By Tom Tognoli, COO & Founder, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc

This year I want to

• walk 500 miles
• exercise 125 hours
• burn 50,000 extra calories
• finish 10 books
• pray regularly and give thanks for the blessings in my life
• spend time every week with my wife just talking about life, our family, our dreams and our goals
• be less stressed
• lower my blood pressure and cholesterol level
• have more energy at work and with my family
• be more patient
• make more money
• be in better shape
• lose 10 to 15 pounds
• live longer
• significantly reduce my chances of getting sick
• see my mom and dad 3 to 4 times a week

…that’s all.

Sounds pretty daunting, doesn’t it? What would you say if I told you that it can all be accomplished by spending 30 minutes 5 times a week. I am sure most of you are skeptical.

One of my commitments for 2014 is walking our dog 5 times a week after dinner. When I decided to start doing it, I did not do it for all of the reasons above…I just knew our dog needed a walk and I knew it was better for me to go for a walk than sitting on the couch watching sitcoms all night.  So far I have been pretty good about doing it. Most of the time Lynn and I walk Ryder together, but sometimes I do it on my own listening to a book on tape, inspiring music, or just thinking. Guess what? If I am just consistent about doing my 30 minute walk 5 times a week, I will accomplish all of this…really! If you don’t believe me, or even if you do, there is a great book I recommend you read or listen too….The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.  The Slight Edge is all about the monumental impact of doing a little something consistently.

So many times when we write down our goals and ambitions they seem overwhelming…they seem impossible to accomplish. The key is creating structure and breaking them down…breaking them down to the activities we need to do monthly, weekly, daily, and in some cases hourly. If you do it, in most cases you will find that not only will you not be overwhelmed, but you will find doing what is necessary to accomplish our goals is not that big of a deal.

BTW…my mom and dad are at the end of my route so I pop in and see them 3 or 4 times a week when I done with my walk.

Walk the dog!