Set a Goal

Setting a goal is the most important step to success. You will hear this from all top leaders, motivational speakers and people who have reached top levels of success.

As I started my running my main purpose was to gain extra energy. A great feat to achieve but very difficult to measure or show. Hence, to have extra motivation, I set myself a measurable goal. I set out to run a Half Marathon - 13.2 miles. Time frame within which to achieve this: 4 months.

A Goal Is Set, Now Make It Public

Looking back, this was the catalyst. I toyed with the idea for about a month, mentioned it to a few people, and semi declared my participation. In the back of my mind there was a notion that I was going to do it, yet I had a fear of commitment (what if I failed to do it). At the time, I was running on average 3-4 miles - basically a quarter of the distance needed. I would need to run 4 times the distance.

Finally, two months before the event, I announced my decision. To show my commitment, I made it public. I told my family and friends, posted it on Facebook and registered to support a charity by raising funds - no turning back now. I knew that I could do it. In his book, Stu Mittleman writes that you do not need to run much more than half the distance of the event which you are attempting during your training - and you only need to do it once to see how you pace yourself and how your body responds. As prescribed, a month before the event, I ran around 9 miles (total of around 1h40m) and I felt great.

Pattern For Success

On the day of the event I was ready. Fully hydrated, having a eaten a light breakfast and with a mile by mile timing breakdown written on my arm I set forth.

The experience - one of the most gratifying in my life. What was even more satisfying, was that when I got back home, I went right to my fridge, on which I have a list of goals to achieve, and I was able to tick this off, as the first achieved goal.

I chose to focus on goal setting here, as I just watched a clip by Brian Tracy, which I have seen about a year ago, when goal setting was an unknown subject to me. One year on, I can see the significance of it and know now that by achieving my goal, I have established a PATTERN FOR SUCCESS!

Happy running!

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