Happy New Year - 2022!
This is the third document I've started and stopped writing for more than a week--usually, setting my new year's goals or themes has been easy for me.
In fact, last week, I was all set--I had made some bold plans. Instead of setting one-year goals, I decided to set decade goals--well, goals to achieve by 2030 (feeling inspired by my company's ESG (Environmental, social and corporate governance) goals. My 2030 "Moonshot" goals included things like:
Read 500 books
Contribute an additional $200K to my retirement accounts
Travel to 10 new countries, etc.
I felt it was a really epic list. Just when I was set to finish the goals, my nephew Rand asked, "Krista, haven't you just multiplied your yearly goals by 8?" His question made me realize that these new goals weren't anything new and were just an extension of activities I was already doing. After some intense reflection, I realized it wasn't the direction I wanted to take.
So, instead of unveiling my 2030 "Moonshot" goals, my focus for 2022 is to ask myself these two questions each day. I discussed them briefly in my year-end-reflection post earlier this week.
How can I be 1% better today?
Who am I becoming?
I'm sure you're asking yourself--but Krista, what does this actually mean for the new year? I'm glad you asked!
Here are my steps:
I printed up these two questions and placed them on my mirror, nightstand, desk, and fridge to see them every day.
I've blocked out my calendar for the last Sunday of every month for a reflective check-in with myself. I will create an agenda, review what I've done aligned with the two questions, and see what adjustments are needed for the subsequent month. If being self-critical was a superpower, I would be unstoppable. One thing I want to avoid with these monthly self-check-ins is not being critical. Instead, the focus will be on celebrating my actions to be a better version of myself.
From what I've learned in Atomic Habits, new habit creation/change begins with creating systems. So for January, that is where I will start--setting up systems to make any new behavior or change stick.
I still like focusing on the 4 Pillars of my life: Finances, Health & Wellness, Personal / Relationships, Spiritual. Fortunately, in September, I started a new habit to improve my finances when I finally went all-in using YNAB. I've totally geeked out on this budgeting platform, and for the first time in my life, I'm not obsessing about my finances. The plan in January is to adopt a similar strategy for the other pillars--taking them one at a time. I am in no rush to be a new person overnight--just to be 1% better every day.
Ultimately, 2022 will be a focus on what Gretchen Rubin said best
"What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while."
What are your 2022 goals?
