Make It Happen 2012: The First 100 Days

What a difference a few months can make!

When I jumped into the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean on New Year's Day after deciding that it was time to change everything about my life that was frustrating me, I don't think I gave myself enough credit that I would have the courage of my convictions to see the process through. Well, here I am after 100 days of Making It Happen in 2012 and to say that I am pleasantly surprised to have confounded my own expectations in this regard would be the mother of all understatements.

Painting myself into a corner by taking my resolutions public was, in retrospect, a very good idea- one that began when I committed myself to the Rocky Neck Plunge with my fellow Gloucestermen (and women!) on Good Morning Gloucester. I may excel at letting myself down when left to my own devices, but the prospect of having to explain myself to my Facebook friends and Twitter followers proved to be an excellent form of motivation when all else failed.

The decision to Live Out Loud also tickled my obsessive-compulsive urge to document my progress, something which I know also helped keep me on track with my weight loss. If Weight Watchers Online provided the app for accurately gauging what went into my body, social media provided the wherewithal for measuring the output of my self-improvement efforts: pounds shed, words published, fears confronted, and future reimagined.

I thank the people who read this blog, who reply to my Tweets, and like my status reports on Facebook (and those of you who +1 me on Google+ as well). Whether you realized it or not, you have managed to help keep me on target over these past three months and ten days, and I am eternally grateful for your moral support- past, present, and future.

So... here are the numbers to date:

1. Pounds Lost: 43
2. Stories Self-Published on Amazon: 4 short stories, 1 novel
3. Jobs applied for: 3
4. Attitude improvement: 100%

Here's to another awesome 100 days! Rest assured that I will keep all of you updated as I continue along my path to a brand new me...