A coach that doesn’t believe in goals? Really? Well, sort of…
I’m NOT a fan of the BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) concept – especially in the reality of day-to-day life…and even more so in today’s environment where many are over-worked, overwhelmed, and over it!
I AM, however, a believer in directional and incremental goals as I think these are much more practical and applicable to the majority of us.
A great example is me reaching a 30-day streak in achieving my daily step goal of 12,000 steps a day for the first time in at least the 4+ years since I’ve had a Garmin/fitness tracking device 👏🚶♂️(see photo).
If you’d have asked me to set that as a goal 31 days ago, I’d have completely dismissed it – particularly as I’ve had a few challenges with my Ankylosing Spondylitis and stuff and had a fair bit going on at work and personally.
However, I noticed that in one week, without being super-consciously focused on it, I’d managed to achieve 12,000 steps a day for those 7 days…
Acknowledging myself for and simply patting myself on the back for achieving that small goal then gave me the spark of belief and confidence that I could probably do it for another day…maybe 2…which I did, and also celebrated with myself*…
*(as I set myself high expectations, celebrating is something I’ve learned to get better at that over the years – still working on it! I often focus on the ‘uphill’ that’s ahead, and forget to stop and look back ‘down the hill’ and see how far up I’ve come)…
Then I focused on another day…which I also celebrated – I’m learning 😅 – and then the next day…
I never had the goal of 30 days in conscious mind, I was just focusing on the immediate day or 2 ahead.
As I achieved each incremental day, my belief got stronger, and I continued to focus on each day as a small challenge that I could realistically meet.
Simply by focusing on the next small goal ahead, I kept going in that direction…as my belief and confidence grew that I could realistically build a record streak, I equalled my 19-day record (set while on an active holiday recently, and which I thought was pretty unrealistic to achieve while working!).
Then I really started to believe! And then the 30-day goal started to become a realistic possibility to achieve.
However, I still took it one day at a time. That helped me go the extra mile (literally 😂) – one night I made myself go for a walk in the evening after dinner to get those elusive extra steps (and inspired my partner who walked with me). Another day complete (celebrated with a glass of wine 🍷!).
From there, the extra effort over the next few days became even more of a pleasure rather than potential chore “oh god, got to drag myself out to get more steps 😒”. More wine followed (I was walking off the calories after all 😂)🎉🍷
And here I am, on my 31st day with 30-days done! 👏
So, next time you are trying to achieve something, focus on the direction you want to travel, and then on taking things one step at a time – rather than at the outset setting what might seem to be a realistically unachievable ‘BHAG’ goal when you look at the end game.
And celebrate the little milestones that you’ve achieved along the way – that’s a critical part of it – rather than the omg, I still have so far to go ‘BHAG’ aspect that derails the vast majority of people.
Whether I get 31 days remains to be seen – unlikely as I’m currently sitting in N Beaches hospital waiting to get my face stitched up! But that’s another story (nothing to do with walking & step goals, btw – or wine, for that matter 😂😅).
Here at SCC&D we apply this sort of thinking in our Executive Coaching programs to help you achieve what you thought may not have been possible.
Check out our website for more info or Contact Us, or email: [email protected]
Or if you want to talk to a human call us on +61 (0)2 7901 5618 😎
