(Hopefully that light is actually the end of the tunnel and not a train.) It’s that time of year! Time to review goals from the past year and set new goals for the next year. So grab your beverage of choice — tea, coffee, bourbon, whatever — and let’s reflect and plan!
It’s the end of the year, so it’s time to set up goals for next year! And ooooh look! I made a video! Light a candle (or, if you're like me, set off the smoke alarm), grab your favorite drink, and let's set some smart goals and intentions for 2021! (Bonus surprise: PRINTABLES!)
How do I describe running 31 miles in the mountains? The fact that I’m struggling to describe it tells me one thing: it’s a lot to process. I’m remembering the race in snippets, like scenes from a dream: a long line of runners streaking across a field in blue pre-dawn light, the angry buzz of perturbed yellow jackets, gravel roads that continue for miles, swollen mountain streams, the arduous climb to the summit, the thrill of the technical downhill running, the smell of cookies and bananas and PB&J, and the final grueling miles in the late afternoon heat. Thirty-one miles is a montage of pain and stubbornness.
It’s mid-December, so we’re all excited to plan and set goals for next year! But before you set new goals (or if it’s your first time setting annual goals), it’s important to review this year so you understand what went well, what didn’t go well, what’s in your control, and determine steps forward to drive your annual goals. I can guide you through this process and I even have some free printables for this!
It had been a while though since my last backpacking trip, so when a friend asked if we wanted to go very socially distanced backpacking (we hike at slightly different paces and we’d have all our own separate gear) on the Appalachian Trail then I jumped at the opportunity! A little bit of planning later and we had a section hike mapped out: Sam’s Gap to Spivey Gap along the NC-TN border.
I heard one time that having a long bucket list meant you were a very optimistic person. Or, that you’re silly and delusional, I forget which. But the gist is that if you have a long bucket list, you are imagining a future full of life and experiences. And, while a 370 item (plus an extra 42 mountains to summit and 28 long trails to hike/run) bucket list is…more than a bit excessive…I like to think that this list is an aspirational guideline for when I need inspiration.
Just four days into the new year and I’ve already completed my first race of 2020 - nay, my first ULTRA of 2020! 50K #3 is officially in the books for me after the Salem Lake Frosty Fifty on January 4!
2019 goals recap and 2020 goals - these are things I want to accomplish in the coming year. I’m up 2 goals from last year - this year I set 44 goals - but I’m focusing more on just a couple areas of my life. Goals require deep work, but a major element of deep work is rest. So I need to make sure I build in periods of rest this year to avoid burnout and to ensure I stay creative and keep some plasticity in my mind. Additionally, I feel like I’m getting to the point where I’m happier with the things I’m doing and I just want to do more of those things, so I have fewer goals/resolutions where I want to change my existing behavior, and more goals/resolutions where I want to grow a behavior or habit that I already have.
