Every year at New Year’s, I take a break from the usual topics I write about for the sake of documenting my goals for the upcoming year. While I know many folks don’t believe in setting New Year’s goals (“You should be doing that all the time”), I find it’s a helpful prompt for me to reflect on the past year, and what I might want to achieve or do differently in the upcoming one. With that said, here are five things I’d like to accomplish in 2024.
Goal #1: Gain 5 or more pounds of muscle.
My wife and I recently started playing squash, and the facility we play in also has a gym. With that in mind, I’ve set a goal to gain 5 pounds of muscle by the end of 2024. It may not sound like a lot, but I’m not a huge guy, and 5 pounds is an achievable goal that makes me want to try for it.
Goal #2: Hit $1.5 million or more in retirement savings.
This one is going to depend on what markets do in 2024, and it’s definitely a stretch goal… but it’s something to shoot for. My wife and I have always prided ourselves on living well below our means, and that continues to be the plan in 2024, and right through to early retirement. Onward!
Goal #3: Take my parents on a trip to Hawaii.
They’ve always wanted to go, and we’ve already got this one in the books for next year. This was a gift to celebrate milestone birthdays for both of them, and the whole family is looking forward to it. Given we haven’t been on a major out-of-country trip together in… something like 20 years? …this will be a major achievement for us!
Goal #4: Continue my track record of strong performance at work.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have a team and leadership that has recognized and rewarded my efforts at work, and my only goal in this space for next year is to continue to be as strong a leader and contributor as I can be. While 2025 may look different, next year is about delivering against the plans we’ve already got in place.
Goal #5: Continue my pursuit of positivity and gratitude.
My wife and I always finish our day by finding three things each that we were grateful for, or that brought us joy, that day. We started doing this out of a desire to bring more positivity into our daily lives, and I’ve really appreciated the benefits of such a small habit. Going into next year, I want to take this to the next level, by bringing in more of a focus on mindfulness. After all, we can only be grateful for moments that we’re actually present to experience… and mindfulness is a tool that helps us experience more of each and every day to its fullest.
Wrapping it Up
For me, the time between Christmas and Near Year’s Eve is a time to reflect, with the intent of moving forward with some sense of direction and momentum in the New Year. 2023 was kind to my wife and I in many ways, and I’m hopeful that 2024 will be kind to all of us as well. If I can look back at the end of the year and say I crossed a few of these off my list, I’ll feel pretty good about how the year went!
