Goal-Setting: What’s Your Underlying Purpose that Gives Your Goal Stickiness?
by Karen Elizaga | Posted: April 1st, 2010 | 1 Comment »
I think all I’m going to talk about for the next week is my half marathon on Saturday (sorry!). It is just all-consuming! For some, a half marathon may seem like a piece of cake. For me, a historical non-runner, it’s a massive effort that will take great physical focus and mental endurance! I’m already prepping myself with an arsenal of “one conscious thoughts.”
I ran my first six miles in about 12 years on January 9 of this year, and then started training in February to beef up that mileage and my endurance. With each run and certainly every longer run, I would start with some nervousness. Would I be able to finish? Am I going to suffer through this? At every step, the nerves would dissipate, and within a few minutes, I was okay. Granted, I would have these thoughts of oh my God, this is FAR! and the end is a long time from this moment…
But then I’d finish and surprise myself!
What has kept me going? My goal of doing this half marathon, for sure. But underlying that goal? Proving to myself and to my children that I can do anything I put my mind to.
As I thought about this underlying purpose today, I reflected on how different this goal is from goals of previous years – I’d want to be a certain weight or have certain body fat; I’d want to fit into a certain size, or I’d have this vague notion of “eating clean.” But you know what? Those goals were so easy to set aside in favor of ice cream, or just ditching the running program entirely in favor of a spinning bike, or even the couch! After all, who would notice, or really be bothered by, an extra three pounds or a couple of percentage points on the body fat scale? Just me.
But THIS. This goal is bigger than me. Much bigger than me. And that’s what’s made it so easy to stick to my training schedule. So easy! Seriously.
I’m not sure how fast I will finish the race on Saturday, but I know this for sure. I will finish it. I’ve got two kids waiting on the other side of that finish line expecting me to!
Karen, what a worthy goal. I have no doubt you will finish that half marathon well, and be super proud of yourself, even more proud than Finny and Sloane will be. My husband Tim is a marathoner, an addicted runner, and for sure his training runs are fully fuled by the terror of 26.2 miles in who knows what terrain or weather. I have never considered myself a runner, never ever ever, yuck, WHY? (I think of the movie “Run, Fatboy, Run” when the chain-smoking sloth goes, “He’s a marathon runner? WHY?”) Indeed WHY. But running has changed my husband’s life, his mental focus, his body, his stamina and endurance (that’s always good!) I tried it and hated it at first, but the more I do it, the more tolerable it becomes. One day I would also like to complete a half-marathon, just to prove I can, mostly to myself. But for starters I need to put away this bag of chocolate eggs!!! Go, Karen! You can do it!!