February! You’re here already?! You sneaky minx you!
I’m not complaining, I’m rather happy to see you actually! It just feels like you’re a bit early. Let’s blame it on January simply being way too fun and flying by too quickly.
Beginnings are the Best
As I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, I love beginnings. New Years, birthdays, the first of the month, Mondays, etc. Clean starts where you can hit refresh, set some goals, make a game plan and go for it.
This year I didn’t put together a new year’s resolution post like I usually do – life got in the way – and so we’re going to do a February resolutions post instead.
It’s the first of the month, it’s a Monday AND a leap year – so there’s a bonus day to achieve it all. BOOM!
My goals are more like ‘guidelines’ to live by. As I’ll be staying put here in Oaxaca, Mexico for a majority of the next 29 days, I should be successful with most of what’s below.
To be clear, you don’t HAVE to read through my goals. You’re not going to hurt my feelings. BUT, if you want to hold me accountable, need inspiration, or better yet, want to join me on any of these challenges, then by all means read away rockstar.
Strength in numbers.
I’m not going to overcomplicate this (ouuu maybe thats a goal for the month), but will break them up into categories with a very brief description of each.
Health & Wellness
- 10,000 Steps/Day: I love to walk and run and explore but can find myself sitting behind my laptop working the entire day without physical activity. I’d like to make a point of setting time aside to walk around more each day. I have a Fitbit, so this should be easy. 10,000 steps per day or roughly 300,000 for the month. If you have a Fitbit, add me and we can cheer each other on. I’m backpackwithbrock (at) gmail.com. *No, this is not a Fitbit ad.
- Early to Bed – Early to Rise: Living with my mom and sis for a few months, I got into the habit of going to bed early. It feels amazing! Since arriving in Mexico however, I haven’t been as diligent. Time to change that.
- 1500 Push Ups: I hate push ups. Hate is a strong word, I know, but it applies here. I used to not like olives but I taught myself to like them. A friend challenged me to 3000 push ups (100/day). I’m going to start with 1500 (50/day) and see how we do. Again: I. hate. push ups.
- Less Sugar: I’ve been working on this one for a while and doing well. To be clear, I believe you should enjoy sweets and such. Especially chocolate. Mmmmm chocolate. That said, I’d like to remove more of the unnecessary sugar, like in my coffee. The chocolate isn’t going anywhere though.
Backpack With Brock
- Post: This one really doesn’t need much explanation. I’ve been a bit quiet on here as of late (more on that to come), and as a result, there is a small island worth of content, tips, stories and everything in between waiting to be published. I promise to post.
- Get My Edge Back: My cousin and I recently came to the conclusion that I’ve sort of lost my edge. When I started all this bloggy goodness, I put out over 100 videos in one year, while visiting 36 countries on 6 continents. Damn! It’s time to get my edge up and running again.
- Help You Travel: I love storytelling and I love helping other people get out there and explore the world. With 6 years of travel and 74 countries under my belt, I’ve acquired a lot of info but am often unsure how to pass it on to you. I’d like to make a point of sharing that info, answering your questions and being a better resource for you and your adventures. So…what do you want to know? How can I help you?
- Improve the Site: This one is kind of boring, but there are a lot of improvements I’ve been wanting to make on Backpack With Brock in regards to design and navigation.
- Share in Real Time: I often share my adventures after they happen as it can be tough to keep up with it all while travelling and maximizing each day. I’ve realized people far prefer to follow along in real time, so, I want to do more storytelling while it’s happening. Snapchat is helping me do that. Add me if you use the app. I’m: backpackerbrock
Travel & Adventure
- Plan: I’m usually pretty good at researching and planning my visits to different places, but I still always find that near the end of my time in a destination I’m discovering so many additional things to see and do, and then scrambling to fit it all in. I suspect even more strategy and planning would help me maximize my adventures.
- Take Notes: There’s a lot of really useful info I encounter each day. Everything from how to get to the airport, the best cafes to try, where to stay and so on. I would like to be more diligent with taking notes and writing these things down as I suspect it will help me with my other goal of helping you travel better.
- Pull Out my Camera: In an effort to be more present in a place while I travel, I’ve found myself restricting how much I use my camera. The result? Less footage and fewer videos on Backpack With Brock. Womp womp. Yes, I should be present, but this is also my job. Balance is key.
- Seek Thrill: I’m pretty darn adventurous, but I’d like to incorporate even more thrill into my travels. With some of my upcoming destinations this should be a piece of cake.
Everything Else
- Don’t Be Scared: This is a BIG one for me. If you knew how many videos I’ve edited, stories I’ve written, ideas I’ve thought of and so on but have never shared because I’m scared they wont be received well, that people won’t like them or that they simply aren’t good enough, you’d probably fly down here and smack me upside the head. I know, I know, I shouldn’t be scared. But, I am. This month I’m going to bite the bullet, take some chances and not let fear get in the way. Please – remind me of this one!
- Stay in Touch: I have wonderful friends and family. When I’m travelling, it’s often difficult to stay in touch, especially when I’m in a new city every few days. These relationships are so important to me, so this month I want to go the extra mile to stay in touch with those at home and around the world.
- Be Proactive: It feels great to get things done in advance. It feels terrible to be racing against the clock. Simple and to the point, I want to be more proactive this month and do things ‘now,’ not ‘then.’
LOVE THIS LIFE: This is probably the most important of them all. A few years ago I made it my mantra to ‘have the power to be positive,’ believing that in each situation in life, I could find the upside, the good, the positive. I really do love being alive, and am fortunate to have a great life to live. I want to continue to remember each and everyday to love this life.
And that’s that. I came up with a lot more goals and initiatives than I expected to and I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting a couple I thought up before I sat down. I can always add them later.
In the meantime, wish me luck, hold me accountable and by all means, hop on board. Whether you share the same goals or completely different ones, I’m behind you all the way. Feel free to share yours in the comments below or send me an email with the contact button above.
February…let’s do this!
