangers, while also enriching your own life through an indescribably amazing experience. What better way to start off the journey into the new year than to set your sights on that extraordinary destination? Register by April 6, 2015 and you’ll save $20.
Tell Your Friends – Once you’re registered for the 3-Day, the next resolution you can make is as easy as can be: tell people what you’re doing! You (hopefully) will be very eager to share news of your 2015 3-Day registration with friends and family anyway, but aside from sharing your excitement, telling people will help hold you accountable, and keep you from falling into the “I registered…now what?” rut. Which reminds me: in the midst of telling your loved ones that you’re doing the 3-Day, give the 3-Day coaches a call and tell them too! They love hearing from you, even if it’s just to say hi and tell them, “I’m in!” You can reach the coaches at 800-996-3DAY.
Drink more water – This is a resolution that I renew every year. If you think of it in terms of just drinking more water, the “more” feels kind of non-specific and, perhaps, makes it less likely that you’ll stick with it because of that vagueness. So I like to make it a little less ambiguous: I resolve to drink one glass of water for every non-water drink I ingest. Need that cup of coffee in the morning? Down a glass of water first. Can’t resist that peach iced tea at lunch? Order a water with it and refuse a refill on the tea until the water is gone too. Like to enjoy some other tasty beverages after 5 o’clock rolls around? Commit to consuming a water course in between rounds. All that extra H20 in your system will lead to you feeling healthier and more energized overall, but will also prepare you and get you into the habit of staying hydrated when your 3-Day event rolls around later in the year.
Take the stairs whenever possible – Like with the water drinking resolution, the pledge to “walk more” may feel imprecise and uninspiring. So crank up the motivation factor by making the plan specific and attainable: if there’s an option to take the stairs instead of an elevator/escalator, do it. That’s just one clear-cut way to incorporate more activity into your daily routine; you can be creative in thinking of other ways too, such as always parking in the farthest parking spot you can find, investing in a pedometer or fitness tracker and setting a daily step goal (for most people 10,000 steps equals about 5 miles, a bold yet achievable daily target), or, if you like to layer your challenges onto one another, resolve to always be moving while drinking your water courses. The point is, the more movement you can put into everyday practice now, the more fit and prepared you will be when you really start diving into your 3-Day training later in the year, and more confident about ultimately attacking the big 60 miles.
Ask for a donation once a week – Raising $2300 for the 3-Day is a huge undertaking, and I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t benefit–mentally and emotionally–from breaking that amount down into smaller pieces. There is no donation that is too small to make a difference, except for the donations you don’t ask for. So make a commitment, at least once a week, to ask someone for a donation. I’m talking about a direct request to a specific individual (as opposed to a weekly mass posting on Facebook, though there is a lot of potential benefit to doing that too). Whether or not you ask for a specific amount is up to you, though I recommend that you do. But ask. At least once a week. More often if you can. If you need inspiration with how to ask, check out our Fundraising Challenge posts on Facebook, the Creative Fundraising board on Pinterest, or search “fundraising” here on the 3-Day blog.

What other New Year’s resolutions are you making to help you prepare for the 3-Day?

Resolve to Make 2014 “The Year of the 3-Day”

New Year’s resolutions have long been a source of both inspiration and frustration for millions of people. You start out strong, pumped up to make positive changes when the calendar turns over to January 1, but if you’re like me, many of those commitments fall by the wayside before you hit Groundhog Day.

But the 3-Day is one thing I come back to without fail, every year, so I know a thing or two about sticking to 3-Day-related resolutions. To help get you motivated to make 2014 “The Year of the 3-Day,” here are some easy goals to set for yourself:

1. Register! – Seems obvious, right? Yes, it may feel scary to commit to such a big challenge, but taking that first step of actually signing up is often the scariest part. It gets better once you’ve jumped in, and January 1 is a beautiful day to jump. Already registered for a 2014 3-Day? Fantastic! Recruit a friend to join you!

2. Drink more water – I know I don’t drink enough water on a daily basis, but I am absolutely diligent about staying hydrated when I’m training and walking the 3-Day. I think the reason for that is that I always have a water bottle within close reach. You can get in the habit of drinking water throughout the day simply by having some handy.

3. Walk more – Yes, 60 miles is a lot of walking, but January is a great time to start small. You don’t have to rush into the big mileages right away. For now, just resolve to walk a little bit more than you currently do. Park a little farther from the entrance, walk the dog around the block one more time, take the stairs instead of the elevator.

4. Get a donation! – So you’re registered, right? Great! New Year’s Day is the perfect time to appeal to the newfound motivation of your donors. They’re eager to start the year on a positive note, so encourage their generosity by asking for a “Hello 2014” donation. Make it a fun challenge on social media by seeing how many of your Facebook friends you can get to make a donation of $20.14 to you – 25 $20.14 donations will get you to your first $500!

5. Okay…breathe – You’ve got a big year ahead of you, and the full-swing 3-Day season (Meetings! Training walks! Fundraising letters!) will be here before you know it. Allow yourself to stop and take those special quiet moments to remember why you walk. Really breathe in every second of this journey.