Here’s the second part to my Goals Post.
Set goals to give you structure and motivation, but don’t look at them as an end point.
A lot of time people will reach their goal and then lose motivation. How many times have you wanted to lose 5 lbs, and but once you lose it, you go right back to your old eating and drinking habits? Do you know someone who trains for an event and once the finish, they quit training? The goal is their end point when it should be a stepping stone. With the goal no longer in front of them, they lose motivation. It’s a very common issue so don’t feel bad if you feel this is you
Focus on your process.
If your goal is to finish a 100 mile mountain bike race, your process is following a consistent and dedicated training plan
If your goal is to loose weight, your process is committing to a lifestyle change in eating a healthier diet
If your goal is to buy a new house, your process is saving money
The process is what’s important. It helps you define a lifestyle, but you don’t have to stop the process after you’ve reached a goal. Think long term
Let YOUR best effort be the key to success
Don’t set goals that are relative to what someone else is doing. If you are always validating yourself compared to someone else’s accomplishments, you may be unsatisfied or end up coming across as arrogant if you think you are better than someone else because you did one thing better than they did on a given day. If I committed to my own process and did the best I could, then I am generally happy with any outcome. In terms of a race, it usually means I finish well, but I also am satisfied because I know I gave it my all and there was nothing I could do to change that. If I’m 15th place and I gave it my all, I’m really happy. If I’m 3rd and it was a lackluster performance, I’m not as satisfied
Set Expectations for Right Now.
So now you aren’t validating yourself based on where you are relative to others. What about relative to yourself? An example would be “I’m not as fast as I was at the same race last year.” You might be upset because you expect more of yourself and you know you are capable of more. Conditions change as well as priorities. If your process is different this year, you can’t expect the same result. However, you can be proud knowing you did your best for what you had on that given day, and also know you are capable of more relative to yourself. Set your expectation based on your current process, but also know that you are capable of more if you commit to a better process
