Yep, it’s a bold statement. Stay with me as I explain. I am writing this at the dawn of a brand-new year. This means the talk of New Year Resolutions is abundant and a little daunting, to be honest. There is something about resolutions that seems so final, fixed and unwavering to me, and not in a good way. To me, this means that if things don’t go exactly to plan, there is no way to get back on track or modify your resolution and that each and every training goal you want to reach requires a different resolution. My brain sees them as separate things, putting them in separate boxes that cannot be built on. There is a lot of guilt (admittedly, this might be self-imposed) surrounding a resolution if it can’t be reached or completed perfectly.
Don’t get me wrong. If setting resolutions at the start of the new year helps you achieve your resolution, go for it! But if, like me, the world resolution leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, then let’s take power back and shift how we approach this and the mindset behind it.
Goals work so much better for me; it sits nicer in my head and doesn’t leave a bitter taste in my mouth. And when you reach the goal, the taste is super sweet. Goals are adaptable, can be modified, and easily broken down into smaller bite-sized pieces to ensure they can be built on. They don’t compartmentalise in my brain; they mould and adapt together. This means that I have power over my goals, unlike the feeling that any resolutions I make have power over me.
Life gets messy and unpredictable; you get sick or injured, or the sheer chaos of life gets overwhelming and takes you away from your training goals. This is why goals are awesome – they can be adapted, modified and moulded to fit precisely into the space they need to fit. Yes, your main goal should be so big it scares you. BUT the joy of a goal is that there are LOTS of little goals that add up to that huge scary goal. Resolutions make me scared and terrified, especially if I can’t meet the target. So if you feel that bitter taste in your mouth or that unease in your gut when it comes to resolutions, try reframing it to goals instead.
To help you achieve your training goals, I have 6 tips to help you ensure you end up reaching that big scary goal!
- Find Your Scary Goal – Yep, find what your big scary goal is. Is it running around the block in one go? Doing a full Ironman? Getting a certain PB? The good news – is you never have to share it with anyone if you don’t want to!
- Break It Down – Find your starting point and the next step that takes you towards your big scary goal. You keep making one little step at a time. Want to be able to cycle 50km in one session? But can only ride 10km right now? No problem! That is your starting point, woop woop – celebrate that you have a starting point!
- Be Accountable – If you train best being accountable to yourself, awesome, do that – if you need to be accountable to someone else, find an accountability buddy to help you smash it. This might be a training buddy or even an online support group.
- Get Help – Don’t know how to make a training plan? Don’t know exactly how you should be training? What should you be eating? Get a coach, seek the help of a nutritionist, or seek the help of experts and knowledgeable people to help you reach your goal!
- Let It Go And Adapt – If things don’t go to plan, the chaos of life gets in the way, or you get injured or sick, allow yourself a short time to wallow, let it go and adapt your stepping stone goals to get to the scary one. Take a break if you need to, and know that you can do it! You are just adapting to the goal.
- Celebrate The Wins – Celebrate your way. Celebrate every single milestone, all the tiny and big ones, every single win. This is your reward for all your hard work. It might be a new pair of running socks, a new running top etc. Keep that motivation alive and thriving.
Go out there, set your goals, and smash them to pieces! Yep, even the big huge scary ones.
If you want to share your training goals with us, reach out! We are here to support you no matter what your active goal is! If you need someone to be accountable, we can help you there too. We really will be your biggest cheerleaders 😊
Can’t wait to see you set your goals, smash your goals and cheer and support you along the way.
Sa
