"If you really want to understand something, try to change it."

Sometimes I eat those rancid ribs that you can buy from the supermarket, the ones caked in chinese or bbq sauce. They're really bad for you, and make me look like this (see picture above). Plus, the idea of them is always better than the reality - they're actually a bit like eating fatty charcoal. But the idea of them is so good. What to do?

Well, seeing as this blog is a good way to make promises to myself and to challenge myself, I thought I'd write a post about it - then I could read the post whenever I was craving them and hey presto - no more rib eating.

So, if you're reading this Paul (future Paul that is) stop eating those ribs, they're rank.

Okay, good. That's the rib eating sorted.

But then I thought why stop there?

Is there anything else I should try and give up, or, other things I should take up and do more of?

Here's my starting list;

1. Going to give up sugar in my tea - I've cut down from 2 tea spoons to a half a tea spoon, seems silly not to cut it out all together.

2. Going to eat 7 portions of fruit and/or vegetables a day. Have fruit for breakfast (this is a surprisingly easy way to get fruit into your diet, and much more filling than you would think), but need to eat more salads, and vegetables.

3. Going to do 200 press-ups and 100 sit-ups every day. The press-ups are easy as I've been doing them for a few years now (the secret is to do them as part of your routine when you get up - walk into the bath room and do a set, brush teeth and do a set, shave and do a set etc), but the sit-ups are always something I hated. So I need to do those, maybe in sets of 20 through out the day to start with.

4. Going to run another pre-work marathon. Ah fuck it - I'm going to run two, on consecutive days. And then try and run one every month. (I'll admit this one scares me.)

5. Going to set a career goal. This sounds naff I know. But I don't really have one. I used to think I wasn't ambitious, but I am - I want to work with smart and interesting people, for a good and purposeful organisation that makes me feel like I matter. So there. (This one scares me more than the last one, I'm worried that I'm career lazy.)

6. Going to stop watching Lost. I don't know what's happening. And I just don't care anymore.

7. I'm going to enter every grappling and amateur MMA competition that comes up - no more excuses. If I can't make the weight then I'll fight in the category above. If I haven't trained hard enough then I'll lose early. But I'll lose leaving it on the mat. I'll be defeated living the great Jean Jacques Machado's motto - "I'd rather lose with my opponent running for his life, than win running for mine".

8. Going to stop eating crisps and chocolate. This could be hard as they taste good. But they're going to stop me achieving the other things I want to do. I don't ever actually feel very good after eating them. They're the weeds in the garden. They don't help. That's that - they're out.

9. I'm going to follow the wise words of Goethe..."One ought, each day at least, hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if possible, speak a few reasonable words." A poem, a song, a nice picture, a few reasonable words, well that sounds just lovely, yes, I definitely do that.

10. Going to decide. Not dilly dally. Decide. Be done. Live with the consequences.

11. Finally, I must try and remember birthdays. Particularly family members, it's just not funny anymore, especially to my nieces and nephews.

So that's my start.

Bit rubbish. But you've got to start somewhere.

Comments

[russell]

Brilliant.

I think I'm maybe capable of 10 press-ups, so I'm a bit behind you.

But, in my favour, I gave up sugar in my tea about a year ago and I've never gone back. I don't miss it.

[Colman]

Show off.

(I started doing press-ups because I hated them. I couldn't even do 10. Did them every day until I could do more.)

[Lebowski]

Wow.

I'm very impressed. But, like so many of your posts that I read, it leaves me feeling inadequate. I can do slightly more than 10 press ups, but consecutive marathons?

Good on the 'Lost' one though - a thoroughly pointless programme if ever there was one.

[Colman]

Mmm...not sure I should have mentioned the consecutive marathons as I'm not really running any great distance at all at the moment, but why not aim for something a little crazy?

I think the secret is big goals as well as little ones - I'm writing this while drinking my first cup of tea with no sugar, which tastes fine, quite nice in fact.

Also, I'm adding to the list canned soft drinks - they're out too.

And what about you Lebowski (and others), will you join me in this quest for big and small change?

[Lebowski]

Well, I already eat 7+ fruit and veg a day (veg are the key by the way. Far more beneficial for you than fruit, and slightly more difficult to fit into your schedule.). But that's kind of it.

