– Teodoro Ramos, 1/05/21

Don’t Make Resolutions in 2021, Make Goals

As the year ended, it seemed like everyone was lamenting this was the worst year ever. It was definitely a tough year for many reasons, but I found a lot of positivity from 2020 as well. Even though I lost a lot of business, and my career has been turned upside down, I found ways to accomplish many positive things this year. 

Lack of work allowed me to spend more time thinking. It is hard to explain quickly, but I have a greater sense of self and clearer mind set than I have had before. I also spent a lot of time improving my mental capital by taking classes to build marketable skills. I set up a not-for-profit business with a friend and we began raising money. I also learned the value of slowing down, balancing work and life, and spending more time with my family.

All these things happened with conscious goal setting and taking decisive action. Working towards these goals has lead to even more goals for me to accomplish in 2021.

Mental Goals

Find peace and acceptance through mindfulness. Mindfulness is the key to finding happiness at this exact moment in time. Stress out less, and meditate more. Don’t live in fear. Don’t give up hope. Live in a positive way, move forward and don’t let anything get in your way.

One way I built my mindfulness was to go on weekly hikes with my family and enjoy nature. Often times when we train, we simply focus on going fast, and we miss on out the beauty around us. Slow down and take the time to appreciate where you are at any given moment.

Mind Goals

Learn something new by taking a course on a subject you are interested in and get a certificate to prove you understand it. Athletes can attend a conference to enhance their knowledge. There are many courses on Trainingpeaks, and USA Triathlon that will enhance your sporting knowledge. Many of these conferences are taking place online this year and that gives everyone access to lectures and ideas from world class coaches from the comfort of your home.

In 2020 I set the goal to learn as much as I can related both to my current career (Fitness) and previous career (Finance). I attended several online conferences and accumulated a lot of certificates in Endurance sports, TRX, and Trigger Point as well as attending several University courses.

Physical Goals

Set big fitness goals beyond any races. You may want to become an Ironman or achieve a certain time in a race, but right now, there is a lot of uncertainty as to when racing will resume. The key is to not wait until there is certainty of races, but to build fitness right now so you are ready to fire on all cylinders when racing does resume. 

Don’t stress out about races, enjoy the training process, and challenge yourself.

The key to doing this is to have big goals beyond any race. For example, build up to ride a distance you have never ridden before. If you have never ridden a century, make that your goal. If you have ridden a century, do a century on a gravel or mountain bike or target a 150 miler. If you are a runner, you can do your own self supported ultra trail run.

In 2020 I set a goal of doing a gravel century on the hardest local course I could find, the Illinois Ride 10,000 in the Galena area. Even though Illinois is flat, I found the hills. The course was a formidable challenge with nearly 10,000 feet of climbing over 100 miles on mostly gravel roads. Completing it with friends who were fitter than me led to a great feeling of accomplishment. 

Takeaway

The key is to focus on what you can do right now. Set big goals, have a coach help you create a plan to accomplish these goals, and get started now. This can, and will be your year!