2022: Life, the Universe, and Everything

It’s another new year, and I feel it’s going to be a chaotic one. Which is more reason for me to set some goals and objectives to focus on. If you’re a follower of “meme culture” and COVID19, you’ll know that there are jokes about 2022 being “2020, too!” – as in, a repeat of the madness the world faced in 2020 when “lockdowns” and COVID19 first entered our everyday vocabulary. And as I look around my personal and professional lives, I can see that yes, 2022 is going to be as chaotic as 2020. There’s no way around that.

I’ve decided that the expected and unexpected chaos of 2022 needs to be addressed by looking at finding balance (again!). But I’m taking a different approach this year. Instead of returning to the building blocks or “ABCs” like last year, I am focusing on The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Why? Because it’s 2022, of course.

And 20+22=42. Which is, as everyone knows, the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Now, I know how impossible it seems to set a New Year’s Resolution of finding the answer to these big questions. But I’m not really seeking answers; I am seeking paths. And not necessarily paths to a definitive destination. Rather, I am seeking paths towards the future. A future that brings me peace and comfort; a future where I am a better person tomorrow than I am today; a future where I am always trying to improve, evolve, grow.

Because the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is change. Everything changes. And to survive the change, we must adapt. So… I am adapting. Again. Always. But I digress…

Primary goal for 2022: Seek answers, solutions, or improvement for Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Life: This incorporates all things health and fitness including my overall diet, fitness goals, and the management of my chronic health conditions. It’s about keeping physically healthy so that I can keep living this thing called life.

The Universe: This is about the “greater good” and community, including service to others through volunteering my time, giving monetary gifts to charities and causes in need, or sharing my talents and skills to help others.

Everything: This is about balancing the rest of life. The balance between my working and personal loves; between prioritising my needs and giving to the needs of others; between being active and finding time to sit and reflect.

And everything else that’s not everything: In addition to the “balance” side of everything, I’ll also be working on the “thing” side of everything. That means decluttering and organising my physical and digital “stuff”, finishing tasks that have sat on my to-do lists for too long, and all sorts of things not listed.

These “big” goals are ones that will remain largely unfinished because they are aspirational in nature. But I have a range of measurable goals to keep me going, too. These goals all relate to the overarching goals, but they are ones that have a clear finish line – and that helps to keep me motivated!

This is not a complete list of my measurable goals, but I hope it gives you an idea of my plans. (Which might change. But change is what life is all about, right?)

Steps: 4,500,000: This is halfway between my 2020 and 2021 goals as I don’t think it’s realistic that I can do more than that without sacrificing elsewhere. That will mean an average of 12,350 steps a day which is doable as I am still on my long streak of 10,000 steps a day (more than two years!) and I manage several days each month with 20,000+ steps. So, it will all average out. I hope. I will also aim for 365+ miles of walking this year, which I hope will include a lot of great hikes!

Running Miles: 750 miles. This is halfway between my 2020 and 2021 goals, as returning to The Real World in 2022 will mean I have fewer opportunities for long runs during the week. This also means that I can focus on my running form and overall speed for my shorter distances without simply pushing for miles. It’s easier to push for a new 5K record when I know I don’t have to run 5 miles every day. Although it does mean an average of just over 60 miles a month or about 2 miles a day, which means I’ll need to put in the miles each month so that I don’t fall behind.

Personal Bests: Yes, that’s it: Just trying to smash PBs! I will be starting with my shorter distances and building to a new PB for a half marathon (and full marathon, should I decide to run one of those later in the year). This year I will really focus on my pace and my overall form so that I can finally record new records. Yay!

Geocaches: Again, I’m stepping back and going for “just” 42 caches (20+22). That’s an average of 3.5 caches a month, which I can do without taking away from my other hobbies and interests. I may manage more than that, and I hope I do, but I want to ensure I am enjoying my time geocaching and not pushing just to get the numbers.

Family Recipes: More on this later!! But the summary is this: I will be cooking recipes from the family cookbooks each month. I want to really connect with my culinary heritage – from the recipes my family brought to America when they immigrated to the foods my parents cooked for my sisters and me growing up. It’s going to be (hopefully) delicious!

I know that 2022 is going to be filled with chaos, upheaval, and stress. But I am hopeful that there will be plenty of joy, laughter, and love to get me through. I will look back on 2022 and be able to see how I’ve grown and developed as a human being. These goals, big and small, will help me to be a better me in mind, body, and spirit.