Brian Kremer - "I got this!"

Part II – Goal Setting

Now that you have recovered and are hungry for the next challenge it is wise to make sure you have set a good goal. I have a few guidelines to setting and pursuing goals.

The goal must get you excited and simultaneously stir up a mix of enthusiasm and nervousness. This literally has to be something that will get you out of bed or off the couch into any kind of weather and be worth the effort and struggle you will invest to convert the challenge into an accomplishment.

The end goal must require growth and your best effort. If it is not a big enough challenge it will fail to motivate you and will feel empty when you get there. For example crossing the half marathon finish line was rewarding the first few times but after building your collection of finisher’s t-shirts it begins to lose the thrill it once had and then you start thinking about time goals or longer distances to up the challenge ante.

Mark the road to the big goal with smaller and more attainable and more immediate goals to reward you for your forward progress and to keep you going. Success is a great motivator and leads us to a greater sense of what is possible.

Developing the necessary habits is crucial to long term accomplishment. Motivation and grand plans get us started but we are ruled by our habits for better or worse. Motivation is a fickle thing and will abandon you when you need it most. Being able to fall back on strong productive habits will keep you moving forward into the next wave o

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Support your goal by surrounding yourself with knowledgeable and encouraging people. Challenges are more easily summited with a great plan and others to help you up. With a detailed and proven plan the work becomes a step by step map to success. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people with similar goals will enable you to feed off of each other’s encouragement and energy. Yes, this is where the right coach and training group can become an invaluable asset in your quest.