2024: What’s Hot, What’s Not
It’s the first week of a new year and so far, I am off to a great start. I’m already tackling one of my two goals: write 52 blog posts. This should be interesting considering last year’s blog posts topped out around 11. Read along as I outline what’s hot and what’s not in the world of creating New Year’s goals.
What’s Hot
Before I jump into the key features of what makes a goal “hot”, maybe I should share my second goal for the year: run a 5k. In revealing my second goal, I’m highlighting the first point of what’s hot: a simplified focus. In looking at an entire beautiful year of possibilities, determine a simplified focus for something (or things) you would like to accomplish. Having just two goals: writing 52 blog posts and running a 5k provide PLENTY of opportunities for me to hammer out some success in these areas.
Another hot item for 2024: a positive mindset. The older I become, the more aware I am of the power of a positive mindset. If I only had my power of observation as a resource than I can still readily provide examples of wonderful progression towards success from individuals with a positive mindset. Those that are willing to see the positive in each situation also seem to possess the ability to encourage others to see the positive outcome possibilities.
And lastly on my what’s hot list is inspiration. Being able to draw inspiration from others is a definite motivator when tackling your own goals. I’ve included one of my absolute favorite inspiration accounts on Instagram in the image below. For another of my all time favorite inspiration accounts, check Lauren out here.
What’s Not
Too many goals is NOT a hot item to have in the new year. Admittedly, I fell victim to this last year. My idea was to target a different challenge each month and allow them to build on each other over the course of the year. In theory, I would arrive at the end of the year with 12 habits in my life. While I am still incorporating the habit I started with in January 2023 (daily devotional time), the other 11 challenges are spotty habits at best. Setting too many goals is too much for obvious reasons.
Another not hot feature is unreasonable timelines. In 2024, build in abundant time to hit your goals. For example, my goal for the entire year is to run a 5k not run a 5k every other month. A 5k is not a great distance but I want to do this well and feel like it is going to take months for me to build up the ability to run the entire 3.2 miles. And while 52 blog posts roughly translates into one blog post a week, the beauty of this goal is, I can write as many blog posts as I want in a week and schedule them to publish whenever I desire.
For my final what’s not hot about New Year’s goals is: a negative outlook. As I age, I am learning to avoid this whenever possible! I am finding a fascination with people who turn from the negative in order to focus on the positive and the results are amazing! There’s no room in your New Year’s goals for negativity.
Well, there you have it: what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to New Year’s goals. If you are curious about some of my past goals, you can read up on what I did in 2022 here.
