In life, it has happened to all of you to get lost or to exhaust your resources and your provisions of motivation. But what defines this loss? Why, all of a sudden, do you no longer feel like it? Why do you no longer enjoy doing things? What makes you lose your way? Thus, the most important thing is not where you are. Even less where you were. But rather where you want to go. So what goals can you set for yourself?

By Jean-François Tatard – Photos: Pixabay.com, Jean-François Tatard

There is no age. No gender. No pedigree. No level. No social category. No status. No one is too old or too weak to set a goal. Beyond projecting yourself with serenity, you must define a goal for yourself. Define YOUR goal. This is the unique secret to maintaining motivation and continuing to progress for a long time, in sports or elsewhere for that matter. And even more important: to live happily for as many years as life allows you to frolic.

Why set a goal?

From the Sunday cyclist to the most experienced, setting a goal and achieving it is crucial. As simple and precise as the goal is, the benefits are absolutely fabulous. It allows you to stay motivated. To easily overcome unexpected setbacks or slumps. To constantly evolve in the right direction of the spiral. I don’t know if there is anything that makes you prouder than achieving your goal. Maybe that’s happiness after all. As subjective as it may be, realizing that you are capable of surpassing yourself to achieve what you have set for yourself strengthens your self-esteem and self-confidence. It virtuously opens up new perspectives for you. As Lorie sang (excuse my musical references): “La positive attitude, La tête haute, Les yeux rivés sur le temps, j’apprends, à regarder droit devant. La positive attitude…“

What goals?

Because everyone’s experience is different, because your background but also your aptitudes are unequal, it is important to be objective about personalizing your own goals to achieve. You must subjectively adapt your goals. According to your profile, your value, your capacities. And determine your goals and challenges according to very personal criteria: the time you have available, your motivation, your physical capacities, your own mindset…

How to set a goal?

Concretely, for a goal to be laudable and beneficial, it must be SMART!

• Specific
• Measurable
• Ambitious
• Realistic
• Time-bound (determine a time)

What you ultimately want

This is the only question you need to ask yourself. What do you want? What do you really want deep in your heart? If it is well chosen, and you make every effort to implement all the necessary means, this goal, for sure, you cannot miss it. Sometimes, it can take time. But if nothing is built in a day, there is no day when nothing is built.

If nothing is built in a day, there is no day when nothing is built.

Each new stone that builds the edifice is one more victory. You also need to know how to break it down. Be consistent. Be patient. Never get discouraged. Feed on small successes on the path to your success. You must not skip steps. Demanding yes, but never without kindness! Be kind to yourself. Reward yourself along the way: new bib shorts, a new GPS, a new pair of wheels or even more simply, a pair of socks. You have to recognize that you are progressing. And you have to mark the occasion. Give yourself your reward, otherwise no one will do it for you.

Choosing the goal

I repeat, to achieve your final goal, it is a good idea to go step by step! You won’t finish your first marathon overnight, much less your first Ironman. Even the Étape du Tour, for someone who has never climbed a hill longer than 2 km, will be complicated. If you finish your first triathlon, if you exceed 120 km on the bike for the first time, if you do a half marathon without stopping, that will already be a fabulous victory. And before finishing your first big goal, you will have to finish another smaller one. And before finishing that one, line up for an even smaller one without ever stopping throughout the competition. In short, you must mark your big goal with intermediate goals. From the foot of the mountain, too high, you never see the summit. There must be stages that will one day, one by one, allow you to go beyond the clouds that dissipate the peak.

While waiting for that day when you will reach the apex, set yourself small short-term challenges. Challenges whose realization will fill you with enthusiasm.

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