Avoid Whims
Another pitfall to avoid when it comes to setting goals is the need to avoid whims. When an insecure person is seeking something to give meaning, purpose and significance to their life, they often latch-on to something that sounds appealing. You might hear about a friend of a friend who completed an Ironman Triathlon recently and you are awe-inspired by such an achievement.
It is indeed an awesome achievement to swim 2.4 miles (3.86 km), cycle 112 miles (180.25 km) and run a marathon (26.2 miles / 42.195 km) without pause between each event. But an Ironman Triathlon is only for elite athletes who posses an incredible level of fitness. Although many people, with the right training, could possibly work towards running a 26 mile marathon – only a small percentage of people can complete an Ironman Triathlon.
A marathon is also a tremendous achievement, but it takes a great deal of time and effort to get to that level of fitness. I would in fact say that it is not just a hobby or interest – it is a lifestyle! It may sound ridiculous, but some neurotics latch-on to the idea of doing something like a marathon, even though they don’t even go jogging every week. So if I was going to set a goal, I would be inclined to set a goal for something I already do and enjoy. I could make a long-term goal out of running a marathon; after all, I do jog already, so the concept is not completely alien to me. But I would say that it would take years for me to reach such a standard – so I’m not going to give it a great deal of thought at the moment.
I would be reluctant to set a goal for something I don’t do already. I suppose there are exceptions to this, but they are exceptional. There are not many things in life that you can safely say that everyone should do, be or have. Some examples that I can think of are having your basic needs met, such as food, water and shelter; other than that, I would also add to this list, eating healthily, exercising regularly, staying in good health, having good friends, meeting a partner who is right for you and being happy. But apart from that, I can’t think of many examples of goals that I should set outside of my current experience.
There are lots of activities I would like to engage in, such as learning to play the piano. But I’ll be honest and say that I don’t have the time and inclination to put in the effort to learn to play a musical instrument at this time. It’s not that I’m lazy and can’t be bothered – it’s just that I would rather commit my time and energy to other pursuits.
Another thing I would like to do is Fell Running. Fell Running (or Hill Running) is a race in which the gradient is a significant factor. This pursuit obviously demands a high level of fitness – stamina and strong legs for a start. Fell Running fascinates me and I’d love to do it some day. But at the moment, I am not up to the required level of fitness. I have been jogging now for about six months and my regular route is 4.3 miles long – which currently takes me 50 minutes to run. I’m no expert, but I’d say that I need to build-up my fitness level running on flat ground, before I even consider running up and down big, steep hills.
I have set a goal to run a local 10 kilometre (6.2 miles) race in May next year. That gives me about six months to train for a 10k race – which I believe is a good, legitimate goal to have. I’m not stressed about this goal, because I know it won’t make a great deal of difference to my life. I’m not even considering making a goal in relation to Fell Running at this time. Nevertheless, Fell Running could be seen as a potential, natural progression from jogging, and therefore, could be something to consider at a later time.
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