I’ve never been good at making goals for myself, especially when those goals are about “positive changes in the new year.” The pressure to not only make good goals, but also to follow through on them, is a lot for me and I end up with a list of promises to myself I didn’t keep. This only results in me feeling guilty and often spending the first part of my year upset with myself for not following through.
In addition to not following through, I usually make unrealistic New Year’s goals. Why would I expect myself to read 30 books in one year (one of my goals for last year) if I didn’t read any the year before? The same can be said for working out, a goal known all too well by every resolution maker. For example, if I’m new to the gym, it’s pretty unrealistic to expect myself to do an hour of cardio seven days a week.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how to approach goal setting this year and I think the best way to go about it is to make sure that I set attainable goals. Additionally, once I know they’re attainable, I need to ensure that I’m not putting pressure and guilt on myself if the goals are either not accomplished or take longer than I’d planned.
The first thing I did was make a list of every goal I had including everything I wanted to complete, start or make a habit of in 2024. Then, I expanded on those goals. For example, going to the gym is a good goal but it’s also very simple. I wanted to make sure I was expanding on my goals so that they didn’t feel surface-level. “I want to go to the gym” is good but “I want to go to the gym four to five times a week and focus on cardio,” is better for me. It’s entirely possible to expand even more and sometimes I do depending on the specific goal I’m making.
So, here are some of the goals I’ve chosen for myself for 2024:
Practice Yoga and Stretch After Waking up and Before Bed
The importance of stretching is a conversation I’ve had a lot with my mom and she has always believed in the benefits. Both her and my stepdad began stretching every morning and have raved about how good it makes them feel to start their day by stretching their muscles. I’ve saved a significant amount of yoga-inspired pins on Pinterest and believe this might be a good way to start my 2024 off right!
Meal Plan on Every Sunday and Stick to That as Best as Possible
This is another goal inspired by watching my mother. She used to make a meal plan for us every week, and I remember enjoying the plan because I knew what to expect. Now, some of that is probably thanks to my OCD, but it made me feel calm and I want to exhibit that energy in 2024.
Make My Bed Every Morning
I used to do this every day and my room just felt cleaner and more organized. There’s something about getting into a made bed that feels so cozy and inviting. I know it’s a really small task, but it would allow me to complete at least one thing on my agenda. Knowing that I’m already off to a good start by doing this makes me feel more productive throughout the day.
Journal Every Night Before Bed
For Christmas, my stepsister got me this beautiful journal about healing from trauma. It’s by the Canadian poet Rupi Kaur and with every exercise I complete, no matter how big or small, I feel like I’m making an effort to better myself. I want to ensure I’m really working on taking care of myself this year, especially because I know I often forget about her.
Go to the Gym Five Days A Week and Follow My Pre-Made Workout Plan
Here’s my callback to the beginning of this article! Two weeks ago my friend and I sat down and came up with a workout plan. The plan includes cardio, upper body and lower body workouts, core workouts and pilates. After scouring Pinterest and Google, we made a list of what we wanted to do for our five days at the gym and put together a pretty beautiful workout plan on Canva. Not only will accountability be good for us, but having a plan and really knowing what to do will make sticking to that goal so much easier.
I’m sure as the year progresses, I’ll come up with more goals. This might also be a good time to note that if you struggle with remembering your goals to write them down (I promise it helps)! I want to end on a positive note as we ride out the last few weeks of January: it’s never too late to make or start working towards your goals. Goals, especially New Year’s ones, are so difficult to stick to and that’s ok! All you can do is try and if you go in with that mindset every day, you’ll find yourself in a much more positive headspace about the goals you’ve set for yourself! Good luck and have fun!
All my love <3