Happy New Year: Goal Setting for 2021.

I wanted to write a quick post to wish my readers and followers a very Happy New Year. Lets hope that 2021 is better than 2020 for all of us!

I for one have mixed feelings about 2021. With the pandemic not going away any time soon, it’s hard to know what to expect for the New Year. The area I live is still in a strict Tier 3 (edit – now Tier 4!), meaning we cannot mix indoors and restaurants, pubs, gyms etc are closed.

All we can hope for is that the vaccine is rolled out next year and helps us to get back to some normality, but nothing is certain and who knows how long that will take.

2020 has been a tough year for everyone. On top of everything, I have had a running related injury and other health issues to deal with. This, plus the pandemic, has forced me to take a break from running and my 2020 goals.

Such chaotic and unpredictable times make it very difficult to look ahead to 2021 and set goals. For many of us, the main goal for 2021 may be just to make it through this pandemic safe and well, and that’s okay!

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2021 Goals – Review and Reset

I’m a very goal orientated person and I usually set myself a whole load of goals around this time for the upcoming year. This isn’t to say this is what you “should do” and certainly not just because it’s a “New Year.” I personally like to review and set goals every few months. It’s just the way I work and what motivates me. January seems like a good time for me to review and reset, although this can be done whenever is right for you (or never, there’s no pressure)!

Although I have still achieved a lot this year, I didn’t achieve any of the goals I set myself back in January, which did make me feel a bit deflated. That being said, there has been a lot going on and so I need to not be so hard on myself.

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2021: Adapting goals for challenging times

In 2021, I need to adapt my goals to the current situation and where I am now. I’m at a different level of fitness and in a different headspace to when I wrote my 2020 goals. I therefore don’t want to put pressure on myself to complete goals that may not be possible.

I have also realised that pre-pandemic, a lot of my life (and 2020 goals) revolved around running. There is nothing wrong with this and it was what I needed at the time. Running helped me through a tough stage of my life and I’m so grateful for all of the amazing people I have met. Looking back though, the amount I was running left little time for anything else. It also meant that when I couldn’t run anymore, I felt like I didn’t have a purpose and I didn’t like feeling this way. I was using running to fill a void and putting too much pressure on myself to hit certain targets.

My 2020 goals also revolved around events, such as completing the Manchester Marathon, completing 100 parkruns and travelling to Machu Picchu. This is because I assumed they would go ahead. Why wouldn’t they? If we’ve learnt anything in 2020 it is to never assume anything again!

In 2021, I feel that it would be wise to set myself goals that are not reliant on events, to avoid disappointment. It may be that I will do a marathon in the future (I’d still like to) but I’m going to be realistic and say that it won’t be in 2021. I’d rather tackle a marathon when I know for certain that it will go ahead and I’m not recovering from an injury. I learnt a lot from marathon training in 2020, which will help if/when I decide to take on the challenge.

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My Goals for 2021

• My main goal for 2021 is to look after myself more.

• There are no big running goals for me this year. I just want to keep it simple. You don’t realise how lucky you are to be able to run until you can’t. So this year, I’d like to recover from this injury and be strong enough to run 5K again without pain. This will include continuing with strength training, rehabilitation and yoga. Hopefully then I will be ready when parkrun returns!

• I plan to run if I want to but not to beat myself up if I can’t. I was putting too much pressure on myself pre-injury and for what? Running for me is about socialising and managing my anxiety and I need to remember why I started. It’s meant to be fun. Also, I need to remember to not compare myself to others where running is concerned.

• I also need to try and get on top of my anxiety, which has been crippling and exhausting at times this year. Running was my coping mechanism, so I need to find new ways to manage.

• I need to get my hiking fitness back up in case my planned Machu Picchu trip goes ahead next October, as well as devise a plan for fundraising.

• Aside from this, I want to focus on this blog and my own self development.

• I love learning and I haven’t completed a course since my MSc in Marketing a few years ago. I’m thinking of starting a course in 2021, perhaps around health, nutrition and fitness (one to look into!).

• I’d also like to read more and finish many of the books I started in 2020 (I’m open to recommendations, let me know in the comments!)

• Short term plans for my blog include growing my YouTube channel, more guest posting and creating a shop to sell related products.

• Having a break from running has given me much needed space to think and I have finally created a strategy for my blog. I now just need to put some of the tactics into action. I’m excited to see where I can take it 🙂

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What are your goals for 2021? Let me know in the comments below.

My goals are loose and may change as 2021 unfolds. With so much uncertainty, who knows what the year will hold? I’m sure 2021 will continue to be challenging. But if 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we are resilient enough to get through it.

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Stay Safe!

Louise X

Featured Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels