Many people aspire to lose a ton of weight, gain muscle, run a marathon, or drastically improve their overall fitness level in many other ways. These are all awesome aspirations, but they can get lost in the shuffle when the goal is a long term one. If you want to run a marathon one day, but you haven't even started running at all yet, then the goal is most likely going to take quite a long time to accomplish. If you want to lose 100 pounds, but you just started working out for the first time, it is going to take you quite a while to reach your goal (in a healthy, sustainable way).
When we set goals for ourselves that may take a year or more to accomplish, we can easily lose our motivation, because the goal is so far away, it seems almost unattainable at times. But these goals are very attainable, and the key to reaching them is to set small, short term goals along the way. If you want to run that marathon one day, commit yourself to getting started now, and set short term goals as you go. These goals may be monthly, or even weekly, but they will help you to keep your eye on the prize. Maybe after just one month, you have reached a goal of being able to run a 5K. After a few more months, you may reach a goal of running a 10K, and so on. If your aspirations include tremendous weight loss, again, set monthly and/or weekly goals for yourself. You are not going to lose 100 pounds in a month, but you can certainly lose 10 pounds in a month! Aim for the 10 pounds and when you hit that goal, reset, and set your next goal, until you reach your ultimate goal.
Short term goal setting allows our minds to continuously see things as attainable, because the goals are within reach; we know that a week is nothing, and a month will be here before we know it. It is this mindset that allows for constant motivation, and is a way of holding ourselves accountable week by week and month by month. But what happens when the ultimate goal is reached? Once you run that marathon, what comes next? Do you give up running altogether? Or do you stay consistent with your training, even if you have not set another huge goal for yourself... if it took you a year or more of training to achieve your marathon goal, I would bet that the latter will hold true; you will stay consistent with your training because it has now become a habit, and almost second nature. The same holds true for the person who is trying to lose 100 pounds. It is going to take a lot of hard work and consistency to reach that weight loss goal, but once it is achieved, the individual is more likely to have success maintaining their new physique because of all of the time and effort it took to get there. Short term goal setting is a crucial component of long term success! It is awesome to set the bar high for yourself, but always continue to set your sights on the small accomplishments you can achieve along the way; because fitness achievements are a marathon, not a sprint!
Train hard, and enjoy the journey!
Lee Dremel Fitness
Goal setting and motivation are just two of the I touch on in my eBook, "40 Fitness Fixes." You can get this book in PDF format available to view on all devices, at my website:
www.40fitnessfixes.com
You can also connect with me at:
www.instagram.com/leedremelfitness
www.facebook.com/leedremelfitness
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