It’s another start to a long year and you find yourself saying is it February already! We can all get stuck going through the motions, getting to the end of the year and wondering where the year went. We also say things like ‘I wish I did this’, or the year has gone and ‘I haven’t achieved that’.

We often get bogged down in our work loads and deadlines, sometimes forgetting to enjoy the things we love away from our work. Our personal goals we set take a back seat and before we know it another year has gone by.

I have a challenge for you… I want you to set one simple goal for 2018.

I want you to set a personal goal – I believe this to be the most important kind of goal. I want your personal goal to be something you have always wants to do, something that is so out there that it takes you out of your comfort zone. It could be sky diving, learning to play the guitar, walk the Kokoda track, buy a house or even learn to swim.

Your job is to achieve this goal before the end of the year!

My ‘out there’ goal is living off grid for 2 weeks. How will I achieve this? I am not 100% sure yet, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. This means rely on solar only, camping on a beach somewhere with no mobile phone or communications. Getting back to the simple things in life! I am hoping this will recharge me, reset me, refocus me and prioritise the things I value in my life.

Why is setting a personal goal important? We all get caught up in the strains of work, family and friends, we are continually doing things for others we forget to take the time to do the things for ourselves. This isn’t at the expense of work productivity, in fact I believe your work productivity will increase because you’re motivated, driven and achieving personal goals – transferring into your work. Coming to work happy is a great thing, but going home happy is even better.

I will check in at the end of 2018 and see how you all went!