So here goes. I will:

1. Read at least one book a week every week for the rest of my life. And read more fiction and fewer academic/marketing/work-related books. The current balance is way out of kilter and slightly boring.
2. Start a blog. And one which hopefully is not just re-hashing the same thinking that any planners who have blogs have on their sites. In fact, it will have nothing at all to do with anything plannery/brand related. There's enough of them already.
3. Have 4 days a week where I don't touch a drop of alcohol. And on the days I do drink, I won't assume that I need to get absolutely shit-faced to make up for the days I haven't been drinking.
4. Take a holiday somewhere other than America. Which probably means overcoming my natural aversion to all things European (except Italian food).
5. Do more for the environment. I've stopped using plastic bags where I can, but I still eat berries in the winter which have been flown in from the southern hemisphere. I still drink bottled water. I leave applicance on standby all the time. I fly a lot within the UK, for which frankly there's no excuse. So there's lots of things I can change there.

I quite like this idea of publicly declaring changes you're going to make. I'm already feeling like I actually have to do some of them now they're written down.

[Colman]

Excellent stuff. Seeing your list written down makes me more determined to keep to mine (this is the other powerful bit of making these pledges).

If you don't mind I shall join you in 1. And maybe 5. Though I'm sort of in the Born Lomborg camp in terms of the requirement for legislation on this one. (In Ireland nearly every shop had paper bags, Tesco didn't have any bags hanging up at the end of the till, you had to buy them one-by-one as needed, and were asked to re-use them. Presumably this is a government requirement...?)

Perhaps I should start a separate blog for this?

I'm interested in the difference these changes make, if any, and would like to follow it through with others contributing. Thoughts?

[Lebowski]

Good idea. If you get enough people pledging to make changes, there should be regular follow-ups.

A separate blog might make sense. Perhaps iwill.typepad.com?

[Colman]

Quite like the idea of a few blogging people, trying to change the world, a little bit, slowly, and probably failing.

Don't want to make it too wanky, so how about something like:

oneworldoneblogletsseewhathappens@typepad.com

Or is that more wanky? Think it's important to capture the point of making changes (increased happiness, better life, blah blah blah)...

Lets make it open. So anyone who wants to co-author then say so.

[Lebowski]

Personally, I think that sounds a little wanky and up itself. Maybe just letsseewhathappens might be better.

[Colman]

Quite right. letsseewhathappens is much better.

You happy to co-author Lebowski?

And anyone else?

Otherwise we could just cover it off at status meetings face-to-face and save everyone else the pain of having to read our pretentious ramblings.

[Lebowski]

Good point.

I keep forgetting that you have accumulated quite a large readership for this blog.

(Disappointed that they haven't all been up since 8am on a Sunday discussing what they want to change about themselves though.)

See you at status. Have a nice day

[Colman]

I'm assuming that means you're on board.

[Ben]

What are you all doing up so early?

I would love to join in but unfortunately I'm trying very hard not to do anything in August. Ask me again in September.

Since reading Russell's fat blog I have tried to eat better and especially eat more fruit, seeing as we have a Free Company Fruit policy at work that's not that hard, but I feel better already.

I'm very excited at the prospect of Lebowski blogging (does that mean you've converted him?) and especially not about ads etc, there are indeed to many of them.

Paul, what about - 12. Add more categories on the left hand side?

I gave up sugar in my tea when I was 12. It was a bet with my Mum and I won.

[Colman]

Well that can be yours for August - to do nothing. I wouldn't mind hearing about that.

Lebowski has not committed yet, but hopefully he will - he's a good and amusing writer.

Do you mean categorise the blog Ben (on the right hand side)?

[Ben]

Yeah, you never have any categories (apart from pledges and podcasts). I'd like to see some more. But I'm probably being silly.

[henry Lambert]

Argh! You've already made me join a gym!

I think it sounds like a great idea. Any slippages and it's in the public domain. I've got into the turning tvs off standby, now i just need to master the plastic bags and flying.

Lebowski, I can't wait for the blog...

[Colman]

Well I'm counting you two in as well then.

Actually Ben I was thinking about categories this morning when I created the new one, problem is I'm not sure how to categorise half of it; but will have a go.

[Oakie]

I am so touched by your pic. Eating Ribs will be put into my "Don't" list. Hopefully, i won't see this pic again. (what if adding copy - "Don't Just do it")

[dan at innocent]

I'm game. I won't be able to run marathons as my knees aren't up to it these days (they gave up after my one and only marathon) but I will do the rest. And I will help blog about it all if that's what you decide to do. If it stops me eating crisps it should be a good thing.

[Ben]

Let me just make it clear that I'm not running any marathons. Even in September.

As a newsagent once said to me, "I'll take up running when I see one of them smiling".

[russell]

as you know I'll start a blog at the drop of a hat. If I'm thinking of going downstairs to empty the bin I'll start a blog about it.

