Last year was the first time I had ever posted my goals for the year. I know there’s a lot of cynics when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, but I see these more as guiding goals for the year rather than wanting to change myself. In 2017 I want to continue focusing on a lot of the same areas that I did in 2016, but continue to push myself to improve in all facets in my life.

GOAL #1: READ 30 BOOKS

Stretch Goal - Read 2 books that are longer than 750 pages
Stretch Goal - Read 3 books (not audiobooks)

I’ve had a reading goal since 2012, and each year I’ve pushed the ante up by a book. This year because I was two books away from a goal of 30 books, I decided to up it to a goal of 30 books. I’ve found such a love for reading that this is one of those goals for the year that truly excites me. I added a stretch goal for 750+ page books because I’ve tended to read shorter books to hit my goal. I’d like to read two epics and still hit 30 books this year.

GOAL #2: USE PRODUCTIVE APP WITH 250 DAYS OF PERFECT PERFORMANCE

Stretch Goal - 300 Days of Perfect Performance

I came ridiculously close to hitting this goal last year. I’ve used the Productive app for two years now and in 2016 I came so close to hitting the 250 day goal missing it by 8 days. I hope to rectify that in 2017 by hitting the 250 days of perfect performance. What is perfect performance? It’s a list of ten tasks a day from brushing my teeth, to washing my face, to walking 10,000 steps and the like.

GOAL #3: RUN 1,000 miles in 2017

Stretch Goal - Run 300 times in 2016

I’ve now been running for a year and half and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. I’ve lost over twenty pounds, and feel in better shape today than at any other point in my life. I’m hoping to push myself even further in 2017 by running over a 1,000 miles for the year which is roughly 3 miles a day.

GOAL #4: KEEP WEIGHT < 140 LBS AT YEAR-END 2016

Stretch Goal - Never go over 140 lbs for the entire year

This goal is a direct carry over from last year and although I accomplished it I feel compelled to keep it for another year. This goal involves an equal part of working out and being smart about what I eat. I did a very good job of balancing enjoying food and not over indulging in 2016 and I hope to continue that in 2017.

GOAL #5: WRITE 15 CHEF JOEL & JENN POSTS IN 2017

Last year I put a goal of 24 Chef Joel & Jenn posts and that was being a little optimistic. I’ve lowered it to a more manageable 15 which means we need to try a little over one new recipe a month. That seems far more manageable and gives me hope that at the end of 2017 we will be able to say we’ve tried a bunch of new recipes.

GOAL #6: Complete 30 Days of Meditation

Stretch Goal - 90 days of meditation

In 2016 I did two intro meditation courses, using the apps Headspace and Calm. I really enjoyed them but I found them even more difficult to do then running every morning. I'd like to push myself to do at least thirty days of at least ten minutes of meditation for a day. It may not sound like a lot but sitting still with your thoughts for ten minutes for me is really difficult.

MOST IMPORTANT GOAL OF ALL: BE A BETTER HUSBAND

Each and every year I make it a point that my most important goal is to be a better person, friend, brother, son and husband. I particularly want to re-focus in 2017 on chasing Jenn. I fell short in 2016 with surprising her and doing the small things. I hope at the end of 2017 when I sit back and look back on the year I look at a year where I put Jenn's needs before my needs. It's by far the most important goal out of all of these because if I fail here, I've failed on all the other goals for 2017.

My Personal Goals for 2017