New Year, New Goals
And just like that 2021 is almost over. The year definitely had its highlights and low points including a cancelled trip to Kenya and getting sick over the holidays. But I digress. I like to spend that time between Christmas and New Years when you don’t know what day it is or what you’re supposed to do, to take an honest look at the year, to celebrate my wins, and think about what I want to accomplish the following year.
I’m not a fan of resolutions but I am a fan of goals that set a direction for the coming year. I break down my goals into the following categories or themes. Keeping them broad gives me flexibility and if one of those themes isn’t important for the year, I leave it out.
Personal – personal development, things I want to learn
Health & Wellness – nutrition, movement and habits that make me feel good
Relationship – family, friends, partner
Career – recruitment and fitness related
Travel
Financial – savings, investments, property purchases
Contribution – giving back
Write down 1 – 2 specific goals in each category to work towards during the year. I think about why I want to accomplish that goal and how it’ll impact my year and life overall so I’m not just setting a goal for the sake of it.
This past year, one of my health & wellness goals was to incorporate more plant-based meals into my diet. This goal isn’t very specific, but the specific steps I took to do that included creating a list of plant-based restaurants in Vancouver, researching recipes and eating at least 4 plant-based meals a week.
Write down the steps you need to accomplish that goal by the date you’ve set. Breaking a goal down into mini steps makes it more tangible and easy to track your progress along the way. It also makes things seem less daunting.
My fiancé and I share our individual goals with each other and talk about how we can support each other and what we want to achieve together which is usually related to travel, finances and our relationship. A big goal for us was to buy a condo in 2021 and achieving that was definitely a highlight.
I tend to procrastinate (a lot) so I look at my goals every couple weeks to check in on where I am and to hold myself accountable, making sure I’ve set aside the time I need to get things done.
I love looking back at previous years to see what I’ve accomplished (and sometimes that’s things I never thought I could do), what I’m working towards and what’s changed. Ultimately, it’s about whether the things I’m doing today will set me up for the life I want to live in 10 years.
What are some of the things you’re working towards in 2022?