2021. A new beginning?

Here I am, staring down another year. Another year older, another year wiser. But most importantly another year of opportunities and possibilities. Will this year be a repeat of previous years? Another 2020? Let's hope not!

As I scroll through the notes on my phone I notice one that stands out. 2020 goals. HMM... I pause and think about what is on here before I go ahead and open it. There isn't a huge list some things have been ticked off, good I think to myself. But there is still about fifty percent of the list not ticked off. Why is this?

Are my goals to ambitious? Are the not realistic? Are the materialistic and I am just not that hell bent on achieving them? I decide to keep scrolling and what do I find? 2019 goals, 2018 goals and 2017 goals. Well atleast I am consistent, writing them down is always the first step right?

As I dive into these lists I come to a realisation, many of these items appear on all four lists. Why have these been my goals for four plus years and why haven't I achieved them yet? Is it me? Am I just lazy? Is it the goals? Is it the people and environment around me?

2021 will be different. Sure I have said this before, often actually but 2020 was an interesting year to say the least. For the first time in my adult life I had something rare, spare time. This gave me an opportunity to learn about myself and grow, professionally and personally.

I have learnt to harness my hunger for success, for more. I have come to realise that it's all about what you put in, what you believe and what you want to get. But it isn't all that simple. You need hard work, goals, resilience, determination and you can't be easily discouraged. You need to trust the process and know things take time but you will get there eventually. If and only if you stick to it and arm yourself with knowledge.

My goals this year may look similar to many people, in fact that look similar to mine in previous years. The list may be similar but the results won't be. I am a different beast this year, I am smarter, more confident and more determined than ever before. My goals are clear and how to achieve them is all set out, ready to be achieved.

Goal 1.

My first and most important goal, this is also the one that requires the most action. Lose body fat. Sound familiar? I am sure plenty of you have the same goal and I wish you the best with it. I won't achieve this with some flash new diet or some miracle three minute workout. No not at all, I am sorry to tell you this doesn't work. I will achieve this with a combination of hardwork in the gym and in the kitchen, a calorie deficit combined with carefully selected training is the only way. And learning the more I can learn about the body and nutrition the more I will be able to apply to my circumstances.

Goal 2.

My second goal for the year is to increase my business sales. I am a freelance photographer and have very recently started charging for my work. I was always planning on starting to charge for my work in 2021 but I got a small head start on this and started on December of 2020. Whilst this was an amazing experience, one paid shoot a month will not cut it. As I am just starting out I don't charge very much yet and will need to shoot a bit more than once a month to get by. Once again, knowledge is the way forward here. Knowledge about my craft, my gear, my competitors, advertising, SEO and clients. The more you know, the more you can do.

Goal 3.

Graduate university. I have one twelve week class remaining and then I graduate. I still remember the day I rang up to enroll, I think it was mid January and I was sick of doing the same thing year after year and not getting where I wanted. I was so nervous I was almost shaking but you know what, that is a sign that growth and opportunity are knocking on your door. if something scares you or makes you nervous you should do it. I have learnt that in the past year and my life has improved drastically.

This will no doubt be my hardest and most important class ever, yes I am nervous, I don't really know what to expect but I know I need to do well and I know I will give it my all.

Other goals.

I also have a bunch of other small goals, just the usual stuff you know? Read more, save more, buy a new fridge, get more tattoos, that sort of thing. Now some of these are always going to be on the list and they should, improving yourself is a constant battle and something that never truly ends. The day you stop improving and stop learning is a sad, sad day indeed. A goal without a plan is but a dream, remember that.