How To Reflect On The Year And Shape Up Your Goals For 2025
2024 is over, and it’s now a good time to reflect on the recent past and look ahead to the future. Some of these reflections might include thoughts about health and fitness, whether you are on a weight loss journey, trying to bulk up, or maybe just considering getting started with these aims.
Here are some tips on how to make an honest but motivating evaluation of your performance over the past year, and how to set achievable goals for 2025. Many people find that working with an online personal trainer keeps them achieving consistently throughout the year, providing accountability and preventing boredom and bad habits from creeping in.
Tips for evaluating your progress in 2024
The point of doing this is to check in with where you’re at, not beat yourself up about what you think you ought to have done. Ask yourself what achievements you are pleased with, even if it seems relatively modest. You may have run a marathon, or maybe just walked a few extra miles each month.
Think about what challenges you faced, such as struggling to find the time to fit in workouts, or dips in motivation or energy levels at certain points throughout the year. Maybe time pressures or lack of planning has caused you to veer off track with a well-balanced diet on occasions.
Identify areas for improvement
The next step is to pinpoint those areas that have not met your expectations, and to explore the reasons or barriers to progress. For example, if you had dips in motivation, could they be explained by those inevitable life events that floor us all from time to time? Or was it a lack of variety in your exercise routine that caused you to lose interest?
Maybe you overwhelmed yourself with goals that were too time consuming or ambitious. For example, you may have decided to try to lose a dramatic amount of weight with a very stringent diet, only to abandon it after giving in to cravings for your favourite foods.
Refining your strategy for 2025
Now you have reflected on the strengths and those areas that you are less satisfied with, use them to shape your goals for 2025. For example, if you find that your fitness routine or diet plans are thrown off track when an unexpected event crops up, acknowledge the setback as soon as it happens, and set yourself a target for recovery rather than drifting.
If you tend to overface yourself with overambitious goals, divide them up into smaller monthly stages, or even weekly targets. Track your progress in a journal or wall chart to keep you focused and accountable, or find a support system such as a workout buddy or personal trainer.
Above all, let go of a rigid approach that will leave you discouraged at every setback: life is complicated and it’s not always going to be easy. Celebrate your wins and keep looking for new ways to enjoy a fitter, healthier and happier version of yourself.