Forget about them! Resolutions are absolutely pointless. We all (myself included) make these unobtainable requests of ourselves to become the perfect version of ourselves… overnight. That is simply not how it should work, yet we do this every single year and are left disappointed by the end of February. Of course, the time of year never helps since most of us wish to be healthier and more active, in the coldest and shortest days of the year.
This is my case to rebrand the whole New Years Resolution letdown into simply, “Goals for the year.” What’s the difference? Resolutions are more like hopes and dreams that we hold to be distant, and usually unobtainable. Goals, on the other hand, have specific dates for completion and steps to achieve it. And unlike those pesky resolutions, goals can (and should be) revisited daily, weekly, and monthly. There are a million articles and self help authors out there to help you achieve your goals (via quick google search), but I can’t stress the crucial fact to start small. For example: Do not make your goal to run a marathon if you aren’t an avid runner, otherwise you’ll become discouraged once you realize how much training is involved. Start by forcing yourself to run 1-3 times per week at any distance/pace.
Revisit this goal come spring, when you can more accurately determine where you are in your progress/training and then pick an goal of 5K,10K, Half, or full marathon. This example can obviously be extrapolated for anything from eating healthy and loosing weight to becoming more outgoing and adventurous. Set your goal to eliminate/replace 1 bad food per week, don’t just go clean cold-turkey. Plan to go on one road trip/hike per month and build from there.
So here is my list of goals I will set out to accomplish during this year. I’m sharing these with the hopes that I not only motivate you to do the same, but also in hopes that my friends hold me accountable to these. In parenthesis are the steps I will use to accomplish the goal and benchmark against when I revisit them:
Daily/Wellness Goals
- Stand up at my desk for at least 6 hours per day (2hrs more than currently)
- No soda for an entire year (Replace with healthy snacks on long car rides)
- No fast food (Find better restaurants to eat at after long hikes/workouts)
- Workout 6 days per week (2 days more than currently)
Activity Goals
- Lead Climb 5.12- by June 30th (by climbing 3x per week)
- Trad Climb at least once by May 1st (follow up friends that have the gear)
- Ski 20-30 Days by March 30th (at least 5 times per month)
- Skin/Backcountry Ski by March 30th (by tagging along with an experienced skier)
- Ski Tuckerman’s Ravine by March 30th (sack-up and go when conditions are prime)
- Spend at least 30 Nights Outdoors (1-2 weeknights/month + 3-4 weekend nights/month)
- Travel to 3 Countries (Costa Rica in April, Norway in June, + 1 more)
- Upload 1 video per week (Commit to 5AM wake ups to get editing time in)
- Upload 1 Blog Post per week (Dedicate 1 night/week to writing)
- Ride to work 2x per week (Ride on biking/climbing days or free days like Friday)
- Average 100miles per week (Additional miles from bike commute + 3 dedicated rides of 30+ miles each week)
Personal Goals
- Payoff Undergrad Student Loans (Keep on budget an make current payments)
- Finish Graduate School (No excuses, 2-3 classes/semester to graduate in December)
I will post an update and current status of this every 3 months, and I encourage you to do the same. If you’d like some motivation or someone to keep track or compete with you on your goals, message me! Game on.
Hi there, my name is Zachary Kenney and I’m an adventure filmmaker & photographer. My passion is to tell stories that will hopefully motivate you to go live a more adventurous life. Whether that is to experience the view from the summit of a mountain, or wandering through a new town on a road trip. Currently based out of Park City, UT.
Just cause it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s not super hefulpl.