Harsh Chawla | Conscious Growth

Why aren't personal goals fun?

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:30:00 +0000

Why isn't chasing personal goals as much as fun playing games?
After all, every game I play also has some end goal attached to it. Be it tetris: to get the all the tiny pieces aligned in a sequence or cricket: to score maximum runs without getting out or football: to hit the ball past the players into the "goalpost", i.e. to score a "goal".

OK, so every game does have some goal(s). Then the next logical question is:
Why do I enjoy trying to achieve those silly goals in games which have no real impact on my life, but hate chasing personal goals that could potentially turn my entire life around!
Very strange indeed, especially if you consider the fact that I lose at games all the time! Maybe, it's because when playing games, I don't really care if I win or loose. I'm having fun either way and that's what counts. On the other hand when it comes to personal goals, I'm obsessed about reaching my goals. My entire effort would be a waste of time if I don't get there. I don't want to have to anything to do with the journey. I just want to get to my goals FAST!

So rephrasing my earlier question,
Can chasing personal goals be fun?
I guess it can be, as long as I can make the journey in itself enjoyable. In that case, even if I fail miserably(and in the case of this blog publicly!), at least I would have had some fun along the way :)

2nd Run Of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:34:00 +0000

For anybody tired of reading running update posts, please rest assured that I don't plan to write a post every time I run. However, I do plan to share my thoughts on running as I go along this journey. Today's run was my longest so far, 3km.

One thing that I've realized about myself, is that whenever I get into the speed/time mode of running, i.e. "how fast did I run", "how much time did I take for my run" , I only end up demotivating myself. To avoid this, I'm making an effort to focus on the distance instead. I try to set a distance target before I start my run and do my best to hit it, I don't care if I end up walking some of it. Without the pressure to meet any time or pace goals, I find that I enjoy my run more. This way, anytime I start feeling stretched, I just slow down, and whenever I feel like picking up the pace a little, I do just that.

I hope this focus on distance makes me want to run longer and more often. With another 995 km to go, the only way I'm going to get there is if I enjoy the journey.

First Run Of The Year

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 14:13:00 +0000

Finally, I completed my first run of the year. Better late than never :)
Ran 2 km. Another 998 to go!
I'm running on the treadmill for now. It's not as much fun as running outside. However since I'm just starting out and don't really have any rythm or timing, the treadmill helps me keep track and maintain a pace.
Once I build up to it, will start running outside. Looking forward to it.

Double My Income

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:33:00 +0000

This was always going to be an fun goal to work on.
Over the last few months I've received an offer from one the leading firms in my field, that pays more than double my current salary. The fact that I'm not taking it up, is an entirely different matter :)
For now, I'm going to mark this one as complete!

First Post Of The Year

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:40:00 +0000

It's been almost two months since my last post. As you can conclude from the tracker in the last post, I've failed miserably on my running goal. No runs since Dec 4th. So what's my excuse? I could say that I started work on a very demanding assignment in Dec. I could also add that I've worked every weekend and holiday since Jan 1st. However the fact is: I've been lazy. It's also the reason, I've avoided writing any posts. My internal "logic" however, was that I'll write my next post only after I start running again. Well that kind of thinking got me "not running' and "not writing" for over 50 days!

OK, I'm being too hard on myself. I did get a couple of things right. I've finished my first book for the year and I'm half way through the second. Will be reviewing them as I go along. I also took some amazing lectures online on Justice and Quantum Mechanics. I finally understand the rational behind Heisenberg uncertainty principle and the idea of Utilitarianism.

Next up, some focus on my reading goal for the year. Ohh.. and Happy New Year everybody :)

Tracking My Runs

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:51:00 +0000

If I'm going to run 1000 km in a 2010, I need a way to keep track of my runs. I came up with the following spreadsheet. Will publish this on my blog. Hopefully this will also keep me accountable.

It will be interesting to see how my stats turn out for December 2009.

My First Run

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:26:00 +0000

I did it. I completed my first run today. I've been procrastinating for over a month now. The "mini-commitment" did the trick. It did take a couple of days, I kept giving myself the usual excuses, but the excuses also meant no blogging.
I guess this means, I really want to blog ;).

The run.
It was a humbling experience, I ran 2.3km in 20 minutes giving me an average speed of just under 7km/hr(6.9 to be exact).

I felt.
Great! I was prepared for a painful, tiresome feeling at the end of it. However I came out of the run on a slight high and a bounce in my step.

Here is a quick screenshot:

Why Run?

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:35:00 +0000

Why do I want to start running? It might seem counter intuitive, as it makes some of my other goals (like gaining 5 Kgs) harder! Here's why:

I have a lot of friends who are into endurance running, and after talking to them I have this urge to experience the sensation of hitting the wall.
Running is a safe and effective way to test and grow of my physical and mental endurance.
Regular running is an excellent way to stay fit! It will also help me maintain my stamina for other sports like tennis.
I want to run a marathon someday. This seems like a nice way to work up to that goal!

Note: I'm known to be a procrastinator. One of the aims of this blog is to break that habit. So here is my first mini-commitment. No more posts till AFTER my first run.

Running 1000 Kilometers

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:30:00 +0000

Running 1000 kilometers. Sounds impressive doesn't it!

One of the reasons I picket this goal because it sounds BIG. It's actually a "fun" goal to achieve. Let's break it down for a year.

1000 km/year is about 2.7 km/day. Considering, if I run at an easy pace of 20km/h, I need to run for a grand total of 10 minutes/day to accomplish this goal! THAT is the power of a year. It's a huge denominator. In fact, most people who take up running as an exercise, easily run more than 1000 kilometers a year. I just wanted to do it consciously.
Of course, I'm not going to limit my runs to 10 minutes a day, I have many other goals to achieve. Track my progress on this one under running.

Goals for 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:30:00 +0000

Read 24 books.
Run 1000 kilometers.
Double my income. -done
Gain 5 Kg's.
Complete the GMAT.
Start a personal development blog(and write 50 posts).
Travel to a new country/continent.
Attend dance lessons.

This list is by no means comprehensive. I will continue to add more goals/experiments as I progress through the year.

Look back at 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Finished one year of marriage: an amazing growth experience! :)
Visited three continents/countries.
Experienced -40 degree winters.
Spent my own money on: international travel and 5 star hotels.
Attended a 5 day Art Of Living course.
Rented a car and drove 600 miles over a weekend.
Played over 200 hours of tennis.
Gained 10 kg's.
Completed Technical Certification by SAP on PI 7.1
Smoked a cigar.
Tried mini golf.
Read many books: Hitchhikers Guide(5 books), Superfreakonomics, Emotional Intelligence.

Looking back at 2009, it was a fun year with a lot of travel, new friends and memorable experiences. However, it also leaves me with a feeling that I just drifted about in time and space enjoying each moment, experiencing it for what it was. Fun but directionless.

Now I look forward to a different year ahead. Hopefully it will still be fun, and I will also end up achieving some "growth" oriented goals by pushing myself "consciously" ;). More on that in the next post.

Intention

noreply@blogger.com (Harsh Chawla) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:50:00 +0000

I will use this blog to document my experiments with Conscious Growth.

Conscious: intentionally conceived; with awareness;
Growth: an increase in size, number, value, or strength; (in biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically;