Peel back another layer

A new year arrives, marching to its own beat and moving forward with its relentless rhythm. The Rolling Stones beautifully sang, ‘Time waits for no one and it won’t wait for me’. They were right. There is no way to stop, slow down, or turn back the clock so we might as well embrace the evitable and celebrate the milestones it produces.

The beginning of the New Year is probably the biggest global reference point, but aside from the desire of some to be including in one of the massive gatherings on its Eve, this is mostly an individual benchmark. There is no better place for a fresh start than the arrival of a new year. We all are given the same opportunity. A new line is drawn and we can all decide what importance to give it.

I’ve never been one for making resolutions. The have always seemed to me to have a negative connation. I’m going to quit that, I’m going change this, I’m going to save instead of spend, or whatever else you might be focused on.

But setting goals is something different. They become the target for my energies. Rather than a negative I find a goal to be a positive. I am going to do this, I will do that, I want to achieve this, no matter how ambitious I find solace in identifying those things I plan to work towards.

There are short-term goals I set for myself, like I want to work towards consistently doing 20 pull-ups in a row. And then there are longer, more ongoing goals, like the one I have tattooed on my arm, to simply Be Better.

At this time of year I am happy to revisit my long-term goals and to clarify what my short term goals are. I hope that as life goes on I am able to regularly peel back another layer of myself in the effort to get closer to the core of my being and hopefully discover a central gathering there of the love, kindness, friendship that I try to share with those people I come in contact with. Alongside goodwill to others I do selfishly acknowledge my own ambitions to see myself improve as an athlete, an artist, a writer, and whatever other pursuits I follow.

I hope that my short term goals are attainable and as I continue to push myself physically that my efforts are successful and I am able to make it back to the Crossfit Games this summer. But more important are those internal goals that I hope to get closer to and in the process become more like the person I hope to be and in some small way be able to make a difference in the lives of others.