Yesterday I talked about my business goals for 2023.

Today I want to delve into a different area:

Health and fitness.

Like my business, I could set myself a whole load of goals here.  Goals like a body fat %, a certain 5k time or to complete my first half marathon.

Plus I have an amazing PT (Zack) who would give me an encouraging kick up the backside if I started to take my eye off the ball with any of these goals.

But like yesterday, I don’t want a ton of goals.  I want one goal which will help me to hit a host of others.

So my one health and fitness goal this year is this:

To stop drinking alcohol.

I know if I stop drinking, my other goals will follow much more easily.

I’ll be honest – this goal makes me nervous.  I think it’s going to be tough.

Not just because I'm changing a 20 year habit.

But there’s also social implications of not drinking.  And these could be tricky to navigate.

After all, I’m only human. And I know I enjoy a drink (or three).

So I’m going to put a few strategies in place to help me achieve this.

Anyhoooo…

It was only after I’d set this goal that I realised something cool.

And it’s this:

I’ve set a big goal which is aligned to my values.

See, four of my top values are Growth, Freedom, Creativity and Health. And quitting alcohol ties in to each of these.

One way I define Growth is becoming more consistently my true and best self. I know from experience that alcohol gets in the way of this.

I think about Freedom as choosing what to do, rather than being told what to do.  So I’m relishing the idea of making the choice not to drink, as well as the freedom that not drinking will give me.

Teetotalling will also remove my alcohol induced brain fog and allow me to be more creative.  Plus I know I’ll have to come up with creative ways to hit this goal.

And Health is kinda obvious. Sure, a glass of wine a day might be healthy.  But I’ve found the physical and mental impacts of drinking to be very real for me.  Not to mention the impacts on sleep.

So if you’re setting some goals right now too, one question which could be helpful is this:

What goal can you set which will help you honour your values?

Now, before I wrap up I want to be clear.

I’m not saying that you should stop drinking.  This is my own, personal goal.

But I am saying it’s okay to set a goal which might seem unusual or even a little selfish and then go after it.

And if you'd like support figuring out what goals are right for you, I can help.

The link is below.

That’s it for today.

- Tom 

p.s. Whenever you're ready, here are the ways you can connect with me