Allow me to begin with a quote:
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
I have some goals… some very specific, personal goals. Should I achieve those goals, I will “get” – I will receive – some tangible rewards for my accomplishments. They will instinctivize me and motivate me in ways that verbal support cannot.
However, as Zig Ziglar pointed out, what I will achieve by meeting my goals will be far more important than the tokens of my success. I get that. That’s why I’m setting the goals in the first place.
But knowing myself and my history, without some kind of tangible reward on the other side of the tape, I will, as I have so often done before, quit the race before it’s over, before I reach my goals. I need more than the satisfaction of a race well-run to motivate me through the pain and sacrifice needed to be a winner…
I need a trophy!
The HUGE Announcement
I mentioned on Facebook that I had a HUGE announcement. Actually, I didn’t say that I had a HUGE announcement as much as I said that I had made some goals.
I’m establishing a HUGE goal for myself. I need your support. For the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom. Details coming soon. #leanandmean
Therefore, here are the details . . .
I am tired of my appearance. I am disgusted with my weight. I regularly look in the mirror and hate what I see. Yet, since I know myself better than anyone but God, I am not one who sticks with any weight-loss plan, diet, or workout schedule for very long. Just seeing the number on the scale reduce is not as comforting as buttered cornbread or BBQ pizza.
“Terrible endeavors require tangible incentives.” – A. Baker
TI1 (Tangible Incentive #1)
So, what’s the deal with the watch? Well, I really, really like nice watches. I will never spend the money for a top-tier luxury watch (Omega, Rolex, etc.), but I do enjoy the look and feel of beautiful and functional timepieces with a little history.
What’s the story with the above watch? Well, first, it’s a Casio MDV106-1AV 200M Duro. What makes it special? Why is it an incentive? Simple: It only costs $45 and it’s worn by the 2nd richest man in the world, Bill Gates. Honestly, who would have thought, right?
Below are four other tangible incentives (TI’s).
TI2
TI3
TI4
TI5
Now comes the time to announce what these incentives are for.
- Casio Duro: losing 10 pounds
- Seiko 5: losing 15 pounds
- Orient Bambino: losing 20 pounds
- Seiko SNN241: losing 30 pounds
- Orient “Mako II”: losing 40 pounds
My Goal: Lose 40 pounds and 9 inches!
Are there other watches I would like to add to my collection? Sure. But these are not terribly expensive. And, as you can see, they are all beautiful watches with different purposes.
And for those of you who might question the cost, at least I don’t have a smartwatch!
Nothing else has worked. But if these watches can motivate me to lose 40 pounds, I will consider them well worth the money, especially considering the savings in long-term health costs
All that will be left is buying new clothes that fit 🙂
The Recovering Legalist 
I’m conflicted.
That’s OK.
That’s what I appreciate about you. 😁
I had a multi-paragraph comment just about done when the stupid touch pad on my laptop sent the comment to oblivion. I literally hate this thing! What’s worse, I can’t turn it off!! Uhhhgg!!
OK, so let me try again… Even though it shouldn’t, your “I’m conflicted” comment has been nagging at me. About what are you conflicted? I can think of several things, you know. You could be conflicted over whether or not a preacher should wear (or talk about wearing) any watch that costs more than a Happy Meal.
On the other hand, you could be conflicted over the choices I shared. Maybe you think the brands and the models are no good. Maybe you think I should actually set my goals a little higher and make my reward more extravagant, like a Rolex, Tudor, Gran Seiko, Omega, or Patek Phillip? Maybe it bothers you that I did not include a G-Shock in the list. I don’t know.
Or, maybe you are having a hard time with the whole idea of rewarding myself for NOT eating? I mean, talk about a first-world problem!
But, yeah, I stand by my original comment: It’s OK for you to feel conflicted, and it’s OK for me to do what I want if my conscience doesn’t prohibit it. However, my curiosity has got the cat by the throat.
Well, conflicted because I’ve watched your a couple of your videos and “overweight” just never even crossed my mind.
So as someone who auto-reverts to being maternal (to a fault probably) my first instinct was to want to say, “What??? Relax. You look normal.”
Then I realized, “Hey, he lives in that body. If he wants to lose weight, yeah! Go for it!”
Then my cheap and very practical side spoke up and said, “People are starving in China, what does he need THREE watches for?”
Then I said, “Oh yea, China is the enemy now and who cares if the Lottie Moon fund runs dry?” (Humor.)
Then I watched this video and thought, “Well, at least he isn’t hankering for a Bugatti.”
But as I was pressed for time, I summed up my thoughts on your watch/weight quest with one word: conflicted.
I thought you’d at least like to know someone is out here reading!
I’m actually not against watches. :-).
LOL! I totally support dropping some weight. Me too! 🙂
I had an Orient Bambino. (A friend borrowed it and broke it. 😐) Great watch.
YOU CAN DO IT!
High quality H2O will help 🙂
Anthony,
Good post. I like the idea of rewarding oneself for achieving a goal, I have done so myself a few times and have found a reward to be a good motivator.
As far as watches go, you have good taste and aren’t spending a fortune. I have worn a watch every day for as long as I can remember and feel odd when I don’t have one on.
My problem now is all the watches I own have been sitting in a drawer since I started wearing an Apple Watch about a month ago. Didn’t do this because I like the Apple (I do like it) but because I can monitor my heart rate, do an ECG and for the fall alert feature. So, yeah, I gave up style for a fancy First Alert.
Anyway, good luck with your goal and, enjoy the watches.
James