What’s Your Bushcraft Goal?

Looking for our bushcraft goals

What are your bushcraft goals for the year?

What, you don’t have any?  Well maybe you should!

It’s Fun, Not Work!

Bushcraft is fun!  It’s not work.  So why set goals for yourself? 

Setting goals keeps life fresh and interesting!  Goals focus your time and attention.  They help motivate you to get outside.  Goals stir anticipation and propel you to try new activities.  Goals can stretch you both physically and intellectually. 

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Part of the fun of setting goals is that they put you on a quest.  Whether you want to learn basketry or see a platypus in the wild, goals set your feet on the trail of adventure.

This past year, I fulfilled my dream of building and paddling a tule boat.  I also learned to read black bear sign and track them in the wild.  Both were goals I set last January.

My goals have varied widely in past years.  One year, I decided to learn about mushrooms.  I went to a “Fungus Festival” and attended a two-day mycology class.  I did countless mushroom walks and hikes with local experts.  Another year I set out to learn bird language.  And yet another January I resolved to build a debris hut and sleep in it overnight.

How to Set Good Bushcraft Goals

Do you ever notice how often people fail to achieve their goals?  Their goals may be small — to lose weight, drink less soda, or exercise more.  Part of the problem is that they set lousy goals.  Research shows that people are better at achieving their goals when the goals have the following characteristics:

 

Use the acronym “SMART” to help you set goals for yourself and for others.  They need to be specific.  Instead of “lose weight” decide to “lose 10 pounds.”  And it is important that you can measure your progress toward achieving your goals.  It is easy to chart how close you are to losing 10 pounds.  But a scale is useless if you just decide to “lose weight.”  How do you know when you’re done?

Paddling a tule boat I helped build.

Set achievable goals.  For example, spending a month in Antarctica doesn’t make sense for me.  It’s not possible because of the time and money it takes to do it.  For me, spending a long weekend learning wild medicinal plants is achievable and aligned with my interests.  It’s a far better goal.

The goals must also be relevant.  Setting a goal to “get organized” is fine.  But it has nothing to do with helping you grow as an outdoors-person.

Most important, the goal must be time-bound.  If you set a goal without a time-limit you will have no way to judge if you accomplished it.  Quitting smoking is an admirable goal.  But if there is no time limit, you are never motivated to pass on that next cigarette.  You will always have time “to do it later.”

As you may have guessed, using SMART goals extends far beyond bushcraft.  In your personal life and in the business world, using SMART goals can help you achieve your dreams – big or small.

My Goals for This Year

I have three goals this year.  I would like to spend a week in Olympic National Park during the summer.  I want to hike in the high country during peak wildflower season.  My second goal is to make a willow winnowing basket.  I plan to use it to remove the testa from the acorns I collect for food.  My last goal is to make a soft leather pouch to secure my wallet and house keys inside my daypack.

It feels so good when you achieve your goals!

What are your goals for the coming year?  Let me know in the comments section below.

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