The first step in goal crushing is goal setting because if you don’t know where you are going, you are going to have a really, really hard time getting there. You need a target, a goal, a North Star. Goal setting is an art. Set your goal too high and you set yourself up for disappointment. Set it too low and you’ll accomplish it too easily -- which isn’t always a bad thing but means that you left something on the table and robbed yourself of the sense of accomplishment that comes from accomplishing something challenging.
The objective? Set a goal that is just right. Be the Goldilocks of goal setting.
Often, that means some trial and error, taking some risks. Let me share two stories.
Sharon was a college athlete who played on her varsity field hockey team for four years. She remembers the satisfaction of pushing herself hard physically and remembers feeling strong in her body. But it has been 38 years since she played college sports, and three children and three decades of a job that has kept her tied to a desk more often than not has left her with a 60-pound weight gain and a back that aches more often than not. But when Sharon thinks about getting back to movement and exercise, when she remembers the joy and freedom she found running and playing sports and when she considers getting back to some kind of regular movement, she goes immediately back to those days. “I’m going to set a 50-mile goal for the month,” she thinks. And she does. But her knees, her back and the realities of her life -- which still includes that desk job -- make it impossible for her to achieve that goal. She falls short, gets discouraged, and gives up.
Beth has never been active. A creative spirit, she loves to spend her days knitting gorgeous blankets for friends and family and tending her garden. Her husband was recently diagnosed with early-stage dementia, and she knows that she needs the mind-clearing, stress-reducing, and mood-boosting benefits of a regular walking practice. And she knows that she needs to keep herself physically strong for the years ahead. But she doesn’t know where to start and she is afraid to “fail.” So she sets her goal for 7 miles for the month and crushes it by the 10th. She is thrilled when the celebration animation appears on her app and is excited to move into “bonus miles.” But by the 15th of the month, she loses her steam. “That was too easy,” she thinks. “I haven’t really accomplished anything, so why bother?” She gives up.
Set your goal too high, and you will set yourself up for defeat. Set it too low and you’ll accomplish it so easily that it won’t inspire you to keep moving forward.
Set a Goldilocks Goal and you’ll make it with just the right amount of effort, you’ll feel accomplished and inspired and you’ll keep moving forward.
How?
Setting a Goldilocks Goal begins with a realistic look at where you are right now. Not where you were a decade ago. Not where you wish you were. Not where you are going to be three months from now. Where you are right now.
This is not easy. We love to tell ourselves stories. We love to hide from the truth. Some of us tend to see ourselves as in a better place, while others see a worse place.
Here are four questions to ask yourself before setting your first 99 Walks goal:
How much do I walk or exercise now?
How many times a week do I typically get some kind of exercise?
Am I working through any injuries, illnesses, or physical challenges, and, if so, have I gotten my doctor’s okay to start a walking program?
What windows of time do I have available to walk? Can I walk early in the morning, late in the day or can I integrate walking into my daytime routines? How much time can I realistically devote to walking each day or week?
Finally, recognize that you might not get it right and that a goal that works for you some months might not work other months. Walking 50 miles in the glorious fall days of October might not be realistic in the heat of August. Walking 15 miles your first month might seem like child’s play come month three. Sometimes, life gets in the way and even a Goldilocks Goal will be left uncrushed and there are lessons to be learned from that as well.
At the end of the day, it is the lessons we learn about how to define and accomplish a challenge that are most important. Because once you learn to set -- and crush -- Goldilocks Goals, you will begin to realize that you do, in fact, have the courage, the skills, and the spirit to set challenging goals and go get them. In walking, sure, but also in other aspects of your life too. Go get it.
If you’d like more thoughts on setting Goldilocks Goals, check out the podcast on the same topic HERE.