What are your running goals? Or maybe you don´t have any specific goals. Many people who practice running might say that they don´t want to set specific goals for their running – they just want to run to live healthier or to lose weight. The wonderful thing about goals is that they can be whatever you want them to be. But if you just go out running occasionally and you don’t have a purpose, you can very soon become demotivated and lose the perception of why you actually are doing it in the first place.
Why Set Running Goals?
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” – Tony Robbins
Most people live life by default. They drift through life and in turn, feel dissatisfied and unfulfilled. They are far from where they’d like to be and usually, they have a negative mindset. Rather than identifying dreams and specific goals, they go through the motions day in and day out. Sometimes you stop and start questioning your life. But how do you move on?
One way forward is to identify your dreams and set goals for yourself. In the book “The How of Happiness”, psychologist and professor Sonja Lyubomirsky says; “It turns out that the process of working toward a goal, participating in a valued and challenging activity, is as important to well-being as it’s attainment.” People who are looking for something that is important to them are much happier than people who lack dreams and aspirations.
Top-level athletes, successful long-distance runners, and achievers in all fields all set goals. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organize your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your life.
By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals, and you’ll see forward progress in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. You will also raise your self-confidence, as you recognize your own ability and competence in achieving the goals that you’ve set.
How to Set a Running Goal?
First, consider what you want to achieve, and then commit to it. Set measurable goals that motivate you and write them down to make them feel tangible. Then plan the steps you must take to realize your goal and cross off each one as you work through them.
A clear goal will take you closer to your dreams. It is of course also important that the goal is realistic and that you include a time aspect. Working with interim goals and celebrating when you achieve them is also a good idea.
Below are our best tips for runners and athletes who want to achieve their goals and reach their dreams:
1. Set specific goals Write down your goals and specify exactly what you want to achieve. For example; “I´m going to run the Boston Marathon before I´m 45 years old”. It will be much easier to reach your goal if you have communicated it clearly to yourself first. You should motivate why you want to reach the specific goal, how to do it and finally when you have to reach the goal. If you are well prepared, there is a greater chance that you will make it.
2. Communicating Your Goal To Others If you tell others what your goal is, you’re more likely to accomplish it. If you are training to run the Boston Marathon next year – then tell your friends about it. You will automatically work harder to make it.
3. Prioritize your goal You need to prioritize your goal. To succeed, you must focus on the goal and you can not focus on achieving multiple goals at the same time. Select and focus on one goal at a time.
4. Positive energy Everything is about energy. Your mind might be addicted to negative thinking; most minds are. You will have to consciously break out of this addiction if you want to attract good energy within you. Know that good and bad are just perceptions created in the conditioned mind. Studies show that individuals who have a positive mindset are also healthier and achieve their goals faster than those with negative energy.
5. Surround yourself with the right people You are a combination of the five people you spend most time with. They generate the opinions, humor and points of view that your mind is continuously subject to. It’s tough, but you need to choose to spend more time with those who give you positive energy, rather than draining you on energy.
6. Believe in your self You can do it!
