It was March 2014 and I had pretty much oozed into my chair at work. Hadn't worked out much if at all. Whatever New Year's resolutions I had set for improving fitness had faded away a couple months earlier.

So I decided to climb Mount Everest.

One of the wellness guys in my office said that the simple act of taking the stairs was a great way to get your heart rate up and improve fitness. But there was a problem. Starting up a habit like taking the stairs - to the 10th floor - wasn't just going to happen like a big bang.

Nope, I wasn't internally motivated to do it just because it was healthy. Maybe you can relate.

I needed to shape a goal that was fun and memorable and even inspiring. Technically speaking, I needed to quantify my goal. That's the "M" in S.M.A.R.T. goal setting. I needed to make my stair-stepping goal Measurable.

When you have to measure something what do you turn to? A ruler, of course. So I grabbed my ruler and measured one step in the stairwell. After a few calculations I figured I would need to climb 49,764 stairs to say I climbed Mount Everest.

OK, the equivalent of Mount Everest... without the snow... and without deadly freezing temperatures. The point is this: I found something that motivated me, and who cares if it's silly.

On Dec 31, 2014 I reached the summit - the locked door of the 13th-floor roof access inside an endless stairwell, echoing my gasps for air. But I did it.

When I was a boy my father would carry me out of bed at 5:30am, drop me in the car, and start in on our 12 hour drive home from vacation in Massachusetts. I would wake up around 7:00 and voila! we were already in Connecticut! It made the trip feel much more manageable. I did the same on a couple drives from North Carolina to Florida for football bowl games during my college days. We started out with just a coffee at 5:30 and didn't stop for breakfast until 7:30 and bang! we already had 120 miles under our belt.

Paul Reiser, the other star of that 90's comedy, Mad About You, wrote a book called Parenthood. Being the funny guy he is, the book literally started on page 120. After cracking it open and reading just a few minutes, I was already on page 125! I have to admit, it felt good.

As we mercifully put 2020 in the rearview and hope for better things to come in 2021, we will set some goals, the inevitable New Year's Resolutions. Like that book and like my dad, we ought to do the same - give ourselves a head start.

Granted, it feels a like a gimmick, but it's a legitimate trick. You're still doing the work. You're just getting a head start. By starting early you're proving to yourself you want to work toward your goal not because of an arbitrary date on the calendar, but because you simply want it. 

I have a goal to complete 5,000 exercise reps by January 31. So I started early even though it's like any other New Year's goal. I'm already approaching 1,000 so I'm well on my way. And if I get that head start, I'm more likely to finish the goal. Anyone ever started a goal only to give up on it because you couldn't get started?

Problem solved. Start early... go ahead and read one book, lose pound, or run one mile. Then set the goal and backdate the start of the goal.

I use the Runkeeper app to track the miles I run. It allows you to set mileage goals and it allows you to backdate. So I do this all the time. I'm already 5% of the way toward my goal when I set it up! 

What's your New Year's goal? Is it measurable? If it is, then give yourself a head start! 

Mark B. Anderson
​Tutor & Founder, Strength in Numbers Tutoring

But ONE burpee on the first day? That’s it? “I could do that!” you’re probably saying. I said the same thing.

If I suggested that you lose one pound this month, would you feel offended? Or “Hey, can you save $1 dollar in the piggy bank today?” “Can you write one page today?”

Like me you might say, “Yes, obviously I can do that! What kind of person do you think I am?”

Offending yourself may be the just the thing you need to do to achieve your goal.

It’s all about establishing the daily habit.

I got a little happy kick out of recording my 5 burpees on Day FIVE. There was huge satisfaction recording my 50 burpees on Day FIFTY.

Not sure yet what it’s going to feel like once I’ve counted all the way up to 100.

The strength in counting numbers and starting small that we’re talking about here is all about easing yourself into a discipline. Establishing a daily habit.

Personally I still like recording the numbers and seeing my progress. There are some days I do my burpees only for that reason. I’m not yet on the next level where I’m doing burpees because it’s good for me. (Can I get a witness?)

My old friend Clint Henry encouraged me as a runner. I was of course counting my miles run as well as using my love for music to motivate my running and it worked. I ran three half marathons and began to love the rush and results of running - and not just the music.

Clint though was on that next level. He ran because he loved it - no music. I have some work to go to get there. Maybe I’m alone in that I sometimes don’t want to crawl out of bed at 5:30am for a run.

But I am on the track - literally and figuratively - towards that next level.

I started small doing 1 and 2 mile runs on my way to logging 200 miles before ending big, crossing the finish line of a half in a respectable 1 hour and 45 minutes.

So... start small. END BIG.

By the way Clint did his half in 1:15 ... but anyways.

​Here’s the takeaway:

• ​Start small, even if it’s below what you know you can do
• Record your progress and allow yourself to relish the accomplishment of even the small achievements
• Keep counting those numbers - the pounds or dollars or pages or whatever is it you’re counting - right on until you achieve your goal

You will at least start toward your goal (starting is the hardest part) and you will also greatly increase the likelihood of “ending big” by achieving your your goal.

One day you might find yourself not counting anymore and actually enjoying the process.

Until then develop your strength in counting numbers, starting small.

Mark B. Anderson
Tutor & Founder, Strength in Numbers Tutoring