New Year, New Goals
New Years Resolutions. Literally the dreaded words of January. There’s something about the word resolution that makes it feel daunting. From the online dictionary “a firm decision to do or not to do something”. Great, but we’re missing an important piece of the puzzle: how do we plan to execute these resolutions?
Personally, I have New Year’s Goals instead. To me a goal has a lot more substance to think about in regards to the actions or the plans behind it because you think about how to get to that result. Call me crazy, but one word can change the way my brain manifests actions behind something, so I stick to using the words that I know will drive me to think that way.
I would like to take the time to share a few of my new years goals with you and maybe give you a new angle on how you think about starting each new year. I also think that we don’t share our goals with other people for one sole purpose: we don’t want others to see us fail. If we don’t share that we plan on losing X pounds by June, then no one knows that we failed except ourselves. I think it’s healthy if other people see that I fail – regardless of how my job, my relationship, my achievements, etc. on social media appear to be. That’s why I’m making one overarching goal to be more raw this year.
That being said, I need to get something off my chest. I rang in the new year with a kidney infection. In Mexico. In a Mexican hospital. AJ and I took our much anticipated 5 day trip to Cancun over the new year week and ended up spending the last 36 hours in the most expensive “resort” room we could have found. Did I post this on social media? No. As far as anyone outside my family was concerned, we spent the night at our actual resort drinking champagne and enjoying the amazing festivities. Just a quick reminder that not everything is what it seems and that I did fail to start the new year off on the right foot.
Realistically, my new year did not start until January 10th after I started to feel better, but a late start is better than none at all, right? Without further ado, I give you my process for my new year’s goals. Ten goals. Ten areas of my life. One year. There is a priority list and my focus is on the goals surrounding my health as tier one with the others following in close stride. I used the ten areas of life that Brendon Buchard uses: health, mission, family, learning, finances, friends, spirit, mental/emotional energy, love/heart, and experiences.
Breaking it out into ten areas builds a really nice balance and makes you think about goals that you wouldn’t normally set. Example: for my love/heart goal, AJ and I are dedicating one night a month to a date night. We should plan something that we are really looking forward to so we keep our relationship fresh and lively. I know when he starts flying more, especially for the airlines, these nights will become increasingly more important to set and keep. We agreed to start the habit now, so it’s an automatic thing that happens every month. A smaller goal, but extremely important and valuable for both of us.
The goals surrounding my health and mental/emotional energy, which are the two that I really want to share with you, are two things that go hand in hand: I plan on running a marathon at year end and in turn, plan on leaning out another 12 pounds. This is less about my body aesthetic and more about my mental and physical stamina. I don’t hate my body right now, but I don’t love it either. It really stems from knowing what I was able to do and not having that ability anymore. I know what it takes, but I don’t have the mental discipline to do it without some sort of challenge set in front of me.
When I ran the half marathon back in 2018, it was the hardest hurdle I have overcome on a mental level. I am not a fast runner at about an 11:30 mile. This meant I would be on the course longer than those 9:00 minute milers by over 30 minutes. It actually rained the last 30 minutes on the course and it was mentally exhausting. Working with AJ with a personal training background and having done a few marathons himself, I’m looking at a tough year of training, but I know I’ll come out more focused than I have been before.
I also very intentionally chose the 12 pounds to get down to a goal of 135. Does anyone scroll back to their old pictures and videos on Instagram or Facebook? As a dancer, I do all the time to find combos I can revisit and rework. I found the height of my competitive pole dancing training 5 years ago and I know I had the perfect mix of muscle and body fat that made me feel like I could take on absolutely anything. It made me feel great not just as a dancer, but even during my day to day activities. I had so much energy to accomplish so much with my day. While I know others may say I already do a lot, it’s the feeling of having the excited physical energy behind those actions. Some may say it comes with growing older, but that is a reality I can face if this lean out truly doesn’t help solve most of the problem.
I challenge you to think of your new year and new decade with a different type of mindset. I’ve attached a link from lemonsandlattes.com to their goal setting worksheet template to get you started! Think about how you would like to start changing your life for the better. I know that if I lose the weight to find more energy and challenge myself on mental discipline that I am just setting myself up for success in 2021 and beyond. Do you know what I would be able to accomplish with more energy and more focus? I am so excited to see how this journey changes me and I encourage you to hold me accountable!
I want the exact same for you, wherever your priority lies in those ten areas of goal setting. Maybe it’s not physical health. Maybe it’s mending relationships with friends or family. Maybe it’s paying off that student loan or credit card debt. Maybe it’s finding your faith again, whatever that means for you. Think about which one is going to get the needle moving most and focus on that one. Every day is the first day of the rest of your life, so go at it with intention and eagerness to ignite that spark of excitement to live as fully and vibrantly as you can.
Cheers to 2020! I believe in you.
