It should be understood by now that a certain level of physical activity is beneficial to the human mind, body, and spirit. Setting fitness goals can be an important motivation tool. If a goal can be imagined it can be accomplished. No goal is unachievable if it can be seen in the mind’s eye.
Maintaining a fitness regime can become challenging after a specific period of time. Whether it’s a week, a month or even a year, boredom or complacency may bring workouts to a screeching halt. One way to prevent interruption of your workouts is to adjust variables such as modality and/or venue of activity, engaging in different modes of physical activity or changing venues which brings freshness to fitness regimes.
Another powerful way to keep workouts interesting and challenging is to set goals. Consciously or sub-consciously we set goals everyday. Work deadlines, paying bills, getting x hours of sleep each night, doing chores, shopping, laundry, these are all goals set and accomplished each day. Goals should be realistic, meaning if it’s believable to you, it is achievable by you. Do you believe your goals are achievable?
Fitness goals can be short-term or long-term
Short-term goals should be achievable in a relatively short amount of time. The idea is to keep each successive short-term goal in the forefront of the mind until completed, building upon each accomplished goal. Short-term goals can be part of a larger plan or long-term goal. Some examples of short-term goals are:
- Losing one pound per week
- Increase repetitions of specific exercise each session
- Increase amount time and distance run each week
- Working out x times per week
- Eating x number of fruit\veggies each day
Long-term goals are generally loftier and require more time to accomplish. Long-term goals can be broken down into many short-term goals to prevent the illusion of being unachievable (unachievability is only an illusion). Some examples of long-term goals are:
- Loosing 50 pounds
- Gaining 15 pounds of muscle mass
- Running a marathon
- Entering a bodybuilding competition
- Establishing healthier nutritional habits
Whether short-term or long-term, goals establish a desired distant target to be reached through progressive steps. Goals should motivate and create self-contained inspiration, drive and ambition to succeed. Your goals are your vision of your future as you unleash your true potential. Each day a step should be taken and each step taken should bring you one step closer to your ultimate goal.
Question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. –Anon.
Resource: Embracing Your Potential, Terry Orlick, PhD
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