Greetings, my friends! And welcome to the first post of 2022 on A Lady Goes West. Thank you for being here.

I’ve heard from some of you that you like to talk about goals and hear about my goals too. Well, the start of the year is a great time to do that.

This post is all about setting goals and intentions and using some practical methods to be smart about how you set goals for your year. I’ve read a lot about this topic, so I’ll share what works for me. And I’m also going to share my specific goals for 2022. Here we go …

My goals for 2022 and how to start your 2022 off right

Before we move forward, we have to look back …

What did I learn in 2021?

I think I learned a lot in 2021, because I had so much change and transition. While I did cover a lot of what I learned and did in 2021 in my year-in-review post for 2021 I published a couple of weeks ago, I think it would be helpful to go back through some main and relevant points in this post.

I learned that I prefer to teach in-person group fitness classes to digital ones. I improved my skills and learned so much during a year of teaching virtually, but I get more pleasure from the in-person stuff. That’s just how I feel, therefore, I will be focusing my fitness endeavors there moving forward. At this time last year, I was spending a lot of time in the virtual/digital fitness space, and I’m actually glad to get that off my plate. I’m not saying I’ll never go back to it, but for right now, all my efforts will be in person.

I learned that I get so much from being with my people. I always knew that. But over the years of living in California and then the challenges of a year-long total lockdown in California, I started to get used to not being with my closest friends and family — like ever. But something was always off because of it. Being with my family and close long-time friends, and even some new friends, regularly this year has filled me up, as we’ve had so many visitors and trips. I will always make time for this, because people matter to me. I need a circle — not a big one, but a good one. And I have that.

I learned that I’m happy contributing to the world in my small way. What I mean by that is this: As a blogger/content creator, it’s so easy to look around and see others succeeding like crazy. Others are reaching millions of people and seeming to do nothing but grow, grow, grow. That’s never been how things have worked for me. And I’ve finally realized I’m okay with that. I would always like to do better, learn more, and improve my work, but I know that I can make a difference in my small ways, even if I may never break the internet or social media with viral posts. And your emails and messages to me let me know that I’m helping, so thank you for that. I’ve also learned to try my best to ignore my inner critic, and when she gets loud, I shoo her off. (Fun fact: I named my inner critic “Aimee the Saboteur,” and this is a technique I learned from my life coach back in 2020. I highly recommend naming your inner critic too, and letting her know she is not welcome here.)

I learned that I like a little white space. I’ve always been a busy person, but I’ve let myself get way too busy, way too many times. I did get a little too busy in 2021. And this year in 2022, I want a little white space. This isn’t going to be easy for me, but it’s something I need to do.

I learned that you have to go through hard stuff to get to the good stuff. In so many ways. Our move to Charlotte during COVID was pretty tough. But in almost every way possible, it’s so very clear to us how right this was. We could have taken the easy route by staying with what we knew, but we didn’t, and I’m so proud of us.

What are my goals for 2022?

Let’s switch gears to my goals and intentions for 2022. And these are all related to my personal mission statement.

My personal mission statement

It’s important for all of my goals and intentions to line up under my personal mission statement, which I wrote a couple of years ago, (once again, with my life coach). My personal mission statement is as follows:

“To connect with others through movement and words and inspire positive change toward a healthy lifestyle with no extremes.”

Don’t have a personal mission statement? You should totally write one! I keep this statement in the notes column of my phone, so if I’m feeling low on inspiration or confused about what to do in a situation, I can go back and read the statement and reassess. It’s a practical application that I would recommend to anyone. And it’s another thing I learned from my life coach in 2020. But back to the goals …

Fitness:

In 2022, I will begin teaching four regular group fitness classes a week at Life Time, and I’m looking forward to that schedule. I feel like four classes is probably plenty for me right now, and I’ll also sub as needed. I’d like to somehow create some efficiencies in how I put together my classes moving forward, and I hope to be able to do that by pulling some content from my personal archives in a few months, as I approach one year of teaching at Life Time. As of now, I’m not planning to add any more programs to my repertoire, and I will keep Barbell Strength, Life Barre and Shred, because that seems like plenty. But never say never.

Also in fitness, I plan to re-certify for my Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coaching credential, because it’s set to expire in three months, and I definitely want to keep it. I need to study and take the exam. I also need to re-certify for my National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Personal Trainer certificate, because it’s set to expire this summer. In order to do that, I need to renew my CPR/AED certification, submit my continuing education credits and take a couple more courses to round out what I need. These projects will be time consuming and will all take place the first three months of the year.