So I'm with you.

You should all have a look at www.43things.com - which is quite a good way of setting challenges for yourself and matching them. But it doesn't have the mixture of peer pressure and support that I think a group blog might have.

I can't keep up with you on most of those things but here's my list:

1. Read a different magazine every week for the rest of my life. (And recycle)

2. No driving or using public transport inside zones 1 and 2 in London. Only walking or cycling.

3. No more than 2 lattes a day.

4. Let's be realistic and start with at least one vegetable a day.

5. Do one long distance (multiday) walk this year. (I'm thinking the coast to coast)

6. Do more for http://www.wearewhatwedo.org. (I was in at the begining of that and have always felt guilty I don't do more.)

7. Buy a Big Issue whenever I'm offered one.

8. Don't say 'I'm working' when Arthur wants to play and I'm not really working, I'm blogging.

9. Get to 50 press-ups by the end of the year.

10. Leave nothing on standby

[Colman]

Jolly good gentlemen, welcome aboard.

I'll leave this post up for another day or two and see who else wants to get involved. Then I'll set up the site with multiple authors, along with our lists, and we can see what happens.

So far I have; Dan, Russell, Ben? (are you in, you can write about doing nothing if you want), I've texted Lebowski - I think he'll say yes, and Henry - what say you?

To be clear: no one has to run a marathon; though I read in yesterdays Guardian that running is good for the joints, not bad as most people think.

[Leeroy]

Looked at the picture, read the title and hoped you were going to understand ribs then make them better for me.
Instead I've been left feeling inadequate and wondering why you didn't leave this post until New year. Your "What I'm giving up this new year " post will be crap.

[henry Lambert]

P, you should know by now, i can't refuse yor offers. Except marathons. I will never, ever run a marathon.

[Ben]

OK I'm in. I'll have to think of a list (in September).

And Henry, I think Paul might not be able to resist trying to get you to run a marathon.

[Colman]

Welcome Henry and Ben (officially). Oh yeah, I got a text from Lebowski and he's also happy to take part.

I'll put a post above this one today outlining the basic plan so far, but also inviting further participants, and ideas for how to make the whole thing more interesting/useful.

[Leeroy]

Didn't know where this should go, had a quick think, decided that since Paul has forced my hand on the above post I may as well play along.
Things to do more / less of:
1. Referee more blog challenges.
2. Give up luxuries (everything purchased outside of housekeeping budget that is not neccessary i.e booze, take-aways,gadgets etc) for a month (October). See if I miss them, see if I spend more time with the family and see If I'm happier / sadder / or just richer. Continue within reason.
3. Carry on running at least twice a week even after I've competed, pathetically, in my triathlon in a fortnight.
4. Carry on cycling to work on Fridays and continue as if I were still training for the Oxford to Cambridge ride, even when it's done.
5. Get down to my fighting weight at 18 years old (15st 10lbs). Stop giving up dieting as soon as one person mentions I've lost some weight. They always tell you you've lost it but only tell other people you've put the whole lot back on.
6. Get my fat arse into gear and actually play some rugby this year. Play for Bucks in the county cup instead of making excuses and letting them down like the past 7 seasons.
7. Be more understanding of my wife when she enforces her "don't leave things on stand-by" rules. (Lebowski / Russell, I don't know you, but, you can pop over and see the terror I have to deal with when I leave things on stand-by, it's enough to have you unplugging at the wall).
8. Ollie's getting lonely on his own, Tobie needs some time off work and I need more expense and less luxuries. Time for another baby. I won't go into detail on the blog. I'll just let you know when!!
9. Make a decision on the following : "Will being an accountant adversely affect my personality, should I sit my finals or should I turn and walk away ? " (cases for and against will be posted on the new blog and a decision will be made in time for the May exams.)
10. Find a blog refereeing kit.

Any suggestions welcome on any of the above.

I agree with Lebowski's post on public declaration. I feel exposed but in a nice way. Got to give it a blast now, can't give in if everyone is watching!!!!

[Colman]

Good list Lee, good list.

Re point 9 - Harry C was/is an accountant, surely that's all you need to know.

[Harry C]

Leeroy,walk away now and become a rock guitarist!!

[Leeroy]

Are there any X factor auditions this weekend?

[iain]

PAUL COLEMAN
4. Take a holiday somewhere other than America. Which probably means overcoming my natural aversion to all things European (except Italian food).

Ha Ha.. pretty funny considering your contry was built on european law and education and by europeans themselves.. your name is european too by the way. how idiotic.