Toronto Running Chiro

New Years Resolutions

It’s that time again, time to set some goals for the upcoming year.  I am reading a book right now that has motivated me to not only set goals but to write them down and be accountable for them.  The book is ‘Mind Gym an Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence’ by Gary Mack with David Cassetevens.  A large theme in this book is about the importance of goal setting.

First lets discuss how to set goals.  It is important to set SMART goals, SMART is an acronym for goal setting:

S– Specific– be very specific in what exactly it is you want to achieve.  You need to be able to imagine exactly what it is you want to achieve in order to do it.  The more vividly you can imagine it the better.  So choose something and commit to it!

M– Measurable– make sure the goal can be measured whether that is a new PB in running or a weight goal or a career goal you need to be able to measure it

A– Accountable/Achievable– make sure your goal is achievable and make yourself accountable for it.  This blog is my way to make myself accountable for my goals.

R– Realistic– do you believe you can achieve your goal?  You need to believe it in order to do it.

T– Time Bound– when do you want this goal accomplished by?  Remember a goal is a dream with a time line.  So set a due date.

You may have one big goal that you want to accomplish by the end of the year but what are the small steps that need to be accomplished to get to that goal?  I personally like having small goals that are written down so when they are achieved you can cross them off and have a sense of accomplishment.  If you get frustrated in accomplishing your goal take a step back and look at the progress you have made.

Another great acronym that I came across in this book is ACT backwards:

A– Accept your present state and evaluate the changes that need to be made.  Look at your strengths and weaknesses and how to make changes to get you closer to your goals.

C– Create your desired state.  Be very specific when doing this and take into account the changes that need to be made to get you there.

T– Take action through SMART goal setting to get from A –> C.

It is important when working toward goals to be open and constantly learning from the progress you are making.  You must work on the weaknesses you have identified in order to get closer to your goal.  Remember that in order to make it to the big goal you must achieve many small goals so be sure to remind yourself of how far you have come.

This book has truly motivated me to set some solid goals.  I highly recommend this book as a motivator for sport and life in general.

“I am a firm believer in goal setting.  Step by step.  I can’t see any other way of accomplishing anything.”  -Michael Jordan

Recommended reads:

Mind Gym An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence by Gary Mack with David Cassetevens Foreword by Alex Rodriguez
Champions Mind  by Jim Afremow