My Own Blood Never Looked So Good

(I had my wife take this picture--I want to remember today.)

We're about halfway through 2014. How are you doing on your goals for the year? 

Pull-ups

One of my goals for the year was to do 20 strict pull-ups, unbroken. ("Strict" means straight pull-ups without any swinging or "kip;" "unbroken" means 20 without coming off the bar.) This was a stretch goal for me, because at the end of 2013 I could at most do 1 or 2 pull-ups, even with a kip. My whole life had been like that: I've always been bad at pull-ups.As I've mentioned previously on this blog, I've been ruthless this year about getting up and working out early in the morning every day. Often, my morning workout called for pull-ups, and whenever that was the case, I'd use a resistance band to make them easier. But this morning, I decided to try the workout (which called for pull-ups) without a band. Over the course of today's workout, I ended up doing 60 pull-ups (in sets of 10, broken up by?other exercises), but the best part was that I was able to do the first set of 10 unbroken! (I ended up tearing my hands, but it was worth it.) So, I think my goal for the year is definitely possible.I know it doesn't sound like much, and for some of my dear readers my lowly pull-up total is a joke, but for me this morning was a big deal. I've never been so satisfied to see my own blood as I was this morning. 

6 Months Left in 2014

On some of my other 2014 goals I've made similar progress, on others I have some ground to make up. Either way, as difficult as the discipline of pursuing goals is, the satisfaction of accomplishment outweighs the difficultly.So, what will you use these next 6 months to accomplish? Memorize a psalm? Run a 10k? Save $1,000? Let me know in the comments, below.