Happy New Year 2024!

Happy New Year to all of you!

As I said to my wife last night, “Wow, I can’t believe that we have rolled into 2024, the year of my 60th birthday!” She shook her head, perhaps not believing I’d hit 60 in nine months. Jeebus!

Anyway, like many folks, I have goals for this year. Chief among them is “160 and 60 by 60!” Now I am confident that I will crank out 60 pushups on my 60th birthday.

On the other hand, getting my weight down to 160 lbs is proving much more challenging than I had anticipated. The holiday parties weren’t exactly helpful for weight issues.

Time to buckle down!

My biggest problem is portion control; I’m sure many of you can relate. I could go on and on about what we can do to adjust our diets.

But I want to focus on the value of setting goals for a few minutes.

Setting goals brings clarity to our lives. What is the point of getting into a car and driving aimlessly without a destination? None. The same goes for life goals.

By setting clear goals, we create a roadmap for ourselves. In my case, it’s “160 and 60 by 60!” With a goal in mind, we then develop a plan to meet the objectives. The fun part is that we often encounter obstacles or setbacks, requiring us to either tweak the plan or resort to backup plans. For example, my progress toward 60 pushups stalled out a month ago. While doing bench presses, dumbbell presses and flys, I had not incorporated pushups into my fitness routine. I erroneously assumed that weightlifting would help me meet my pushup goal. Nope. I have now incorporated pushups along with my lifting routine.

Setting a metric-centered goal is pretty easy. Sixty pushups are a clearly defined goal. Ditto for 160 lbs. But what if you have a goal that is a bit vague? “I want to achieve a black belt” is an example.

How is this achievable? I would set short-term goals as a springboard to long-term goals. The most obvious example is progressing from white belt to yellow belt. Focus on the material needed to get to the next level. While working on the required techniques, forget about the yellow belt goal. Practice the techniques. Ask your instructor questions. Focus on one belt at a time.

Short-term goals are an integral part of my goal to reach 60 pushups by my 60th birthday. For example, my goal this month is to crank out 45 pushups by January 31st. To that end, I must focus on the process of regularly doing pushups.

If you are not able to view this video, go here.

In short, determine your long-term goal. Implement short-term goals as part of the plan. Focus on the process of executing the plan. That’s it.

Over to you. What are your goals for this year? Do you have short-term goals to help you achieve the long-term goal? Let’s hear from you!

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A huge thank you in advance!