Creating a Meaningful Goal

What’s up athletes,

Goal setting season is here. I know many of you have already mapped out your season. Some are still sitting on the fence. Either way, I’m asking you to take 5 minutes to make sure your goal actually means something to you.

The first of the year brings a lot of new Strava or TrainingPeaks metrics. But the reality is that none of that matters on race day if you don’t have meaning behind what you’re doing. Take it from me, I was averaging 110-140 miles for my last 100 miler and it didn’t mean jack sh*** when the race got hard. When I finished the 100 miler last October, I was going back to finish something I started the year before. The pace and the finishing time didn’t matter. There was no way I was going to leave that trail until I covered 100 miles.

Let me be clear. Having goals are necessary.

But most people don’t struggle because they don’t have a goal. They struggle because the goal they picked isn’t meaningful, isn’t theirs, or isn’t clear enough to train around.

So here’s the framework I use for myself and and the same one I use for my athletes before we commit to the next training block.

The point isn’t to pick the “hardest” goal. The point is to pick a goal that changes you in a way you actually care about.

Opportunity for Growth

A meaningful goal should allow space for growth. Growth means change.

But it’s change by addition to who you already are. Not attempting to become someone else.
Not:

• “I want to be fitter.”
• “I should race something this year.”
• “Everyone’s doing an ultra, so maybe I should…”

A growth mindset type of goal should sound more like:

• “I want to become the kind of athlete who finishes strong instead of surviving the last hour.”
• “I want to stop training in panic mode and execute a plan with patience.”
• “I want to build durability so setbacks don’t reset my season.”

Here’s a question for your internal dialogue:

If you achieved this goal, what would it prove to you? Not to Instagram. Not to your coworkers. Not to get more kudos on Strava. To you.

It’s cliche, but the growth happens along the path to achieving that goal. Will you have the opportunity to level up during the process?

Have a Goal You’ll Be Proud Of

Pride is a useful filter because it checks your ego and forces honesty. You should be able to say your goal out loud and have this deep sense of pride that it matters. Not because it’s impressive. Because it’s aligned with who you are and want to become.

A goal you’re proud of usually has one of these elements:

• It’s personally meaningful (even if nobody gives you a like).
• It represents a promise you’ve been postponing.
• It fixes a pattern you’re tired of repeating.
• It’s a version of you that you respect.

I’ll be frank with you. At the end of the day, nobody cares. People will like and give kudos along the way, but then they’ll move on. Make sure the pride of achieving this goal is something that will stay with you when all your followers’ algorithms change.

Approval is external. Pride is internal.

Pride means that you respect the person you had to become in order to achieve that goal.

A Goal That Doesn’t Sell Yourself Short

This could be the most challenging part.

A lot of athletes choose goals that feel reasonable, because reasonable protects you from disappointment. Reasonable goals protect you from failure. They protect your ego. (see the previous post about Ego)

But you aren’t who you are as a person or an endurance athlete because you avoid failure.

You got into it because somewhere along the way you realized:

This is one of the few places in life where effort still means something.

Start with this question: If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you aim for?

Now take that idea and add the context of your life. It doesn’t mean you make it easy. But you dial it back a few degrees so that you stay present for your family and your career.

When you ask yourself if this will test your full potential, you should be able to say:

• “This will require consistency.”
• “I’ll have to do things I usually avoid.”
• “There could be mistakes, failures, or hiccups, but they won’t stop me.”

When you go after a goal that has space for growth, earns pride, and tests your potential, you eliminate the comparison to others. You provide more clarity into what you’re trying to achieve. The more clarity, the more optimized you can be in your training. Every step can be more purposeful.

Create meaning behind your goal, and you won’t need motivation.

If you want a second set of eyes on your goal (or a roadmap to get there), reply to this email. No pressure, sometimes a different perspective can help.

Train smart,

@stevekeller.me

Calendly