I need a goal and a plan

I once read "Tyranny of the Urgent" by Charles Hummel and was struck by the idea that I could choose my choices. I've come to realize that my parents' treated any goal like a death march instead of a more realistic sixteen little steps. I learned that I COULD choose a reasonable goal, make a rational plan to meet that goal, and then make reasoned decisions that would get me to that goal. And I've done fairly well with this. My husband's and my long-term retirement account goals made in our twenties will likely be met because we put money aside on a consistent basis as planned. Our goals for getting our kids through college without a student loan burden are nearly completed because we kept to our plan. I grew up in a hoard situation and didn't know anything about housekeeping but I learned new skills because I had the goal for my family and myself to live in a clean orderly place. I learned to decorate cakes and stitch needlework and crochet afghans because I had the goal of learning these skills as making life more beautiful. I learned to cook delicious meals from scratch as a goal to save money. I improved my home's indoor and outdoor space as a goal of making it more comfortable and efficient.

But I never had a definite goal for my body. Vague plans of eating better and being thinner and becoming healthier drifted through my life. My weight kept rising and my fitness declining until I came to think that being fit and healthy would be as easy as hiking over the Rocky Mountains in a blizzard. A broken ankle a few years ago (man, no-weight-bearing for eight weeks was really tough) and the recent development of plantar fasciitis has taken me from bad to pathetic. Clearly I need a reasonable goal and a reasonable plan to meet it. I need to see that I don't have a tedious chore but a simple little task, just sixteen little steps.