Hey Josh

Hey Josh…Where Did Your Advice Show Go?

Greetings and hello, young humans! I hope you enjoyed what folks call “the holiday season” and all the time off from school and work and what-not. As you may have noticed, I took a little time off myself. And not just because I’m lazy. I like to dedicate what all you cold-climate people call “winter” to things like surfing. Yes, in the ocean. At the beach. Don’t be jealous.

Anyway, I’m sorry things have been quiet over here on Wednesdays. Ye olde Advice Show of splendor has been hibernating. But it misses you. As do I. So, never fear—the Advice Show lives on, and will return shortly-ish. I’ll let you know when you can expect things to fire back up.

In the meantime, keep your questions, comments, and leftover Christmas candy coming my way.

// josh

Happy 2010!

Happy 2010!

I wanted to quickly give you three biscuits of knowledge on how to kick 2010 in the FACE!!! (Pardon me—I play a lot of violent video games.)

#1 // DON’T SET RESOLUTIONS…SET GOALS

Research shows that 25% of people who make New Year’s promises give up on their “resolutions” before the end of the first week. WEAK! That means that one in four of you have already broken your resolutions. (You know who you are.) New plan: instead, write a few goals. Think of them as your 2010 to-do list. (Check out tadalist.com for a super-simple tool.) Make your goals very specific, and break those down into smaller, more easily achievable short-term goals. So, maybe you want to lose weight. Great! Now, figure out a specific plan. Maybe you want to cut soft drinks out of your diet, or go to the gym three times a week. Whatever you do, don’t have 5,000 goals…that’s crazy and overwhelming. You’re better off picking one goal and sticking with it than having 36 dozen and giving up on all of them.

Here are some worthy goals to consider:

- Start an exercise program
- Quit smoking
- Eat healthier food
- Get out of debt and stay out of it
- Be more generous with time and money

By the way, only set goals that are important to you; don’t set goals just because your family or friends expect you to.

#2 // GO PUBLIC WITH YOUR GOALS

If you only have yourself to let down—guess what? You’ll do it. All. Day. Long.

Don’t keep your goals secret. Sure, they’re personal, but they shouldn’t be private. Write your goals down. On paper. In pen. (No erasing.) Post them on the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, on your desk at school. Tattoo them on your forearm if you must. Keep them where you can see them—none of this “out of sight, out of mind” nonsense.

Next, tell your friends what you wanna do. Post your goals on your Facebook page. Tweet about ‘em. This way people can ridicule you if you pansy out and don’t accomplish them. Seriously, having the accountability and encouragement of others will go a long way toward helping you achieve your goals.

#3 // REVIEW YOUR GOALS MONTHLY

It’s important to check in and see how you are doing. You can’t work out once a month and expect to get in shape. You can’t shower once a month and expect to keep your friends. Same goes with your goals. It’s a daily thing. Step by step by step until—BOOM—you’ve accomplished it. It’s all about consistency.

If you get off track, don’t just throw up your hands and call the whole thing off. Sometimes we slip up. Let ourselves down. Binge on cupcakes. Don’t worry about it. Really. Figure out what’s working and what’s not. Figure out what needs to change. Then get back to it. Set deadlines. Reward yourself for little milestones (losing ten pounds! going one month–two months, three months–without a smoke!). As long as you keep going in the right direction, you’re doing great. Plus, good news: new habits get easier with time.

That’s it. Happy 2010. And a goat.

// josh

P.S. If you’re on Twitter, hit me up.