2017 Vision Board and Goals

Here is the thing. I don’t think I can ever NOT be a goal setter.

I did learn something pretty big in 2016 though. I will not always reach all of my goals and that is ok. As the year progressed, I reassessed my goals (which is why I do the monthly goal check in to keep things measurable and realistic). 

In 2016, some of the things I set out to do were:

• Increase savings: I made it a goal to save 20% of my income and despite fostering addictions to probably the  most expensive sports in the world*, a nasty Starbucks habit and chronic wanderlust, I have achieved more than I set out to, to the surprise of myself and everyone around me.

*Seriously – I needed to choose adventure racing which necessitates a BOAT and triathlon which requires multiple bikes, power meters and a squillion other things.

• Practice gratefulness:
  In everything.
  While I didn’t set aside a particular time each day like I wanted, I increased my attitude of gratefulness in everything with a big focus on the blog. Not to get soap boxy, but the blogger world has become quite rampant with entitlement to partnerships, product and payment from companies with a constant focus on MORE. I have made it my goal to treat every partnership I have like a family member – this blog is not a business for me, it is a hobby. I do not want more than I need and I want to make sure that companies are getting what they need and expect from me. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with them and when some shut down their ambassador programs (I had two companies do this in 2016), I focus on being grateful for the experience to work with them and move on.
• PR every single race distance: Technically I achieved this goal. I PRed in every race distance that I raced in 2016 and took the female win for 6 races. But halfway through, I needed to reassess because attached to this goal, I gave myself some pretty aggressive time goals and I needed to let go of them. I cannot push my body past what it is capable of achieving and while I certainly am all for being competitive, sometimes it is important to be realistic and not try to push an aggressive goal into a time frame. These time goals still stand, but I am focused on chipping away at them.
• Increase my navigation skills: While they are still in no way stellar, I did put a lot of work into them this year and have made strides to being a stronger co-navigator for my adventure racing team.
• Foam roll and stretch 3 x a week. 😐 Let’s just say, it is a miracle I am walking around uninjured.
• Increase paddling technique: I didn’t spend as many hours at this as I would have liked to, but I certainly did improve in terms of form and ability to handle a canoe in white water. WINNING. 
• Visit my family once a week. Yes. This is one that is absolutely vital to me and I am proud to say that I was able to do this.
  

  Sister time on one of our weekly family nights.

• Major sugar cutback: As an athlete, I need fast burning fuel sometimes so although I certainly don’t cut sugar entirely out of my diet, I eat to WIN which means I focus on having a high nutrition/calorie balance.
• Shopping ban:  I wasn’t fully aggressive on this one, but I did cut back majorly on consumption in 2016. If I didn’t need it, I didn’t buy it. *Note: coffee is a need.
• Travel to a new place every month. 

Handily achieved.

So. 2017?

I split my goal setting into a few buckets to cover off the personal, blog, financial, professional and athletic goals but I will share a few that I would love accountability for and that you may be interested in.

Do my first full IRONMAN

My A race of the season is the Ironman Lake Placid in July and all of my training leading up to that will be focused on this goal. I know the commitments it requires to do well and I have jumped in with two feet.

Podium an international adventure race

I also have a few BIG adventure races this year and my teammate Brad and I have officially joined forces with Get Out There Magazine so with more resources and both of us more experienced and fitter than ever, I think this is a feasible goal. 

Learn to Garden

We have this cool program at work that allows employees a plot of land and shared resources to grow a garden at work. I have requested one and am looking forward to learning how to do it well. I am already plotting out what veggies I am going to plant in the spring.

Take a Course 

I am a big proponent of education and the past couple years has been a lot of transition at work for me, so I have put additional learning on hold. Now that things are balancing out, I am setting a goal to start a course in fall 2017.

Remain Injury- Free

This is a key element for reaching all of my athletic goals so I am focused on proper sleep, rest, nutrition and self-care. 

Minimize

I want to be more intentional of my consumption – whether that is products or media. I do not call myself a minimalist in the true sense of the word, but when I buy things, I question why and how I will use it.

This year, I will continue with some of the features that I have developed, including the monthly goal check in. Beginning next month, I am going to include a proponent that includes you. I will add a 30-day challenge that you can join me in, whether it is personal, self-growth, athletic or otherwise. Stay tuned for that!

What are some of your goals for 2017?