2016 Goals

Updated on January 19, 2017

I want 2016 to be a year of active pursuits. A year where if I say I want something in my life, then I commit to trying to bring it about actively. A year of soul searching and learning about oneself, but with a plan that, although it can be adjusted as I move along, needs to stay in place to keep me accountable before myself.

So here’s my attempt at capturing that plan. Here are the things I would like to have crossed off my list by the end of 2016.

Health and Wellness

1. Run 5 races: two full marathons, two half marathons, and one other race of choice. My first race is going to be this, which will be my return to running full marathons after a year and a half break from them for shorter races.

I ended up running two half marathons and a short trail race. Running sort of moved into a background, but I am happy to say it is still a part of my life. I do set more modest goals these days.

2. Learn to do a hand stand.

Funnily enough, I am pretty sure I wrote this down as my goal for 2017. Still working on this one.

3. Walk or run 10k every day. This is an easy target during the training season, but I find it difficult to motivate myself to move during the winter months and when not training.

This target has been changed to 10k steps a day, which is about 8 kilometers according to my Fitbit. This is one of the goals I am really happy about. I have become a very committed (like getting off the subway earlier to walk longer kind of committed) walker. I am able to get all of my steps in on about 6/7 days a week. 

4. Do some yoga daily.

2017 goal and I have actually been pretty pleased with how I have been doing so far. We are only a few weeks into the new year, though…

5. Find a skin care routine that works and stick to it.

I think I am on to something here! So yes, pleased with this one.

6. Meditate daily.

Ha!…..

7. Keep a daily gratitude journal.

hahaha!

Personal Development

1. Read 25 books. I know it is a rather short list, but I want to go back to reading philosophy, which is a slow kind of reading, where I work through the passages with a pencil in my hand. I am working on the list of some challenging titles that I keep telling myself I would read one day. I will commit to reading some of those books this year.
2. Write three blog posts weekly. Consider this to be my first post of the three I have planned for this week. I hope to develop a habit of writing that is independent of my feelings about writing.
3. Get published five times. Online is okay. This is just another way to keep me interested in writing.
4. Start your coach training. Start practicing being a coach even if you cannot get paid for it yet.
5. Start and lead a Meetup group.
6. Create an online course. A big project that will take up months to complete, but I am looking forward to the challenge and the new skills I would have to gain along the way.
7. Write an e-book. There are a few topics close to my heart that  I have in mind and I always thought it would be fun to give this medium a try.
8. Sell something you made online.
9. Complete your BC bucket list. This is my way of organizing my travel and play goals for the next year. It is also a great way to get me engaged with this awesome place I currently have the privilege of calling home.
10. Set up a system of organizing your digital photos. I take more pictures than my Mac can store and I have been avoiding creating an organizational system  for them for years. Now it is time.

Out of this long list, the thing that worked was starting my coach training and running a small coaching practice over the past year. I did not count how many books I read. I was not able to read any philosophy, but I did get out of my reading slump at the end of 2016. I also rocked the BC Bucket List!

So, here you have it. It is easy to put these items down as a list, but it will be much harder to bring them to reality. I know, however, that I will feel very accomplished and proud of myself if at the end of the year I could say that these are the things I have done. I look forward to crossing the items off this list as I live my 2016.

I am reflecting on this list in early 2017 and I can see what would appear to be a failure: I did not come anywhere near to accomplishing most of the items. However, that’s not what these lists are intended for. Life would seize to be a mystery and a delight if we could just will anything we put down on paper and accomplish every single item recorded. If I already knew everything that I wanted and how to get there, there would be nothing left to learn for me in life. But looking back at the experience of either “succeeding” or “failing” at each intention is where learning and growth happen. I look at these intended goals and their outcomes with acceptance and I take what I learned forward into 2017.