I’d also love to return to IDEA World Fitness Convention this summer, which as of now, is taking place live in Las Vegas in July. I look forward to this convention every year and always have an incredible time with my fitness blogging friends. I’m truly hoping we can make that happen, if it seems safe and reasonable in the world at that time.

As far as my personal fitness, I’d like to continue to take care of my body with at least one rest day a week, some yoga and plenty of recovery time to keep me operating at 100 percent. Performance wise, of course, I’d like to get stronger. And I’d say I’m probably stronger right now than I was at this time last year in some ways, so that’s good.

My official fitness goals for the year:

I plan to renew my Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification by March 31, 2022. I plan to renew my National Academy of Sports Medicine Personal Trainer Certification by June 30, 2022. I plan to teach four regular weekly group fitness classes at Life Time through 2022. And I plan to speed up the amount of time I take for class prep by at least 15 percent by the end of the year in 2022.

Blogging:

I want to figure out how to serve you, my audience, a little better. I’m going to do a survey (which I hope you’ll answer), and I’m going to try new things. I will continue to post twice a week on the blog, Tuesdays and Fridays, with one evergreen post and one fun post. I’d like to bring more of my blog content to social media too, which I haven’t figured out how I’m going to do yet. I’m still unsure about rebranding the blog, and so I’m not making that a goal this year. As I always say, this blog is truly my baby and my passion. And writing is my favorite thing to do. Unfortunately, there’s a whole lot more to blogging than just the writing these days. But I will always show up here for you.

My official blogging goals for the year:

I plan to survey my audience by January 31, 2022 and proceed accordingly with some new content based on my findings. I’d like to grow my blog readership and engagement by 10 percent by the end of December 2022.

Beautycounter: 

I love Beautycounter, and it’s an important part of how I educate and help people make better choices. And this year, I’d love to introduce more people to the brand and products, and thus grow this part of my business. But my true goal is to get another one of my friends involved with me. It’s really fun to work on this with friends, and if I’m adding people to my team — I want them to be cool to work with (and in which, they may become a new friend too). I don’t need a huge team, I need a good team. I have some amazing friends and teammates already, and I’d love just one or two more real gems. 

My official Beautycounter goals for the year:

I’d like to add a good, solid, engaged team member to my team who is fun to work with and who cares about the business, by the end of the year in 2022. I’d also like to hit Senior Director by December 31, 2022 by increasing my overall business volume.

Personal:

As far as my personal life is concerned, I want to keep much of it how it is. I love the new group of friends I’ve found, and I love a lot about my routine. But I would like to ensure that I keep my schedule loose enough to have rest and down-time, because I have a history of over-scheduling, and I did a lot of that in December. I also want to pursue some hobbies for pleasure. Even though I teach group fitness classes for pleasure, it’s also a job for me, and I take it very seriously and have to work very hard to do it. With a true hobby, I want it to be simple and no stress. I’m hoping to finally take up my tennis lessons this month, and maybe that can become my hobby for pleasure, but we will see. 

In 2021, I set a goal to make new friends, to buy a house in Charlotte, find Brady a school and set up a real life in a new city, and I can honestly say I/we nailed all of those goals. We don’t need to do any of that big stuff in 2022, so hopefully we can grow our connections and community and leave enough room for plenty of rest and fun. That may mean saying no to things moving forward, and I will do that with no qualms. Also, we already have an idea for a fun vacation in the spring or summer with our besties and their kids, so I hope we make that happen, as well as plenty of visits with family.

My official personal goals for the year:

I plan to pursue and stick with a personal hobby by the end of December 31, 2022. I plan to strengthen my community in Charlotte and be careful about not getting over-scheduled throughout the year, by saying “no” as needed and leaving plenty of white space in my calendar.

That pretty much covers my plans for 2022. And I also have some things to say about 2022 that may help you.

Some tips to help you get your 2022 started off right …

This post isn’t just about me, it can be about you too. When I write these posts for you, it’s a time for me to think and reflect. And I think it would be great for you to do that too. Here are some ideas (and I’ve shared some of these in the past).

(My new planner is from Target and here are some similar ones.)

Reflect to move forward: Grab a notebook and ask yourself some questions to reflect on last year. Use this knowledge to put together your specific and measurable goals for 2022. Then write down those goals.

I highly recommend that you take a moment (maybe 10 to 20 minutes actually) to grab a notebook and answer the following questions. Bonus points for heading out to buy a brand new notebook that excites you and you’ll want to refer back to throughout the year.

And even though it may seem easier to do this exercise in your head or on your computer or phone, there’s something permanent and meaningful about writing things down on actual paper. Also, research shows that people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them, so you may as well give it a try. 

