New Years Goals, or, how to make sure that 2008 doesn't suck as much as 2007

new2bjj · 1/02/2008 5:43pm

I was writing down my goals, because, one, I always try to and two, sadly, I was reminded by a sign at Bally's gym that if you write down your goals before Jan 15, you have a 98% chance of achieving them. I was thinking about all the goals that I had that at one time been gung ho about, that weren't really worth pursuing - BB in TKD, while, on the other hand, neglecting buying a house sooner, etc. This is going to sound really pompous, but I've been able to hit a lot of my goals the last few years, and one of the reasons is-

1. They are measurable- just saying "I want a better job", without saying how much money or what the hours are or where you work, etc, is not measurable. Saying "I want to make $ 120,000 per year, and not have to travel too much or work after 5 pm " is a measurable goal.

2. They are attainable- whenever you try to exponentially increase something- "I want to bench 350 lbs" when you can only do 210 lbs in the same year is pretty difficult. Not impossible, but you could be setting yourself up for failure, injury and frustration. Find out what is a realistic increase- say, if you make $ 60,000, then $ 72,000 is a good 20 % increase.

3.They have long term benefits. This should be self explanatory, that being said, if you are blowing out your knees to make it to some small local tournament (as opposed to King of the Cage or the UFC) you might want to scale them back. Unless you're going PRO, then hurting yourself in the long run for short term gain- i.e. blowing off work (and hence, risking getting fired) so you can train a little extra for some tournament that is going to give you a little plastic trophy may not be the best use of ones time. Like an investment, your goals should pay dividends.

4. Start with the end first, and work backwards. Want $ 1,500,000 when you retire? Go on one of those financial calculator sites and do the math. Want your blue belt in BJJ- find out what the instructor wants and what the purple belts did- how much training, how often, etc.

5.The goals have to fit together- want to spend the summer training in Thailand? You better have enough money saved- which goes back to the job thing.

6.Do they (the goals) make sense to an older, more successful person? Lots of times, we get advice from our peers, who don't have a pot to piss in and a carry huge debts on their credit cards, etc, instead of asking the guy that owns a successful business or has ALREADY done something you want to do. The guy doesn't have to have everything right, but if he owns a bunch of real estate, and you're looking to buy a house, he might just know more about what to do for then your buddy that has an interest only mortgage. Same goes for winning a kick boxing match- do you ask some guy whose 1-1 or 2-0 or a guy that has coached many amateur and pro champions?
If you think about it, aren't divorced guys always trying to tell you how to conduct relationships, and guys with no more money than you trying to tell you how to "play" the stock market?

Finally, if your in debt, and your still worrying about who Anderson Silva is going to be matched up with, or how to improve your RNC, you need to re-evaluate your prioirities. Seriously, most of the crap that we read about- whose fucking who, etc, seems like a conspiracy to distract us from what we really need to be concerning ourselves with. Anyway, that was my pretentious rant. MY kid wants a new Bike, so it's off I go to the Bike store.

**Frank White** · Posted On: 1/02/2008 7:32pm

So what the hell are your goals this year anyway?

**new2bjj** · Posted On: 1/02/2008 8:41pm

Switch, my goals are pretty mundane- make a certain amount of money, save for retirement and my kids college, and one thing I have really neglected is an emergency fund. A lot of families say they are "middle class", when they are really working paycheck to pay check. So, savings, beyond the customary 401k and IRA, are kind of important. On the MA front, one of the top ones is to reduce my BPM by 10 BPM. My actual page of goals is a full llined page, so I don't want to bore you with them all. Now, my goals are quite different than what a 22 year old might want- like "save money, see the world" or Teach English and study Judo in Japan. The problem is when people choose the wrong goals for their circumstances. Getting yourself way over your head in debt at 25 doesn't seem so bad, until you find out that all that stuff stays on your credit for 7 years.

Oh, and Crossfit is in their as well.

**Frank White** · Posted On: 1/02/2008 9:09pm

Mine are pretty mundane as well... train my son to be a cold-blooded assassin, and buy gold fangs. Also, lose 5 pounds a month. I was going to start a gang, but my wife won't let me.

**new2bjj** · Posted On: 1/02/2008 9:51pm

Yeah, my wife wasn't to big on my mistress idea, either.

On a serious note, at least for financial stuff, this site is invaluable-

http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator...calculator.htm

You can even do future values on it- i.e. how much you need to save if you want a certain amount for retirement.

**asimpson2006** · Posted On: 1/03/2008 4:47am

Here are mine:

1) Recover from my health problems
2) Get back in shape

In reality unless the 1st one happens, the 2nd one will not happen.

**Dak** · Posted On: 1/03/2008 6:53am

1. spend more time in the mountains
2. armbar a certain teacher of mine........

**Permalost** · Posted On: 1/03/2008 10:39am

1. Fight in Pankration again without sucking.
2. Fight in a Dog Brothers gathering.

**new2bjj** · Posted On: 1/03/2008 11:03am

For a change of pace, everyone post one financial goal- you know better job, max 401k, etc. Yes, I know it's a MA website, it's just that I know so many martial arts guys living on credit cards and renting, it's sickening.

**yodaman** · Posted On: 1/03/2008 1:05pm

Simple one.

Switch from temp work to a full time job and establish a financial baseline before moving out, etc, etc. I've been in the workforce full time for less than 6 months, but I need a permanent job.

On that same note, study and get my teaching certifications. History and Spanish are easy enough.