Need your help - goal setting

Hey guys

I've been writing a blog for many years before my surgery around participating in marathons, 1/2 marathons, triathlons and the like. My motivation for the surgery was to help me become a faster runner.

anyhoo...i just posted a blog update on goal setting (I'm having challenges). You guys have a unique perspective on my goal setting (I haven't told all my blog readers about the surgery - long story for another day) as you're going through or have gone through the same thing.

Would love your input.

thanks, J

I have gone through the ups and downs of motivation and goal setting.

My training and goal setting tends to go like this
1.  Lofty goal
2.  Inadequate training or being lazy.
3.  Poor or inadequate performance on race day
4.  Kick the crap out of myself, put myself down, generally be a miserable SOB to be around
5.  Refocus and get back to the training
6.  Do event a second time and see improvement (never as much as I want though)
7.  Repeat the cycle but with a bit of optimism knowing that I can do it.

Is your blog here on O.H. or do you have another one somewhere.  I'd like to take a look at it. 

Thanks, and good luck!

Scott

Well I'm hopeless.

I didn't even post a link to my blog post.

Voila!

http://inchbyinch.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/09/i-forgot-a-v ital-step.html

Thanks for the link!!

• Spell out the word A-T-H-L-E-T-E on my charm bracelet. You’d think that this would be specific but I’ve changed the amount I needed to lose for each letter at least a dozen times.

I love that!

I'm going to steal this idea, Maybe in necklace form, I think I'm going to give myself a letter for each race I complete without walking or in which I set a P.R. or something specific like that.

What A great idea.

Scott

Here is my suggestion for your goals:

Baby steps!  Put the goals in the order you think they will be the most easily completed.  Success breeds success.  Reward yourself, keep yourself motivated.

Scott

You want us to tell you when you have earned your TV? How about if we think your life will be better without one?

I had a number of rewards that I was going to do that when I got to the point where I'd earned them, I kind of shrugged and didn't get the reward. For example, I was going to go indoor sky diving when I hit my goal. But, by the time I did, I felt like I'd been rewarding myself all season buying $$$$ of triathlon gear and I didn't do anything specific. That kept happening to me a lot as I've been on this journey.

I think that I've finally figured out that getting to the goal is its own reward and I didn't need an external reward especially if I'm nice to myself along the way. I hope that's what's going on and not something negative that says bad things about my self-esteem or something.