Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We hope your 2016 is off to a rocking start already! Your Wellness team wasted no time as we did a backcountry ski outing on a sun-drenched New Year’s Day.

We often begin the year by talking about healthy goal-setting. Personally, I operate best when I have some clear direction and focus for the future, and writing goals every year helps me with this.

I thought about re-posting one of our popular articles about goal-setting, but I thought I’d be a little more personal for the first post of the year. (You can still check out the goal-setting post later if you want to: SMART Goals)

Last year, I began the year with a list of 11 physical goals, plus room for some creativity with three “Wildcard” goals. My list was divided into Strength (goals for the weight room),  Speed (goals for the road, trail, or track), and Climb (goals for the mountains).

Of the eleven, I achieved six. Plus I filled the three wildcards. So it’s not like I knocked it out of the park, but I was certainly proud of the six I got to check off (plus the wildcards), and the five I missed just carry right on over onto this year’s list. Some of my highlights in 2015 were winning the Madison Duathlon, summiting Gallatin Peak (amazing), and doing 10 consecutive wide-grip pullups (I’ve never been good at pullups).

Cristin by the way, was 9 of 11, plus wildcards—she did knock it out of the park. I’m going to attribute her high percentage to her being younger, more organized, and more dedicated than me. 🙂  Way to go Cristin!

This year, I kept the same categories, and expanded the list just a bit. There’s a lot to do, but with proper planning, I think I can check off most of them. For any I miss, well, there will always be next year!

Having written goals posted and visible can be an excellent motivator. Just remember, as always, that our outcomes depend on our daily behaviors, so write out a roadmap (plan or program) to your success. If this is new to you, find a coach who can help.

Also, I shared some of my physical goals, but not all goals are physical of course. Now might be a great time to write out short-term or long-term professional goals, personal goals, educational goals, financial goals…whatever categories you’re looking to improve in this fresh, new year.

Here’s to your continued success! We’re glad to be on the journey with you!

Neal Andrews—MUS Wellness