Whenever you embark on an adventure in life, from a personal or professional point of view, it’s always useful to set goals and outline where you want to be.
Lots of people thrive on having something to aim for in the future and I agree, it’s great but let me tell you why setting long-term goals on their own, maybe throwing off your progress and potentially throwing a spanner in the works.
Let’s look at it from another point of view…
You fancy going on a road trip, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the list goes on. Your destination is your goal, but without planning things like your route, getting petrol, and making sure the tyres are pumped up on your car, you’re very unlikely to make it.
This is why we should set short-term and medium-term goals that complement our long-term goal. Not only do they help you reach your long term (I’ll get into that more in a second) they can also provide increased joy and motivation during the journey to your overall goal.
So how can short and medium-term goals help?
Quite a few ways actually…
Increased motivation – everyone LOVES hitting targets, don’t they? I certainly do. One of my most utilised and I find, motivational tools is to create a to-do list the night before a big day.
I’ll always set a couple of easy targets to get the ball rolling. Make the bed, brush your teeth etc. Simple, menial stuff that I should be doing every day without fail. This gets me into the mindset that I’m already achieving for that day.
Next will come some slightly harder ones but still achievable. Write a blog post like this one, get a workout done… stuff that I can do on a daily basis, all of which leads into a weekly or monthly target.
Enter the medium-term goals.
Before you know it, the weeks and months are rolling by. All that stuff you’re doing on a daily or weekly basis is all adding up session by session, week by week, month by month. All of which is stepping you towards your medium and long-term, goals.
Increased enjoyment
Not only is hitting your goals and targets highly motivational, it can often become enjoyable. The more you hit your targets the more the enjoyment factor will rise. Motivation and discipline are key factors too but if you enjoy what you are doing, you’re more likely to do it.
Understanding the process
This is a big one for me, especially from a personal point of view. Often throughout the year I will undergo different phases of training such as pre-season for football, increasing strength or losing body fat.
Using all three types of goal (short, medium and long) allows me to set targets at specific points throughout the year. Now I may not be successful in all of them but that’s okay, sometimes missing a goal is just as important as hitting one. I understand it sounds fairly counterproductive but it allows you to understand what does and what doesn’t work in regards to achieving different goals.
In summary
So next time you’re going to embark on a goal related journey, be it professional or personal, don’t forget that ONLY setting an end goal can sometimes be detrimental.
Utilise those short and medium term goals to help with: motivation, enjoyment and understanding the different processes.
For more information on HOW to set short, medium and long-term goals, feel free to get in touch via Instagram @rcsilvester__pt or send me an email Ryan@holmerunfitness.com
Comentarios