I don’t generally consider myself goal orientated. I can already hear my friends telling me that I’m crazy and that I totally am but let me explain. I have found generally in my life that I don’t really have to work to get the things I want. I consider myself to be fairly lucky and things tend to just happen. This is not by any means a bad thing but I do think it has made my lazy when it comes to really pushing myself for something that I really want. In the past I have found that if it doesn’t come easily I’m more likely to shift my focus to something else than I am to really push towards whatever it is that isn’t coming easy. This is not something that I am actively working on changing and after my work on getting prepared for the 5K I have to say I think I’m finally seeing the benefit to goals and actually working towards them once you set them.
Signing up for the Terry Fox Run and planning on trying to run it is one of the first real goals that I can remember setting for myself that I have actively worked towards achieving. What has truly surprised me (it’s totally one of those duh moments) is that it is actually amazing and incredibly motivating to have a goal that you are working towards. I thought that it would be a drag to have an extra responsibility to work on, something to steal my time away from things I enjoy more but I have to say I have proven myself wrong. I love that I have something that is driving me to make changes that I have wanted to make for years but have never been dedicated enough to make.
One of the biggest positive things that has come out of having a specific goal is the motivation that has come with it. When my alarm goes off at 4:30am each weekday morning and usually by 7 on weekends if it wasn’t for the pending 5K I would probably likely turn it off, roll over and go back to sleep. Knowing however that I want to do this 5K and that I want to do my best at it has proven to usually be enough to get me out of bed. Often I’m tired and cranky as I head to the gym but as soon as I get on the treadmill and start moving this feeling washes over me, a sense of purpose. Along with this feeling of purpose I also am getting a sense of pride that comes with the fact I know that every step I do on the treadmill will make my 5K so much easier. I feel like I’m working towards something (because I am) and I actually know what that something is because I have set the goal.
Having an end goal in mind and defined has also helped me to make better choices along the way. Every day I bring a lunch to work full of healthy foods. I almost always love my lunches but there is also a restaurant at work that makes really great food and yummy treats. Before deciding to do the 5K it was a toss-up as to what would win for my afternoon snack - either my veggies or a sweet treat from Olly’s. Now although I still treat myself some of the time I find now that before I grab my wallet I remind myself again how feeding my body better will help make that 5k a whole lot easier. So now I’m am more likely to enjoy the treats I brought for myself rather than buy anything. (The side benefit of this is it is also helping with my budget ;-)
I am determined to make this goal a reality and the drive that comes with that is thrilling. It has given me purpose and motivation to help guide me. I am converted wholeheartedly to the idea of goal setting now and have begun to apply the things I have learned setting goals around my run to other things in my life. When you are willing to actually work towards a goal that you have set for yourself and are willing to put in a little effort it is amazing what can actually be achieved. I guess the only question is how on earth to pick what goal you want to reach for….but more on that tomorrow.
To donate and check out my progress please visit my page here.
For more information on the Terry Fox Foundation and the run check out their page here.
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