COMBO: The February Lifestyle & New Year Challenges

Sooooo.....normally I'd be doing this post on January 1, and it would be both an outline for the year's goals (with wrap-up of last year's successes and failures), but the COVID bitch-slap caused a very specific disruption to many goals for many of us. So instead, let's just start with a clean slate (though I will, for transparency, outline my personal valleys & peaks from 2020's goals).

Also, due to the election, I opted to wait until February 1...and here we are! So first, monthly lifestyle challenge...then our New Year challenge!

February Lifestyle Challenge

For those new to the challenges, it isn't to compete against others. It's to push yourself to greater heights, have some company & inspiration along the way, and a few ideas the help get us focused. For example, you can use this waving of the analytical knife to help organize your goals:

1) Exercise - Set a specific plan or goal(s). Keep us posted weekly (or more) on your progress!

2) Creativity - Music, art, writing, acting...set a goal to complete by month's end. Keep us posted!

3) Personal life - Re-affirm your personal relationships, get to that project/chore you've been avoiding, or just read a book you've always wanted to read!

4) Professional life - Set a work goal or change jobs or....just tell us what it is and keep us posted!

My exercise goals include doubling my shoulder strength as well as fixing a lingering hip & lower back issue (something I didn't manage properly last year). In addition, a greater focus on mixing up the workouts to include more agility, flexibility, and endurance training. I also allowed a higher bodyfat % since November, so I'll be getting back to "fighting weight". Should make it half-way by month's end.

Creatively, I need to get back on track for my album projects that I allowed to get derailed last year and I have very specific guitar goals I'll outline soon.

Personal life goals is to continue to be more focused on personal when its personal and not let business bleed into the mix. And if the world re-opens soon, travel (at least to GA to see family).

Professional life....well, that could be an entire entry. But to nut-shell: Greater level of organization and greater level of efficiency with time and projects. 80/20 and all that. Looking for top-shelf level intensity.

Now....what about YOU?


New Year Goals

I've seen interesting "health" break-downs over the years, but recently revisited the concept. I rather like the one listed below, and I include it here in the hope that it is of some utility to you. I wrote a brief article ARE YOU HEALTHY over at Skinny Devil Magazine giving a tad more detail for anyone interested.

1) Physical health

2) Psychological health

3) Intellectual health

4) Social health

5) Environmental health

6) Occupational health

7) Spiritual health

8) Financial health

The breakdown is fairly arbitrary, of course, with some systems combining occupation & financial, for example, or spiritual/social/psychological, for another. But I like the extra category(s) for a finer granular approach.

Soooo....2021 goals:

1) Re-evaluating my diet & exercise plan, but I crushed this in 2020 and hope to do climb higher up that mountain in 2021.

2) Working towards a higher level of what Jocko calls "extreme ownership". Those who know me know this is nothing new for me, but I'm looking to take it up a notch or two.

3) Re-focusing on intellectual exercise (2020 I played at least one game of Othello & one game of Chess daily, but I let my re-connection to Latin slide, so...).

4) Safely getting out more in social settings & see friends more often, in spite of obstacles.

5) I'm feeling pretty solid on environmental health and have learned to minimize interactions with negative situations, but I'll reassess just to keep eliminating negativity.

6) Hard to top my current occupational health at the moment, though I'm attempting to re-align some balances between my work as a performer, writer, teacher, and producer. This was the was the goal for 2020, but I allowed COVID to interfere. 2021, I will make this happen in spite of obstacles.

7) I actually plan to write at least one sizable article on this in the near future.

8) Financial health.....an area of GREAT concern for a self-employed musician. 2020 did not see me meet my goals, but as a giant middle finger to COVID, I managed to overcome income loss and still improve (if only slightly) my financial situation, meaning greater efficiency with resources. I intend to crush this in 2021 (again) in spite of the obvious obstacles.

Soooo...there's that.

Now.....what about YOU?