Here are the questions to ask yourself and then respond to in writing in your new “inspiration notebook” …

• What made me feel good in 2021?
• What didn’t make me feel good in 2021?
• Where do I see myself at the end of 2022?
• What’s one daily habit I can begin now to get me closer to where I want to be?
• What’s one new thing that I want to try in 2022?

Once you answer these questions, it should be pretty easy to assess it all and see where you need to go.

Take that information and begin to write down three or four goals or intentions for the year, and you should be as descriptive as you can with these goals. Your goals or intentions should include what you want to do, when you want to do them by and why you want to do them. Also, the end date doesn’t have to be the end of December 2022, it can always be sooner than that. 

I think that we often feel like we need to make big sweeping changes with our lives, but sometimes the changes we need to make are small, yet they lead us in the right direction, so you don’t have to shoot for the stars. In fact, sometimes smaller goals are more effective and achievable, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

A few things to keep in mind after writing down your goals …

• Keep your “inspiration notebook” near your work station or kitchen or mirror and go back to it when you need to.
• You can write down new inspiration you come across to help you get where you want to go and even keep track of your progress. I promise that this step feels really good, so don’t skip it.
• Bonus points if you write down your intentions on sticky notes or notecards and put them in additional places in your house, purse, car or gym bag, so you can refer back and visualize where you want to be multiple times a day.
• Once again: Refer back to your “inspiration notebook” regularly throughout the year.

Consider doing a calendar audit to figure out how to better use your time. Look back at 2021 to see where you can best spend your time in 2022.

There’s another way you can use what you learned in 2021 to move forward into 2022: Enter the calendar or time audit. (By the way, there’s a great podcast episode all about this, which you can find here. And it inspired some of this portion.)

The idea of a calendar audit is truly powerful, and it may look differently because of some of the challenges we all faced in 2021 with COVID and whatnot. A calendar audit can be many things, but for our purposes you do this: Look back at your 2021 calendar and assess by days, then weeks, and then months to see where you spent your time. For each window of time spent, decide whether that time was moving you forward or holding you back. Once again, you probably spent a lot more time in 2021 doing things that were not in your usual responsibility list due to COVID. However, I’m sure many of us can get at least a little insight from this audit by looking back at where we spent our efforts.

It’s said that we usually get 80 percent of our results from 20 percent of our efforts, and if you do a calendar audit to see where you spent your time getting the most bang-for-your-buck, you may be able to focus more on those things in the future. And this isn’t just for work, it’s for your health, your home, your relationships or whatever it is that you do and you care about.

Also, when you actually look at where you spend your time, you may start to notice that you spend a lot more time doing things that don’t really matter that you don’t really have to do. Here’s a chance to make some changes in the future on that.

I actually went through my 2021 planner this past weekend and saw all the things I did throughout the weeks of 2021. It was eye-opening to see how much time was spent those first few months with general home and family stuff related to our move — down to packing, unpacking, setting up our utilities, finding furniture, touring preschools and getting set up at doctors offices, etc.. It feels good to have so much of that behind me, and I do think that will clear up some space for me to focus more on my content on the blog and social media. 

Share your goals with others, and ask for help staying accountable.

I think it’s a great idea to tell other people what you want to do with your life. It’s not embarrassing. And if things come up in life that hold you back, maybe the people you’ve told your goals to can help you move forward. There’s nothing silly about having goals, but you should make sure they are realistic and measurable, with a time frame involved too. Once again, I’d start small, and share with your inner circle of people what you’re planning to do, so they can support you.

I’ve shared my goals with you all for the last few years, and it sure helps to have them out there in the universe.

(Still wearing this fuzzy sherpa into the new year!)

Closing thoughts on goals for 2022 and starting the year off right

Even though we all start 2022 off motivated, I want to remind you that you can start something new or make changes in your life any time of year. Right now’s a great time for it, but this isn’t the only time. I do encourage you to do some of the reflecting I mentioned above. And I do encourage you to share your goals and reflections with others in your life. I’m excited for 2022, and I hope to see you around here throughout the rest of the year.

That will do it for today, my friends! I’m wishing you a healthy, happy and inspiring start to 2022! See you back here soon.

Other posts you may like …

• What I’ve learned while working with a life coach
• A Lady Goes West year in review for 2021 (personal and professional)
• How to start 2021 off right and my goals for this year
• Three helpful mindset shifts I’ve made recently

Questions of the day

What’s one goal you have for 2022?

What’s one thing you learned in 2021?

What are you most looking forward to this year?