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Welcome back to Thank God It’s Monday! tl;dr If you’re not sure how to pick your New Year’s goals, or have already flopped on the ones you did make, picture who you want to be in December 2025. What does that person do every day? How does that person look different than the version of you today? How can you start bridging that gap today? I thought we might as well continue with the resolution theme for this week since the majority of people will give up on them before the end of the month (but not TGIM readers, right!?). Maybe you didn’t set a goal yet, or maybe the ones you did pick aren’t working out the way you thought they would. And that’s okay! The name of the game is not to get better because the year changed. It’s to get better, incrementally, all of the time. The first week of 2025 I spent working six overnight shifts. So guess what: shockingly my movement and mindset goals did not look like how I envisioned for the new year. And that’s okay! It doesn’t mean the remaining 51 weeks have to look like the first. My theme for this new year is doing deep work. I want to use the extra time not having a second job or being in graduate school to dive deep mentally, physically, and all of the rest. It also feels like an appropriate time to do this because I turn 30 this year and what better way to celebrate than to know I worked my hardest to be the best version of myself up until this point? The only way to accomplish this is to outline exactly what digging deep means and how that looks for when I turn 30 (and at the end of the calendar year). This helps me create milestones and know I’m on track to hitting those targets. What does this look like for you and your goals? Let’s start with the end in mind. What is your ideal version of yourself in December of 2025? What have you worked towards mentally, physically, financially, socially, and spiritually? Does one area carry more weight for you than the others? Then with that goal in mind, backtrack to what that would look like for you to start working on today. If you want to start lifting regularly, how can you bridge where you’re at now to where you want to be? If you’re starting from scratch, maybe you would benefit from hiring a coach to learn the basic mechanics of lifting. Or maybe you’ve got the basics down and you want to learn how to create a better program for yourself. It’s very individual depending on where you want to be and where you’re starting. Your goals should look like a roadmap: step-by-step instructions on how to get from point A to point B. You wouldn’t use a roadmap that doesn’t have logical, stepwise functions because you would never be able to achieve the end goal.
Similarly, your goals should follow a stepwise format so you have a good sense of how to get to the end. Of course, life will not go exactly as planned, but having a rough outline will drastically increase your chances of being successful. Consider what your goals are for this year physically, mentally, financially, and socially. Spend some time digging deep into what each of these are. Even though the new year has already started, there are 352 days left to work towards these goals. Consider what the person who has accomplished those goals looks like and how you can start to work towards becoming that person. Instead of hoping to be able to run a marathon by the end of the year, plan to run shorter distances three days this week and work your way up to the 26 miles. Instead of hoping to pay off your credit card, write out how you can start chipping away at that debt with each paycheck. Instead of focusing on lofty New Year’s goals, focus on the small actions you can take each day. And when inevitably life gets in the way of accomplishing these small actions each day, brush it off and get back up with the vision of your 2025 self in mind. Start right now. What is something you can do tonight to align yourself with a better version of yourself for the end of the year? Maybe you can look up a workout you want to try at the gym tomorrow. Or you can drink a glass of water to work on being better hydrated. Or take the time to write down your goals if you want to work on being more mindful. Take one small step right now to work towards your ideal self. And plan what that looks like tomorrow to continue working on your stepwise path toward your goals this year. If you get lost on your path, just look for what is the next step that will put you in the right direction to reach your goals for the end of the year. Remember, all it takes is one step at a time. If you found some value in this, please share it with a friend you think would enjoy it! And let me know if you’d like to be added to get TGIM. With that, envision a clear finish line for yourself this year and the path to get you there will illuminate itself. Until next time, Shannon |
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