Blog feeds are busier than ever before, just trail the wordpress fitness feed and it’s littered with goal orientated posts and memes. Rather than add to the traffic with my own uber-list of ambitions and aspirations, instead I’m going to pose a different approach to ‘standard’ goal setting.
Spoiling the party?
Goal setting and self expansion are the main themes of this very site, I’m always seeking means of evolution in various categories. Having spent too much a portion of my life in somewhat of a ‘static’ state, the importance of growth and travelling forward as much as possible is now a stark priority.
“A mistake is only a sin if there was nothing to be learned”
However, I’ve touched on information overload on this site previously; do it now, do everything and get it yesterday! This is the mentality that plagues modern life and modern goal setting alike.
I’ve seen some seriously whacky and lofty new years resolution lists…………….
Blog everyday, workout everyday, minimize social media use, spend more time with my spouse, do yoga everyday, read everyday, walk everyday, cut out junk, socialise more, build muscle, lose fat, get faster and stronger and learn to fly!
Spreading yourself too thin
I’ve just described a superhero, right? Find me a girl like that, I’m down on one knee right now! Imagine doing all those, and hey, don’t ever stop thinking you can fly………..but we need to start prioritising.
“He who chases two rabbits catches neither”
All of those magnificent potential additions to your life are going to demand significant segments of your attention. If you really believe you can conquer all those, allow me to invite you to try; see how long you can keep it up. That’s my challenge to you.
So how do we make sensible new year goals?
Decisions decisions decisions, searching for what we really want. Go through your mammoth list and start ticking off ones that won’t improve your life all that much compared to the others. Find the component of your life that’s really lacking, fitness is crucial, but if you don’t have a relationship with your partner anymore, perhaps it’s time to start there and plough that field.
All of this is subjective, but you can’t ‘ride two horses with only one ass‘!
As mentioned in the fantastic book, The ‘One Thing’……………achievement is all about specificity and building momentum. What’s the one thing you can do right now that will assist in achieving the big picture you have in your head? Once you establish it, essentially it’s like knocking over the first domino. Momentum builds.
Unfortunately most people nowadays just can’t accept the truth; you can only conquer so much. The masters of this world know this, the greatest artists painted everyday, the greatest writers wrote everyday and the most loved comics made at least one new joke everyday.
In my most recent post, I explained my initial focus this year: Trying once and for all to determine what grey area foods sit well with me and which ones don’t. That’s it. I’m still training, but I’ve detached myself from PR chasing (my performances haven’t deteriorated anyway) – point being, all I care about is nailing thirty days without consuming suspect foods.
I see it all the time:
“I need to pass a strength test for X or Y, but I just can’t seem to be getting strong enough?”
“How consistently are you training for strength?”
“All the time! Haven’t missed a workout at all.”
“Eating enough? How much other activity are you doing?”
“Ummm,…..well I do crossfit, power yoga and I jog everyday so I maintain my endurance………..I have great endurance ya know!”
“Got it! Have you ever considered scaling back on the extra activities for a while?”
“God no! I’ll get fat and lose my beloved endurance!”
“Trust me, your endurance won’t go anywhere, nor will you gain fat. But to see necessary improvements in strength, you need to prioritise strength. We all have limited recovery abilities and we often underestimate the expense proper training has on our bodies.”
A classic example of somebody spreading themselves woefully thin.
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you just can’t be the strongest guy or girl in the world, be a marathon winner, compete with Usain Bolt, step on stage at the Olympia, become a yoga master and major in five different subjects. All while improving your marriage, giving up all the junk you eat and becoming a vegan for life.
But you can……….work incrementally on any of those great journeys.
Want to expand your education? Enrol on a relevant course. It needn’t be advanced, start small and build from there. Patience really is a virtue, nobody seems willing to invest time into these wants and desires.
Which begs the question; do you really want it at all?
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