What is the goal?

In a conversation earlier this week the topic of goals came up. I was questioned why we didn’t set specific goals here. My answer was simple. People set goals to achieve a singular thing… lose 20 lbs, squat 400 lbs, run a 5k at 5:30 pace. Many go through all the steps in the beginning, write it down, tell others, and formulate a plan to get there. They do all the right things with the right amount of intent to prepare. For some this is as far as it goes, for others they begin and eventually find it’s going to be harder than they thought, or it’s going to take longer than they want to give. To me, goals are necessary, but not in the traditional sense. When I first started working as a coach goal-setting was priority number one. Over the years what we have found is that those who began working with us with a specific goal, or set of goals eventually petered out and moved on. On the flip side, those who began with the intent, or a goal, of establishing a lifestyle habit are still with us today, nearly a decade later.