Whilst preparing to write my now annual declaration of New Year’s Resolutions for the year ahead, I did a little Google research. The overwhelming majority of articles I found weren’t exactly encouraging:

80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail by February.

Just 8% of People Achieve Their New Year’s Resolutions. 

New Year’s Resolutions Are Bound to Fail. 

Depressing, huh? I think we are often too hard on ourselves and set unrealistic goals, which are frequently impossible to meet. Geocaching goals should be reachable, fun and generally improve the caching experience. With this new outlook on New Year’s goals in mind, my overall aim for the coming year will be to make sure I enjoy geocaching as much as possible.

Looking Back

Before starting to think about goals for 2018, let’s see how my 2017 resolutions went…

1. Finish the second loop of my Fizzy Grid 

I didn’t make any progress on this challenge at all in 2017. I had three more squares to fill to complete the Fizzy Grid for a second time, and I managed to fill ZERO of those squares. I can’t say I tried very hard with this one. I talked about it many times and it would have only taken two hikes, as two of the DTs I needed were on one route.

In hindsight, I think I included it on the list simply because I thought it would be imminently doable, which isn’t the best reason to set a goal. I could carry this one over again, but I don’t think it’s something I would look forward to completing, so I’ll leave it off the list for this year I think.

2. Make it to the UK Mega

This goal was a resounding success! I wasn’t sure if I would make it to the UK Mega in 2017, since it was taking place seven days before my wedding. Luckily, I have a very supportive muggle husband who encouraged me to keep the tradition alive, so I attended the event and spent one night (two days) in the South of England, exploring firstly the Jurassic Coast and then the historical city of Bath.

3. Visit at least three new countries

I thought this was may have been a bit ambitious but I am delighted to say I was able to tick off three new countries in 2017: Denmark and Sweden in January, and Poland in March! It’s sometimes difficult to travel to new places because almost everywhere I visit, I want to go back again and explore more!

4. Go on at least one hike per month  

While I didn’t fully accomplish this one, I am proud of how close I came to completing it. We managed to do at least one hike in 9 out of the 12 months of the year. There were times when I really struggled to fit a hike in to an already very busy year, and there were other times when I really just didn’t want to go. We missed out on September, November and December due to busy schedules and various other factors. In hindsight, 12 hikes in 12 months would have made more sense as we could have more easily doubled or even tripled our hikes in the summer.

Goals for 2018

My geocaching habits changed somewhat in 2017. I found far less caches than I had in the preceding years, but I can safely say it was my best year of caching ever. 2017 was undoubtedly the year of quality over quantity for me and my goal for 2018 will be to maintain that style of geocaching.

1. Finish my Jasmer Grid

Although it wasn’t on my list of New Year’s Resolutions for 2017, I made huge progress on finishing the Jasmer Challenge during the year and am now down to just one month left to fill. It has been a challenge I have immensely enjoyed doing, not least of all because it meant a significant amount of travel! It will be a bittersweet moment to fill the grid but I hope to do it this year.

2. Travel More in Ireland

We did a somewhat insane amount of travel overseas in 2017, and while we did some exploring on the island of Ireland, I am determined to see a lot more this year. I already have one trip planned for later this month, and I’ll be doing my research to fill weekends with more Irish adventures.

3. Vary my Cache Types

When you’re short on time but just want to get your fix, traditional caches are usually the safest bet. That’s probably why trads account for over 70% of my total finds. I don’t want to set a specific number or percentage goal, but I would love to see my traditional percentage under 70% come the end of 2018. The majority of the best caches I’ve found have been non-trad caches, it’s just a matter of putting more effort in!

4. Create Video for my Blog

For the first time, I’ve decided to share a goal specifically for my blog. I have published over 200 posts since I started blogging in December 2014. It’s something I’m passionate about and want to continually improve. In 2018, I want to try and produce some video content, to challenge myself and keep things interesting around here for you, my readers!

Will you be working towards any geocaching goals this year? Whatever you decide, I hope your caching adventures are full of fun and you make some great memories in 2018!

Happy Caching!

Sarah

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