Creating Goals for 2020

Published by Algorithmic Global on December 30, 2019December 30, 2019

Posted by Sadie Lulei

During a conversation about global warming, based off the intrusive confusion of a sixty degree Fahrenheit December day we had just experienced, Lukas says, “But there are plenty of people from other, less developed countries who throw all their trash in the ocean and have no idea how bad that is.” My first thought was about how capitalism intervenes between the relationship of natives and their own land, but then I thought I might be looking too deeply into it. If I was trying to find a current solution, anyways. Of course, my next thought was that we needed to educate the entire world about pollution. Coming up with how to do so, though, seemed a bit out of my hands. However, thanks to my recent reading of the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, I recalled the importance of finding the root of an issue.

“Wait a second, we don’t have to teach anyone anything,” I said. “It’s not our job to teach an entire planet how to not litter. We need to teach corporate companies that single use wrappers are not accepted, so that we don’t even have to worry about people disposing of it improperly.”

So that’s the idea. After reading this blog post, I hope none of your goals for 2020 look like they’ll make any changes. It is the series of events that certain habits create that causes success, especially being that the sense of success can intimidate us from achieving the goal. For instance, I’m unsatisfied with the amount of meditation I’ve done in 2019. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done so more than ever before this past year. But I want a habit. So what’s the first goal on my 2020 list?

1. Bike more.

Biking more doesn’t seem very much like meditating more, but when I’m on my bike I find myself thinking- or not thinking- about things that, on those long bike rides, can feel settled by the time I’m done. In addition, I wanted to exercise more. I was able to combine the two into one action which would hopefully lead to more doing of each individual goal.

So what do you want to accomplish? And what indirect, seemingly unrelated activity allows for the more joyous act of doing it? Whatever it may be, here is a helpful process that can turn it from, say, meditating and exercising into, more specifically, biking.

1. What is the goal?
2. In which parts of life have you naturally experienced achieving it?
3. In which parts of life can you use the goal to connect with others?
4. Which of these possible parts of life can you enjoy committing to?

Whether we know it or not, there are plenty of methods of achieving goals that do not feel like a chore to do. For instance, fitness seems to be an issue for most people because they assume that the best way is to begin with running or weight lifting, two hard and not always enjoyable activities. Of course, with time one can move into those parts, but first the development of love for exercise must happen. To happen, the initial activity must be already enjoyable. Dancing, biking, competitive sports are all fun ways of integrating physical activity into one’s daily life until they can manage what type of exercise they’re doing.

Likewise, connecting the goal to others helps us show up for them. For instance, if I decided I want to bike more and then tell my bike-loving friends that I’ll join them the next time they go, I now have an obligation to show up. In addition, other people’s excitement is contagious and can override possible feelings of being overwhelmed by the act of developing a new habit. Community is a powerful thing.

I hope that in 2020 you are able to move your goal into your daily life using these methods. Comment below what your #1 goal is for 2020 and how you might get that done based on things you already enjoy doing.