. . . in the distant, early morning . . .

Setting Goals

I like having a goal.

At work (EllisLab), we are big on telling stories.  Stories help to shape our goal, and give us a clear context for what we are trying to achieve.  Stories give us a reason to get things done.

In my personal life, I need that reason.  I need to know the goal, what I am working toward.

In previous attempts to lose weight, I never really had solid, concrete goals.  I didn’t have a story.  Oh, sure, I had some basic story, “I want to lose weight so I’ll feel attractive.”

Great, awesome, ok.

Way too vague.  That never lasted.  It turned out I didn’t care enough, or have enough investment in that story, to carry through.

I still want to lose weight to feel attractive, but that’s also just too big of a story.  At my current weight, such a story is almost impossible to consider.  I need smaller goals.

Over at Pacific Personal Training/CrossFit Hillsboro (PPT/CFH) I signed up for a “6 week Summer Slim Down Challenge.”  Part of that challenge is going through these sheets and scoring our readiness, motivation, and goals.

Well, I’m ready, and that part was easy because I’ve been doing this about 6 weeks already.

Internal motivation, well I’m good at self-honesty.  Below is the “pleasure I associate with achieving my goals”

• Getting cholesterol to safe amounts
• Feeling comfortable in summer clothing
• Being strong enough to move heavy things in my house
• Enjoy time walking/hiking with the pooch patrol
• Having more self confidence

So we also had to set up to 2 smart goals, and outlining the steps to achieve those goals:

1. 20% Body Fat
   • CrossFit
   • YogaFit
   • Walking
   • Tabata Sprints
   • Paleo + Cyclical Ketognic Diet
2. Dead Lift 300lbs
• Lift Heavy Things
• Strengthen Core
• Work toward perfecting form

Exciting, eh?  BTW: My 1RM Deadlift was 215lbs yesterday.  300lbs seems realistic, I think.

I also needed to figure out my obstacles, and what strategies I had in place to deal with them:

Willower w/food

My strategy here is to eat lots of good Paleo food so that I’m not hungry; that means I won’t be fighting hunger cravings and willpower won’t even come into play.

Laziness

Yes, I am lazy.  The strategy here is simple - find something I enjoy doing.  I found it: CrossFit!  No problem.

Outings with Friends

This isn’t so much an obstacle as it is a challenge.  But if I look up menus and plan what I’ll order, it’s much easier.

Lastly, we have a Fitness Wish List.  This one is fun.  These are the stories I want to be able to tell about myself.  There really is a lot of power in storytelling:

• Swim 1 mile
• Run a 5k
• Build a strong core so I can return to horseback riding
• Deadlift 350lbs (hey, it’s a wish list right?)
• Push Press 150lbs (my 1rm is 75lb, so….)
• Ice Skate for 2 hours without needing a break
• 2-3 hour trail hike with the pooch patrol
• Strong enough to go for a swim in the ocean (waves are hard, guys)

Rosemary at PPT/CFH said there was a lot of power in writing this down, so I really did - with a pen, on paper.  And she was right; it feels good to have this solidly on paper.  These papers would have looked different 6 weeks ago.

I wonder what they will look like 6 weeks from now?

-Lisa, on April 26, 2011 at 12:43 pm

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