I’ve seen it so many times. Someone loses weight, runs a bunch of miles, starts a blog and public Facebook page. 🤔 Actually, it sounds kind of familiar.
We all want to boast about our accomplishments. We all like to take the next step. Move on to something bigger and (what we think is) better. Is it? I’m coming at this from a physical accomplishment point of view. This actually can be used in any aspect of your life.
When we set a goal in life, we have to map out the exact steps to achieve that goal. The problem is that we focus on the major goal and try to rush through the in between goals. Let me give you an example. I’ll use myself. When I started running, I ran my first 5k just three weeks after I started running. Way too early. What happened then, I set my goals on a half marathon just 3 months later. I had no idea how to run 3 miles well. What the hell was I doing training for a 13 mile race?! What happened? I injured myself the week of the race. I had to step back and reevaluate what happened. I took some time and healed up.
I spent the following 4 months running no more than 3 miles at a time, three to four days a week. You see, I spent too much time focused on the goal of half marathon. I neglected the fact that I had no running base fitness.
So often I see guys that have just lost weight, they run a couple races and then they sign up for a full marathon. Or they hear that David Goggins signed up for a 100 mile race just three days before it was supposed to happen. Let’s not forget that Goggins was a Navy Seal. He may have been big but he was no stranger to extremely strenuous physical activity. He wasn’t just coming off the couch like most of us.
I’ve been quiet lately on social media. It’s been a time of reflection for me. I’ve been evaluating my future goals and setting myself up for next year. I’ve been somewhat turned off by some people posting goals and runs that are really a cry for attention. When in reality, there’s very little work going on behind the scenes. I’m not perfect and nor do I claim to be but I’d rather be consistent in my lifestyle than to portray something that’s not entirely accurate.
I went to the Grand Canyon back in June with several close friends. We ran from the South Rim to the North Rim in just over 9 hours. That was the experience of a lifetime. When I got back I needed to set a goal. I did not want to revert back to running 3 or 4 miles here and there. The very best and most beneficial physical goal I came up with is just to be consistent. I set the goal to run 100 miles a month with an average of 25 miles per week.
Do I screw up? Yes. Do I miss my weekly targets? Yes, it does happen. But, for the most part, this is probably the most consistent I’ve ever been with my running. I keeping a base running fitness that will carry me into my goals for next year.
In every area of your life, your best bet is to be consistent. You don’t have to post it on Facebook or instagram. It would make you think about why you’re really doing it. Are you doing it for likes and praise? Or are you doing it for yourself?