by Weez
We have talked previously about embracing the journey. Not all fitness has to be about end goals. When you can find small victories in the journey, a lifetime of fitness can be much easier to obtain and maintain.
With all that being said, goals are still a vital part of improving one’s health and fitness. Appearance goals, biomarker goals (bloodwork, heart health, etc.), performance goals, personal development goals. For what good is a highway without a destination? Goal setting is a tricky aspect of what we do here. They are different for everyone. Some are simple, some are very much not simple at all. Some require thinking beyond the “lose five pounds” mentality, and examining within ourselves the why behind it all. Why do you want to lose or gain weight? Why do you want to run faster or farther, or jump higher, or whatever it is you are chasing. But still, goals need to be set, and reviewed. While Discipline Over Motivation(h/t to Jim Wendler) is key, motivation from goal review helps.
What I Do
I have a goal board on the back of my bedroom door, so I see it every morning before I start my day. I just recently put it up, so admittedly this is a new method for me as well. On that board is my progress pictures, which will be updated monthly. I’ll spare you those. But next to those is cutouts of a few of my goals. I like to use affirmative statements for these. Not “I want to” or “I hope to, but “I will…”
And then I like to put a few steps, usually daily or weekly habits, that i know I need to adhere to to make these goals happen. This is a trick I picked up from sports. Coaches get better buy-in when they have players do this for their season goals.
So, it looks like this: I will ______.
To do that, I will Step 1 ______. Step 2 ______, and so on.
Some of the same steps can be used to help me hit different goals. This gives me a quick reminder of what daily and weekly habits I need to maintain to hit my longer term goals.
I keep each goal on an individual sheet, so it can be removed from the board when completed, or updated as needed. Post-its would be perfect if I could read my own writing. I can’t. So, I print and cut.
Hit a lifting goal? I can add more weight. Hit a goal bodyweight, I can either shoot for a new one, or work on maintaining for a certain amount of time.
Chase, complete, review, renew. Take some time, sooner than later, and think about some goals you would like to reach. Short term is easy, long term might require a little more thought. Shoot for a couple of both, perhaps.
And then I have a separate box (actually a Marvel wallet tin) to store my completed goals. If I ever feel like I am not making progress, or if I have back slid, I can pop that baby open and review/revise.
This is something I have just started doing in the last year, and it helped keep me on track. My system is not the best system for everyone, by any means. But, you need something to help keep you heading in the right direction on your highway.
MovelevATe 