Goal Digger: Making your big goals happen

The fact is that you can do anything you are willing to work to accomplish. Feisty Team coaches Jamila Gale-Agans and Miranda Bush discussed how to set and achieve big goals during their weekly conversation, P(r)ep Talks, in the Feisty Triathlon Community FB Group. You can join here. 

Text by: Jamila Gale-Agans

Life is all about goals.  Triathlon is about big, scary, f**king goals.  Most people come into this sport with a goal in mind.  It could be to just finish a race, to place in top 3 in your age group, or to get active.

Whatever your personal goals, there are a number of things to consider before heading out of this journey.

What is your why?

“Why am I doing this?”  This is a question I ask myself almost every time I race.  When I’m deep in the suck and my mind starts to wonder, this is the first stop… along with Pink lyrics. The more in tune I am with my personal why, the easier for me to push through the tough training sessions.  If I don’t have an answer, it makes it that much easier to quit.  

More often than not, there will be a point in training or racing where you have to dig deep and answer this question.  What is your why? The thing that will keep you on the bike, in the pool or running when things get difficult? 

Who are you?

How you identify has a lot to do with goal accomplishment.  Who are you?  This matters in goal setting more than most realize.  Your self concept can help you but it also can hold you back.  Own the title of triathlete, runner, athlete, swimmer and remember there are no qualifiers for these identities.  If you run, no matter the distance and no matter the pace, you are a runner.  This goes the same for the title of triathlete.  If you swim, bike and run; you are a triathlete.  Pure and simple. 

What do you want to accomplish? 

Part of the goal setting is getting specific on what you want to accomplish.  When you specify, it allows the creative portion of your brain to get involved with solving the problem.  It also provides clarity. There is a difference in these two goals:  I want to swim more and I want to swim at least 2 times a week for at least 500m a session. One is measurable and likely to get accomplished.  It is very difficult to make progress on unspecified goals.  Also, how will you determine success?  Is this an all or nothing goal?  

How does all this apply to triathlon?  

So often people want to know what race they should sign up for or when they will be ready for a longer distance.  The answer to this lies completely within the individual.  You don’t ever have to do a half or full iron distance, if that’s not your personal goal.  You don’t have to wait a certain time period for racing a specific distance.  The fact is, you can do anything you are willing to work to accomplish.  You are totally capable of setting and accomplish scary ass goals.   

In summary, no goal is too big or too small.  Figure out what you want to accomplish and why. Write it down and create a plan with actionable steps to goal accomplishment, and get that shit done!  Once you accomplish that goal, set a bigger goal.