By Radon Berg
It was shortly after New Year’s. Derrick and Ken were both still off work. As was typical, Derrick started thinking about that most common of New Year’s resolutions – getting in shape. His job had gotten stressful over the last several years, and his focus on diet and exercise had waned, with predictable outcomes. It wasn’t a problem for Ken, but Derrick didn’t like the “bear cub” look he was developing. Not that there’s anything wrong with bears or bear cubs, it just wasn’t the image Derrick had of himself. So, he re-committed to going to the gym and watching his diet. He figured, based on his research and previous experience in the gym, that it would take about a year to accomplish his goals.
A year seemed like a long time. A lot could happen in a year, so Derrick developed a plan for achieving his goals. The plan consisted of 13 four-week periods. By the end of the thirteenth period he would have achieved his goals. He would look better, feel better, and have more energy – all the positive things associated with getting fit. The plan relied on Derrick maintaining focus and making progress each period towards his goal, and he came up with a way to do that.
