One Goal Athlete

Just set one goal.

Sweet. Simple. Achievable.

Set one goal.

The Magic of One

“I want to be in the top 10% of the 5k next month.” “I want to compete in an Ironman triathlon.” “I want to complete a 1 mile swim.” Whatever your goal might be, the key is keeping it to one.

I haven’t properly taken my own advice in recent times in regards to one goal. Honestly, I haven’t established proper goals at all. What has the result been? Lack of completing any true goal.

When I started my running “career”, I unknowingly started applying this exact premise to my actions. I would pick a race and state a goal of such-and-such time. Whether I accomplished that goal or not doesn’t really matter. What matters then and what matters now is that I was able to achieve greater results by setting this one specific goal because it was tangible and understood.

Making the goal tangible is crucial. It can be as simple as finish and as complex as breaking down each specific athletic events parts to measurable figures. For example, my high school basketball coach broke down the points allowed goal of each quarter that we were to achieve along with 4-5 other quarter goals. He didn’t come in and such, “Let’s go out there and win!” He would say, “I want you to not allow them to score more than 9 points in each quarter, out-rebound them by 15 boards, and get 2 charges in the game.” He would be even more specific, but you get the idea. By making your goal tangible (i.e. setting measurable goals), you will have something to work towards.

Understanding what you are striving for is often overlooked.

“Sure, I am going to run the Denver Marathon in 4 months.”

“What’s your goal?”

“Run it.”

“Like finish it? Run it in under 4 hours? Run your best half marathon time in the first half?”

“Just run it.”

Here, it may seem like a goal is set, but there really isn’t one. At the least, this individual should set a goal of finishing. By just saying, “Run it,” the athlete is choosing to not fully commit to understanding and working towards a goal. Understanding what you are going to achieve leads to proper preparation for said event.

Set One Goal Right Now

Here we go!

You and I are going to set one goal right now. Not later. Not tomorrow. Not after dinner. Right fricken’ now!

May 26th, I am going to run the first 5k race of the Arizona Road Racers Summer Series and I will finish in under 20 minutes.

Well that was easy. One goal set and now I have something to strive for. It definitely isn’t an end goal for me or anything I haven’t accomplished in the past. What it is though is a goal. It is one goal and I now know what the hell I am doing.

It couldn’t be any simpler honestly. It’s your turn now. It doesn’t matter how small or big you might think the goal is, just set one right now and leave your goal in the comments.

Good luck!!!

photo credit: Leo Reynolds via photopin cc