As a ninth grader I started my first year of track and field sports with a single goal in mind: break the 5-minute mile mark. This was a pretty lofty goal considering I started the season clocking a 6:45 mile time. I attended practice, put in the work and made pretty decent progress by the time the season had ended, dropping my mile to 5:30. Our team had optional practices over summer, which I decided not to attend and not to run during the off season for that matter. Fast forward a year, and I ran a 6:30 mile in our first timed mile of the next season. Are you surprised?
This cycle repeated for the next few years until I finally ran a 4:58 mile in the last meet of my junior year. I had achieved my goal, and the optional practices were once again upon me. Keeping true with my “training routine,” I opted not to go, not to run during the off season, and not to sign up for track the next year.
There are so many lessons that can be learned from this story, but I want to focus on my goal. In this story my goal was selected at random with no driving reason to keep me committed during those optional off season workouts.
Establishing proper reasoning, one that elicits commitment, can drastically increase your likelihood of accomplishing your goal and maybe even help you accomplish it more quickly.
In order to discover that reason, pretend that you are an inquisitive three-year-old asking the same question, “Why,” over and over again until you no longer have an answer. Here’s an example:
State your goal: I want to walk 90-minutes per week.
Why? So that I feel better.
Why? So that I have more energy throughout the day.
Why? So that I can put my best foot forward at work and at home.
Why? So I have the energy to keep up with the three year old that keeps asking me, “Why?”
The last answer has a little more commitment power than the first, right? Finding a motivator that ties deeply to something or someone that we care about can be the difference between achieving your goal or putting it off again until next season.
Want help determining your why? Reach out to a Texins team member through the red contact us button on the top right of your screen. We're more than happy to help!