Goal SETTING

It is 2026. It feels like yesterday was what is now referred to as "last century". My body may have more miles on it with more dints and scratches, but I like to think I am a better version of myself than in years gone by.

As I look at this year, reflecting on the last and planning for the advent of the next, I continue to see the same principles over and over again. I would like to take a few moments to share those and what they mean to me. Hopefully, it helps you in some way. The principles are:

1: Most of the desires of my heart can be tracked back to 1 change.

2: When I am completely honest with myself, I only want 1 or 2 things

3: I get so much more joy out of pursuing worthy goals than achieving them

PRINCIPLE 1

New year's resolutions. If you participate in the ritual, I think you will find they become very repetitive. I have found that when I actively work on self-improvement, resolutions are not anything fancy. Resolutions are made regularly and monitored regularly. Over the past few years I have made it a point to only make 3 Goals for the year. One Physical, One Intellectual, One professional, and One Spiritual. For example, this year my goals are to join the 1,000 pound club, Read 10 Books, diversify business holdings by adding 2 revenue streams, and visit the temple with my wife 15 times. Last year the goal was run a 1/2 marathon, read 5 books, buy a business and visit the temple with my wife 12 times.

In the past I would put goals like "make 'x' amount of money" or "do more of 'x' activity". I rarely achieved these goals or they were too ambiguous to track or measure success. What these goals lacked was the "WHY?" Once I found the why, setting goals became a lot easier.

My WHY? is "Being a good husband and father begins with being a good me". I cannot give something I do not have. The value of my time skyrockets when I am healthier, wiser, self-reliant, and in-tune with the Spirit. Not necessarily in the order of most importance. The one change I really wanted was a better me to give the people I love the most.

Some of these goals may sound small to some, and big to others. The point is, they are goals that will act as the vehicle to take me to a better version of myself.

PRINCIPLE 2

After goals are set, it is time to create the plan. Some might call this spiritually creating before physically creating. As I dig into the how of these goals an interesting trend happens. The most fundamental actions tend to overlap so much that very small changes are the starting point. To start the process to achieve big goals, I only need to do 1-2 small things.

For example: I want to join the 1,000 pound club. For those who do not know, this means your bench press, squat and deadlift combines to 1,000 lbs. From where I am, I will have to add a total of 400 pounds. Well, I need to add 100 lbs every 3 months. I will need to track progress and be proactive in adding weight as soon as I plateau.

I also want to ready 10 books this year. I have selected the 10 books and have them on the calendar for when to start and when to finish.

I also want to add revenue streams. This means I need to actively network, seek out opportunities and make adjustments as opportunities materialize. And lastly, I need to visit the Temple 15 times this year with my wife. We both have busy schedules, so it takes some planning to make this happen.

As I look at all of these goals, the obvious 1 thing I can do is set a planning day to schedule and account for progress. So, out of the gate I have 1 task. DO THE DANG PLANNING ON A SET SCEDULE.

1 thing that effects everything. I can do 1 thing.

PRINCIPLE 3

Looking back at 2025 is exciting. It was exciting to close on a business. It was exciting to tell people we ran a 1/2 marathon. It was inspiring and uplifting to go to the Temple with my wife.

But honestly, It was so much more fulfilling to call 20 business owners every week, submit an LOI and go through due diligence. It was more fulfilling to track increased distance and improved running pace. It was so much more joyful planning, attending and traveling to and from the temple with my wife than checking off the box each month.

We are built to walk up hill. That is why we look to the next peak once we reach the summit.