Adventures in Goal Setting

This weeks recap is about setting goals. Making the decision to change something or go after something. The great thing about setting a goal is that it can be absolutely anything. Maybe you will wake up tomorrow and set a goal, just for the day, to drink 8 glasses of water. Or make someone smile. Or finally sign up for that class you've been talking about. It is one action for one day. Probably something that is pretty easy to accomplish.

Sometimes your goals will be bigger--lose weight, go back to school, climb Mt. Everest. Goals like this take time and planning. And maybe you don't even view your change as a goal, and instead set an intention. Set an intention to change an attitude. Or ask for help in something you can no longer do on your own.

Whatever goal or intention you set, you make the decision to take a leap into the unknown. Even a daily goal as simple as drinking more water requires faith that you can do it. After all, if it were easy, you wouldn't need to set a goal to do it! Granted, the leap gets bigger the bigger the goal, but a leap is always needed.

Now maybe you have set the same goals multiple times and have yet to achieve them (notice the distinction between the saying of 'yet to achieve' vs 'failure'). And maybe you have even identified some of your obstacles that have stopped your achievement in the past. This might make your next leap easier, but it might not.

I do believe though, that before you take that first step toward any goal, you need to have a reason. Something to turn to when it gets tough. You need passion or reason, or your goal just turns into words. This week, I've spoken with people who are all taking steps in the directions of their own goals. Each has a different purpose, a different approach, and a different end game. But the first leap is always the same. And I wish I could say that you end up on solid ground once the leap has been taken, but if that were true, the leap wouldn't be so scary.

Today I needed to run 12 miles in my training program. The day was cold and windy. I was feeling lazy. I had other things to do with my day. Basically I was feeling whiny and petulant. But my goal is to run a marathon in 4 weeks. My passion is running. My reasons are varied and ever changing. So even though I was mentally stomping around the house while I pulled on my running clothes, my passion and reason got me out the door and got me one step closer to my goal.

Find your passion, list your reasons, and take your leap.

In Pursuit,

Sarah