You know that satisfying feeling of accomplishment when you reach a goal? It’s the result of commitment, time and hard work. It’s easy to set goals both professionally and personally, but not always easy to meet them. So how do we do it?
I like to keep fit by running, swimming and biking, and often sign up for races as motivation. I want to finish, preferably upright and smiling, and I certainly don’t want to waste the race fee, so knowing that a race deadline is coming up gets me up and out of the house.
This year, I have a few plans for racing season. I’m thinking about the Hell in the Harbour mud run and a couple of triathlons, but my big goal is a 5K Open Water Swim in the Welland Canal. No wetsuits allowed! So I get up early and go the pool. I swim in a lake once the weather has warmed up. Trust me, some days I don’t want to get out of bed and head out. But I do, because I know from experience that it’s worth it.
Occasionally, people ask me how I do it. It’s a hard question to answer, because when it comes right down to it, it’s simple. I set a schedule with assistance of others, I increase my training little by little so I can meet the goal and I set the alarm. Sometimes I fall off the training wagon and sometimes I get injured. But I keep going. It’s a truism of racing that if you do the training, you can do the race.
We all need a little motivation – what’s yours to reach your goals?
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