2025 Goals and themes

As January 2025 is well and truly underway, I wanted to write a little about how I view goals relating to New Year Resolutions and what my personal goals are this year.

The prevailing method of setting resolutions is often along the lines of “I want to lose X amount of weight” or “I want to be able to run a 10K”. The trouble with setting a resolution in this manner is that you either achieve it or not. They can often be too far reaching. This often means we lose motivation and quit, quite often before we even reach February.

How I’ve adapted the resolution setting game, is to use a theme instead. Inspired by the Cortex Podcast, you set an overarching theme that guides you throughout the year. For example, instead of saying “I want to lose X pounds”, set your theme to be “The Year of Weight Loss”. Now, when you meet an opportunity in life to make a choice such as snacking between meals or choosing full fat versus diet soda, the theme will remind you of your intentions this year and allow you to make a better choice. Overtime, your better choices will add up and you will be closer to what you want to be without the negativity of not reaching a certain number.

In this vein, I have set myself a theme for this year. Over the last year I have plateaued in a few aspects of my health journey. 2025 will be the “Year of Pushing My Comfort Zone”. Now when I plan my weekly runs, I will push a further distance to help me toward my goal of running a marathon. At the gym, I will incorporate heavier training, something I have neglected over the years. With this theme, each time I go into a session I’ll be reminded to push harder than I have before.