The turn of the new year is often a time for many people to make New Year’s Resolutions aka as New Year’s Delusions or New Year False Promises, for others it is a time to reflect on the year that has just past and to look forward to the year ahead. For me, I’ll be turning the big 50, half a century old, which in itself doesn’t bother me but it has made me reflect a little and to take stock of where I am now and where I want to be, both personally and professionally. I am a big fan of setting goals and I also like a challenge, hence looking ahead throughout 2020, I felt there were several things I want to change and a great many things I want to achieve. I came up with this idea, maybe it’s a crazy one, but eh oh, it might be fun. And, you know what, as I say to many people when they are wanting to pursue something, it’s not all about the end result but the process or the journey that makes it fulfilling.For my challenge I have identified 20 goals which each consist of a target or components of multiple of 20. Some of the goals have timescales which vary, for example, they might involve daily tasks, some might be monthly, and some goals are to be achieved by the end of the year. There are some goals which are linked in terms of being for a bigger purpose, success of one has a positive impact on another and the goals cover various aspects of my life, personal (lifestyle, mind and body) and business. I am not going to list all 20 of my goals in this blog post but I’ll give you a flavour of the kind of goals I have set myself:

• 20 minutes of exercise in addition to my regular dog walking [Daily]
• Write 20 new blog posts during 2020 [Year end]
• Listen to 20 Audible books (I found out today via a useful email that in 2019 I listened to 13 titles, which equated to 32,091 minutes!) [Year end]
• Visit 20 new locations within the UK [Year end]
• Recycle/discard/giveaway/sell 20 items in an attempt to declutter [Weekly]

There were some goals which were far easier to identify than others, especially as the criteria for me was that they had to been meaningful, realistic whilst at the same time as being ambitious in their results and how they impact upon my life.. And, when I look at my entire list, there are themes running through it in terms of learning and growing, reconnecting with others, creating new habits, creating greater variety, being more opening to new experiences and living healthier in body and mind. In effect, it’s about making 2020 have more purpose, direction and focus and seeing what comes from this level of goal setting and intentional living. Of course, in setting these goals and to be able to achieve them, I have to structure my time more effectively, so I have to think about what do I give up so as to create time in order to fulfil these goals? To be honest, I don’t think that much, since this year I found a lot of my free time was spent doing pretty much nothing; surfing the internet or watching tv.This challenge is a bit of an experiment and no doubt I’ll be writing more throughout the year to let you know how things are going, what’s changing and what I am taking from it. A burning question that I think will arise by the end of 2020, is what will I have learnt about myself during this challenge? So, I’ll give you the heads up, the last blog post of 2020 will be around this question and giving you a final update on how successful I was in achieving my goals. I also anticipate some the other blogs I write throughout the year may draw upon some of the goals from my list, giving you an opportunity to learn more about those goals and the purpose of them. In the meantime, I would encourage you to think ahead and identify some of your own goals for 2020. I am not suggesting for one minute that you embark on a challenge like mine, though if some of you do I would love to hear about it, but to consider what you want to achieve at the start of a new decade. Be really specific, identify your goals, break them down into smaller steps, be clear on what it is you are aiming for and by when. I have attached a goal setting worksheet to help you along the way within this blog. Be ambitious with your goals like I have; the point for me is not to achieve 20 successful outcomes but to aim for that and see what happens. I may find some I fall short of and some I go beyond what I set, for me, it’s the journey that matters, not my final destination, and this is what makes it exciting.