Each year many of us think of what we would like to accomplish in the coming year. I think for many of us as well, we put down some quick plans and never look at them again. That is why this year I am publishing my goals in this article. I know the more people that know about my goals the more likely I will accomplish them. Someone will eventually ask me how I am doing on my goals and I will have to answer, not only to them, but to myself as well at that moment.
As I have been thinking of 2018, my mind has wandered all over the place. Also, while thinking of writing this article, I have been pondering what goals to publish for the world to see. Do I just list the goals that I have for Open Air Life? Or do I publish not only them, but also my personal and family goals that I have set? I have decided that I will list a few of each. This will provide the most accountability and hope to inspire you to set and achieve goals in your life. I have found when I hear what others are planning, I personally think, that is impressive, maybe I should try. Or that is an area in my life that I need to improve as well, so I set that as a goal.
Open Air Life Goals
As many of you have noticed, I have been a little less focused on Open Air Life this past year. As Open Air Life has always been a passion in my life, my other full-time job and family responsibilities have taken a precedence over Open Air Life this past year. But in 2018, I am committed to bringing great content to all of you and hopeful many new readers. Back in 2008 when I started Open Air Life, our slogan was to bring the outdoor community together. I think this still stands true. This online publication is dedicated to the outdoors and those who love to play in it.
Goal #1 for OAL: Solidify a mission statement.
You will find a trend with this first goal. As I just mentioned, we have always had a slogan that help shape decisions. And you could say that is a mission statement in and of itself. But it never was intended for that and I don’t feel that it truly embodies the whole business. So, first thing for Open Air Life is to develop a mission statement with values to go along with it. Once I have done this, I will post them on the site for all to see.
Goal #2 for OAL: Write at least 1 article a week on average.
This goal is a little squishier than I like it. I would love to say, that I am going to make sure that I get at least one article write and published each week. But the truth of the matter is that some weeks, work or life might just get in the way and I am going to have to miss a week. But I know with a little better planning on my part, I will be able to make the average happen.
Goal #3 for OAL: Expand my social reach.
As of today, Open Air Life has 2,573 followers on Twitter and 585 followers on Facebook. In 2018, I plan on working to increase that by double. In a previous job just a couple years ago, I took their Facebook page from 0 to 61,000 followers in just over a year. To set my goals at only doubling, I believe this is an attainable goal, if not a little low. I plan on sharing and creating content that will be liked and shared. To help create a social community for those your love the outdoors.
Personal Goals
Now that I have shared some of my goals for Open Air Life, I want to share what I would like to achieve personally. I have always been good as setting goals for myself. I also believe that I have been good at accomplishing most of the goals that I set. But I do know that I do fall short from time to time and having more visibility into my goals will only help me be motivated in achieving them.
Personal Goal #1: Develop a personal mission statement.
I told you that you were going to see a trend. This past year, I went to a technology conference where the speaker spoke about developing a personal mission statement. This has stuck with me ever since that conference. For the next few weeks after the conference, I started to develop that mission statement, but never put anything down on paper. I now want to finish what I started and start using it as a beacon in my life to make the best decisions possible.
Personal Goal #2: Create a Mentor Group
I was listening to a podcast from Tim Ferriss where he was talking with M. Sanjayan (@msanjayan) where he talked about having a mentor group and the value that they can have in your life. So in 2018, I want to create that group and then start planning regular visits and interaction with them to help guide me. If you would like to check out this podcast, click here to be redirected to Tim Ferriss’s page.
Personal Goal #3: To run an Ultramarathon 50K.
I have been running now for a few years and have done multiple trail marathons. But the 50K or 50 mile race has been elusive. For the past couple years, I have started training for one and have end up injured. But, for the past few months, I have changed my approach to training in hopes to stay healthier for the long haul. This has already enabled me to put on more miles and feel better. I am excited to see what races or fun runs I will be able to accomplish in 2018.
Family Goals
Last of the goals that I am going to share are our goals as a family. I know this is more personal than I would historically have shared, but I feel important to show this aspect of my life as well. My family means the world to me and I will sacrifice just about any of the above goals for family. With that said, I do feel as one makes time for themselves, they will be able to better contribute to their family and friends. I have 4 kids and a wife, and we sat down on the first and discussed what we wanted to accomplish as a family in 2018. Here I will share a few of the highlights.
Family Goal #1: Develop a family mission statement.
I feel this might seem a little redundant, but I did want to show how important this is for me in 2018. I feel there are many times that we are making decisions without considering the consequences. A family mission statement will enable us to be more focused as a family unit when deciding to sign up for a sports event, or to go on a family trip. Having 4 kids can make life busy, but having a defined mission statement will help all of us be more unified in the decisions we make.
Family Goal #2: Be more healthy and active.
Each one of our kids other than our youngest that this to be a great idea. They all love to play and play outside as you can imagine being a child of someone who write about the outdoors. But they all also love video games and technology. Not that this is always a bad thing, we all decided that we could cut back on the technology and spend a little more time on being healthy. One thing that inspired me was the Outside Magazine’s podcast about the Whole Life Challenge. The structure of this challenge is basically to track 6 aspects of your life and make small changes to improve. We haven’t joined the challenge this time, but for the first 2 months of the year we are drinking more water and getting at least 150 minutes of exercise a week.
Family Goal #3: Get out in nature more often as a family.
The sad truth is that we don’t get out to nature enough. I am sure our family gets out more than others, but there is room for improvement. My wife and I have always noticed how our kids seem a little better after coming back from camping or hiking. In 2018, we want to spend some more nights in the woods and days hiking in nature. How are we going to do this? One way is that we have already blocked out weekends for camping. In the end, if it makes it to a calendar it is always more likely to come to past.
I hope that sharing these goals for 2018, that you will also start to look at your life and see what you might want to improve. Once you have decided on something, set some goals and share them with family and friends. If you are new to goal setting, like many people are, start small. As you accomplish one goal, you will feel more capable of accomplishing another. So once again start will realistic goals and have the best year ever.