5 Goal Setting Practices for Your Best Finish Line
By Ken Eldore
Cover photo courtesy of Race the Wolf Marathon and Half Marathon
I’ve used goal setting as an athlete, from PRs in a 5k to finishing an Ironman, starting and developing a business, coaching, teaching, and directing race events. If you have never used a goal setting process or you’re refining the one you’ve got, here are my top five goal setting priorities to help get you to your next best finish line!
- DREAM BIG AND OBSESS ON A VISION
One of my favorite movies, which was filmed in Spokane, Wash., is “Vision Quest” with Mathew Modine who plays the lead character Louden Swain. Louden is a high school wrestler and has a “Vision Quest” to win the championship wrestling title by beating the current champ Shute. Throughout the movie, Louden shows us he is passionately obsessed with winning the title and there are few scenes he isn’t talking about, dreaming about, and thinking about his goal. Be like Louden and create your vision!
- DREAM BIG, BUT PLAN SMALL
Nothing can crush success more than thinking we will achieve our vision in one shot. Dreaming big about our vision gets us excited, but we have to plan small steps to get there. Breaking down the big goal into a list of little goals creates a real pathway to achievement, builds excitement, and gives us short, realistic things to achieve. Think of accomplishing your dream goal as a set of stairs with the big goal at the top of the stairs. Starting at the bottom, we set a goal for each step, work toward it, accomplish it, and then move to the next step. For example, if your goal is to run a 50 miler and you have only run a 10k distance, the first step toward your goal might be to run a few half-marathons, the second step might be a 25k, then a marathon, then a 50k, and finally a 50 miler. As you accomplish each step, be sure to celebrate how awesome you are!
- COUNT THE COSTS AND HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY
Are you willing to pay the price to make it happen? Achievement is based on putting in the work and by what we prioritize. First, are we willing to make decisions like putting the phone and social media away to get in that long bike ride, run, or trip to the gym? Are we willing to say no to an impromptu invitation for pizza and a movie with friends so we can get our laps in at the pool? Your future you will be grateful for the amazing feeling of accomplishment. It is also important to build flexibility into your goal planning for the unknown, like keeping a free day or a light training day that you can make up later. Plan for the unexpected, like a family member who really needs you, or when the boss asks you to help out a little more. Family and careers are part of helping us get to our goal.
- PUT YOUR GOALS IN WRITING
Put the power of the pen to work! Writing down your goals and identifying what each of your stair step goals will be is a contract with yourself. Write down your final goal and each of your stair step goals. Then, write the name of your next goal on a sticky note or a notecard and post it somewhere you will see it every day. Don’t list the whole goal, just a one-name reminder of the goal. For example, if your goal is to break the two-hour barrier of a Half Marathon, have a notecard you will see every morning that says 1:59:59. This works!
- ACCEPT FAILURE AS PROGRESS
At least in pop culture history, Thomas Alva Edison was reported to have said “I didn’t fail 1,000 times, I just found 1,000 ways that won’t work.” This is a mindset! We will all fail at accomplishing goals. The difference between feeling success and failure is our mindset. Expect and accept missing a goal, regroup, dust yourself off, plan again, and keep moving forward!
If you’re ready for your next great race day feeling, write those race day goals down, make a stair step of smaller goals to get there, and hang that notecard up for tomorrow morning’s inspiration. Whatever your race day goal is, dream big, make a plan, and we’ll see you at your next great finish line!
