2016’s Fifty-Two Challenges in Fifty-Two Weeks

A list of things that I want to accomplish during 2016 whilst trying not to die along the way.

“If you walk and find a mountain every step can’t be the bottom
’cause there’s got to be a moment when you’re gonna get it right.”

In 2014 I took on a ‘52 in 52 Challenge’ — the goal being to accomplish 52 things in 52 weeks — with challenges ranging in size and simplicity from getting a third tattoo to starting to write the novel I’ve always wanted to write. I don’t remember the exact amount that I managed to accomplish (it was somewhere around 30 of the 52). While I may not have been able to accomplish all of my goals but it was certainly a rewarding experience to attempt to check them off the list.

As I move into 2016, I want to challenge myself and set forth a whole host of goals to finish before the year is through. Without getting too personal, there have been a number of factors in my life in the past few months that required a great amount of personal growth — physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually — to work through and overcome.

“I got me a shovel and I’m digging a ditch and I’m going to fight for this four square feet of land like a mean old son of a bitch.”

This past year has been particularly hard for me. There have been more times than I can count where I didn’t think I’d make it through.

As a whole, 2015 was not one of my finer years on this planet. That’s not to say that it was terrible by any stretch of the imagination, because it wasn’t. There were lots of good times and lots of great memories made but every good had its anti-thesis in a catastrophic and crippling bad.

“I’m trying to get better because I haven’t been my best.”

For me, 2016 is going to be about getting better (in every aspect possible). I most certainly have not been at my best and it’s time to do something about it — for myself, my wife, my daughter, my family, and my friends.

“I’m love forty down. As the match slips away from me, I need the crowd to pray for me; to turn this one around. I’ve worked far too hard to be this far from victory. I’m battered and I’m bruised and I can’t afford to lose.”

I’ve broken the list down into seven main categories. They don’t necessarily appear in any particular order but it’s no coincidence that Health and Family appear at the top of the list.

Health

  1. Get to my goal weight (mission critical)
    You can follow the progress here or read a bit about what’s going on here
  2. Get down to a BMI of 24.9 (see above)
  3. Climb Mount Carleton
  4. Run 5k (for reference, I currently struggle with 1.5k)
    Completed: Read about it here
  5. Run 10k (see above, newly purchased treadmill will help)
  6. Cycle 40km in a single outing
  7. Cycle 60km in a single outing
  8. Cycle 80km in a single outing
  9. Cycle +700km over the course of the season
  10. Run Currie Mountain twice a week in spring/summer
  11. Swim across Killarney Lake twice a week in spring/summer
  12. Take a yoga and/or pilates class

Family

  1. Go whale watching
  2. Go fossil hunting at Joggins
  3. Fly a kite with Emma
  4. Take Emma to the Magnetic Hill Zoo
  5. Take Emma to the Sussex Drive-In
  6. Spend a weekend at the cottage
  7. Build a birdhouse (no kit) with Emma
  8. Teach Emma to skate
    Completed: video here
  9. Build a backyard rink for Emma
    Completed: Read about it here
  10. Go camping
  11. Go kayaking
  12. Map out my family tree for Emma

Around the House

  1. Clear and plant a second vegetable garden
  2. Finish the flower garden around fire pit
  3. Build an in-ground cooler for the fire pit (alcohol!)
  4. Build permanent seating around the fire pit
  5. Put a walkway at the front of the house
  6. Build shelves for the kitchen
  7. Build a pergola for a hammock
  8. Build a deck
  9. Get eavestroughs

Creative

  1. Re-write my novel
    I wrote a bit about starting (restarting?) that project here
  2. Learn to play guitar
  3. Paint a painting
    Completed: See it here
  4. Start drawing again
    Completed: See some here

Food

  1. Eat vegetarian for a week (just because)
  2. No beef for the year (I’m going to miss steak)
  3. Take a cooking class
  4. Make my own BBQ sauce
  5. Try five new (to me) restaurants
  6. Bake my own bread (and not suck at it this time; very[!] important)

Personal

  1. Read at least one book a month (books to the kid don’t count)
    Completed: See the list here
  2. Volunteer
    Completed: read about it here
  3. Get a fourth tattoo (and fifth, sixth, seventh… ad nauseum)
  4. Write a handwritten letter (it’s honestly been too long)
  5. Learn to meditate (this will be a challenge, my brain has no off switch)
  6. Pay for the order of the person behind me in the drive-thru

Travel

  1. Go to Fundy National Park
  2. Go to the Irving Nature Park
  3. See Oak Island

Bonus

  1. Go to an NHL game
  2. Publish my novel with an honest-to-goodness publisher
  3. Reconnect with some old friends
  4. Prove some motherfuckers wrong ;)

Ultimately, a year from today I want to look back at who I was and not recognize myself (obviously for the better). Wish me luck.

“So try and get better and don’t ever accept less.”

Thanks For Reading

My name is Robb Clarke and I’m a father, husband, web-developer, and writer from Fredericton, NB, Canada (amongst a whole host of other things). I’m on a life changing journey to get better — you can read a bit about what’s going on here.

Over the course of 2016 (52 weeks) I want to challenge myself and set forth a whole host of goals to finish before this year is through. I’m attempting 52 challenges; some big, some small. This is one of them. For me, 2016 is going to be about getting better (physically, mentally, emotionally, literally, metaphorically). I most certainly have not been at my best and it’s time to do something about it — for myself, my wife, my daughter, my family, and my friends. I’ve made a list of everything that I want to try to do. You can read all about it and see the other challenges here.