The New Year snuck up on us like no one was watching. 2022 promises a fresh start with a pandemic in our rear view mirrors and a new road ahead.  The New Year brings renewed optimism, a feeling that the reset button was pushed. What will you do differently this year to make this your best year?  
Jim Rhon famously said “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”  Goals are what set you up for contentment and written goals are the only goals that count.  
Sit down and write down the 5 things you want to accomplish this year.  A list could look something like this:
1. Pay down my mortgage by $5,000.
2. Visit my sister at McMurdo Station in the Antarctic.  
3. Buy a rental property and get it leased.
4. Run naked on the field at the Super Bowl without being arrested.
5. Buy the lot next door to me and sit on it until I retire.  
When you write down your goals you have a roadmap to follow to get to your destination.  Every decision you make can be filtered through this list. Thinking about a new car?  Can you buy the new car AND pay down your mortgage?  If not, should the new car be a 2023 goal?  Is your 10 yard dash slower than an I-35 drive?  Maybe you need to start training before you jump out onto the field at the Super Bowl?  
Want to run a marathon in 2022?  Write it down. Print it and put it in a place where you see it every day. It’s easier to get up for a 5:00AM run when you have a goal that depends on your grit.  If you blow the run off your goal gets farther away.  
When you have big goals you naturally break them into smaller bite sized goals.  Want to pay down your mortgage?  Pay it down $500 at a time. Don’t try and go all the way in one gulp. A marathon starts with getting out the front door and then running the 1st mile.  The others will follow.  Starting is the hardest part of reaching any goal.  
Goals must be be defined to be considered a goal.  If you write it down, it must be achievable, and you need to achieve it.  Don’t let life drag you along.  Write down goals that make you want to jump out of bed everyday.  Happy New Year!  Where are you planning to go this year?