Getting ready for your big goals and actually reaching them look very different.
For example, I took two 30-minute walks over the long weekend, in preparation for running a 10k race in September.
Um, if you want to run, shouldn’t you be running? You may be thinking.
Well, yes and no.
I used to run a lot. I’ve done a few half marathons and even ran a 10k just four months after my son was born. Running is something I definitely know how to do.
So why am I only walking?
It’s been over two and a half years since I ran my last race, and that was a 5k. My body simply isn’t ready to run right now. If i set out to run anything, even a few minutes, I’d probably hurt myself and never be ready for the race in September.
Walking for a half hour is what I can do right now. It looks nothing like my final goal, but I am not thinking about that right now. I’m just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, for just long enough to make my muscles ache a little and my lungs work harder than they’re used to.
And then once that feels easy, I can move on to the next step. I know that training for a race means doing just a little bit more every time I go out. My body needs to get used to the physical stress one kind of movement puts on it before attempting another kind. It will be uncomfortable, but not so uncomfortable that I risk failing on a daily basis, or hurting myself. This is something that I’ve accepted, and is probably something you can understand easily.
So why are we so hard on ourselves about writing goals?
The big giant goal of running a race is reached by simply getting out there and completing the tiny goals until they feel easy. It’s the same for any other goal you set for yourself.
It’s a little like set it and forget it. Yes, you have a big giant goal. But that’s not what you’re trying to do today. All you have to do today, is to feel your muscles working a little harder than usual to know that you’re going in the right direction.
Maybe that looks like not getting out of your chair until a certain number of words are on the page, and then the next day writing just 2 words more than that. Eventually, you’ll have a book.
Or maybe it’s sending an email to pitch to a blog you love, and the day after that, sending 2 emails. Eventually, you’ll have that check in your bank account from an article you wrote.
But if you wake up expecting to end the day with a book, or with money in the bank, you will fail.
The best way to reach your big goals, is to ignore them, and focus on the little ones.
What little goal are you focusing on today?
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