Now that we are a couple days into 2017 this may be a couple days late, BUT here is a quick recap of 2016.

Highlights of 2016:

Competed at CrossFit Regionals

Moved to Brooklyn Heights

Biked the Golden Gate Bridge

Three of my closest friends got married

Ran an Olympic Weightlifting Seminar

Started a Blog and Website

Performed in Two Improv Shows

As I run through 2016 in my mind and choose some of the most meaningful moments these are at the top of the list.  Each one had its own specific challenges and reservations, but looking back I could not be more thankful to have completed them.  Goal setting is a very common theme in the fitness world, but I enjoy Tim Ferriss’ strategy of fear setting.  In a recent podcast Tim Ferriss had his best friends recommend resolutions to him, something that had a profound impact on them the previous year.  Some examples were completing the Wim Hof method, doing a 10 day silent meditation retreat, and learning enough of a language to hold a 5 minute conversation.  So if you’re stuck figuring out what to go for this 2017, before you countdown the ball ask the people closest to you what was something they changed in the past year that had the most profound and lasting impact and I’m sure you will find your New Years resolution.

Now that you have your resolution, take a piece of paper and write it at the top of the page, make three columns.  In the column to the left all the worse things that can happen, middle what you can do to minimize the damage, and the right side what you would have to do to get back to where you are now. 

Here is mine, my goal is take a trip to France, something that I have wanted to do since I was 13.  The whole reason I took French in middle school was the class trip to France in 7th grade, but it was cancelled due to 9/11.  So it’s been on the back burner for 15 years. 

After doing this exercise what you realize is on a scale of 0 to 10 impact on your life, the negative aspects once they are mitigated through the column on the right, is a very small set back, lets call it a negative 2, but the amount of upside completing the goal may bring could be as high as a +9 or +10.  Putting it on paper in this way gives you a much different perspective, and allowed me to pull the trigger and book the flights.  So if you don’t hear much from me in the beginning of June, you’ll know why.  Try this out and see if that scary goal you had in mind isn’t so bad after all.