If you’re reading this, you probably share this trait with me: I’m very goal-oriented. Last year, one of my goals was to run a marathon. I trained for 22 weeks and got into the best shape of my life. I ran and finished (barely). But over the next 45 days, I proceeded to gain 5 pounds. Without a new focused goal and the training regimen, I just didn’t maintain the level of activity. OK, I admit it, merry making from Thanksgiving through New Years didn’t help…
Here are a couple of keys to keeping things on track. Health, nutrition and lifestyle coach Lara Dalch (whom I highly recommend) wrote a recent blog post about planning. Among her tips:
- *Don’t forget that it’s really about how you are going to feel when you get to the goal;
- *Make decisions based on how you want to feel—every day.
I admit it: I wanted the bragging rights that come with running a marathon. But my bigger goals were health and fitness related. When I did the training run or crossing training on schedule, I felt good. So good I wasn’t sick a single day this year until after the marathon!
These lessons relate to goal setting in business, too. My friend Eric Gramberg, who is taking a mid-career break in Greece, said his New Year’s advice was to set a goal to “Relax, enjoy and do what makes you happy.” My first reaction was to wrinkle my nose.
But when I thought about it, I realized he was spot on. You spend most of your waking hours on workdays at work. While many do not have much control over their days, those of us who do owe it to ourselves to figure out how to do more of what we like to do. Along the way, we should enjoy the process and do our best to take more things in stride.
I admit at this late date, I’m still defining my goals for 2014, to make it as productive a year as it can be. While the road to meeting those goals is paved with hard work, I’m going to make sure I choose a scenic path and stop at each overlook to take the beauty of it all in.
