Time to set those 2017 resolutions! What’s your biggest goal for the year ahead?
Who loves New Years resolutions? Maybe you’re one of those awesome people who doesn’t need to make resolutions because throughout the year you continue to set big goals and crush ’em. Ok, I try to do that too, but there’s nothing like January 1 to get your butt in action.
Confession, when I sat down to write this post, I couldn’t remember a single resolution I made for 2016. Whoops. Well, this year has been a crazy one so I’ll cut myself some slack. Good thing I have this handy blog to remind me of my goals.
Those elusive 2016 resolutions were…
- Live in the Now
- Invest in Myself
- Practice Self Care
- Take Advantage of My Surroundings
- Stay Connected
I’ll admit now, that at the time when I posted these I hadn’t announced I was moving out of NYC, but I already knew it was happening, which is why some of those resolutions were so key–take advantage of my surroundings and stay connected. Looking back at my resolutions, I did a decent job. Not perfect, but who is?
Living in the now has been one of the biggest ones from 2016. I tried my best to truly enjoy every moment, and there were some BIG moments: getting engaged, moving across the country and getting married, just to name a few.
Those other resolutions, I’ve done okay. Being across the country from many of my friends and family makes staying connected a challenge, and also a priority. I hope to continue to make this a priority moving forward.
And now I’m ready to think about the new year ahead. Typically I have a big list of resolutions swirling around in my head, but this December, things are seeming foggy. I think it’s thanks to all the changes in the past year, plus uncertainty with where things are going (hello job search). That being said, there are a few things I’d love to accomplish in 2017.
2017 Resolutions
- Be Consistent with ShapinUp: I know a key to being a blogger boss is being consistent with your content. I’ve been going through phases with how frequently I blog but I truly want to be consistent and turn ShapinUp into a more reliable resource.
- Keep Learning: Since I haven’t been in an office job for a few months, I’m really missing learning new things and know that even out of the office, there is so much learning to be done. I’m on a bit of a spending freeze at the moment, but there are tons of resources to learn new things for free. My resolution is to take advantage of the free (or at least cheap) online and community tools and to keep learning.
- Take More [Calculated] Risks: By risks, I don’t mean going sky diving (although if you haven’t been, I highly recommend it), but I’m referring to risks as in tackling things that might seem scary, challenging or intimidating. Maybe it’s reaching out to a new person, launching new business ideas (I have a few I’ve been toying with) or just saying yes to things I’d typically so no to.
- Enjoy Training & Racing: I ran a couple of races in 2016 but I barely prepared, it just wasn’t a priority and that’s okay. This year, I’m not even sure I want to put in the hard fight for a PR, so for now I’ll say my resolution is to put in balanced and focused training effort and enjoy the process. When I’m not training for a race, I usually wish I was, and then when I sign up for a race, I lose training motivation after a few weeks. A vicious cycle, right? So whatever my actual race goals are, I want the main priority to be to enjoy the experience (excited to share my 2017 racing plans with you in January!).
- Be Better At Resolutions: Can a resolution be about resolutions? To better tackle resolutions, it requires more than jotting it down, it requires a plan. Now that I have my goals set out, I’m going to make a game plan to get these things done, and I’m also going to set a reminder each month to check in on my progress.
More on that 5th resolution, how exactly do we make our resolutions stick? Instead of just listing your resolutions, take the time to think through each one and figure out why it’s important to you, and then figure out the steps that it requires to get done. Set check-in reminders, either on your google calendar, posted on your fridge, wherever. When those check-in dates hit, refer back to your resolutions and if you’ve fallen off track, take the time to make changes and refocus those goals. And most importantly, if you check back and realize your priorities and goals have shifted, that’s perfectly fine. Don’t feel stuck to your original list, you can create new resolutions and edit old ones any day of the year.
2017 can be our year, let’s make it a great one.
