Why is your goal your goal? Why is it important to you?

Why do you go to the gym? Why do you run?

Lots of questions eh? Apart from sounding like a small child, do you actually consider these questions and know the answers instinctively and with clarity? Are your goals meaningful to you? Why?

I wanted to touch on this subject as too often we set goals that are all too vague – lose weight, tone up, get fit but seldom do we have true meaning behind them. I want you to watch this video:

This TED Talk by Simon Sinek is one of my all time favourite clips and has inspired me massively in evolving my business. While it is primarily aimed at people in business, it still holds value to us as individuals as once we discover what is truly meaningful to us, we can find a clearer path towards achieving what we want.

Feel Better

The majority of people I work with will tell me they want to lose weight, tone up and get fitter when I ask them about their goals but it’s only when I dig a bit deeper with some questions that I find what they really want. I’ve come to realise that most people are unhappy where they are and want to feel better about themselves again.

Weight loss, toning up and getting fitter are generally rubbish goals as they have little or no definition or emotion attached to them. We often say those things because that’s what everyone else says and we can find it easier to say the same to fit in rather than to say we don’t know. This makes it harder to achieve or even know if we’re doing the right things in order to achieve them. They also result in drastic decision making like joining a gym or going on a diet, things that can lead to an outcome but doesn’t solve any of the problems that got us to the point that we realised we needed a change.

Dig A Little Deeper

This is why it’s important to dig a little deeper and understand what we truly want. Even if you don’t really know what you want, try thinking of something that would inspire you to change for the first week or the first month. Somewhere along the line, you’ll discover what would be a good goal to aim for and quite often that can be something completely different from what you would normally think about going for.

The goals that are really worth aiming for are ones that have an emotion or a sense of purpose behind them. The feeling of being able to fit into a favourite pair of jeans again, being able to wear a certain outfit for an event as you will be around people you haven’t seen for a long time and nothing feels better than being complimented on how good we look. The feeling of having so much energy that you’re able to do all the things you normally do and more without feeling the least bit tired compared to normal. Being able to look in the mirror and smile rather than having to suck your tummy in. Running a marathon because it sounds like a crazy thing to do but you discover the training is fun and the people you meet along the way become friends or tell you they’re inspired by what you’re doing.

You know, the goals that drive you on. The ones you know the reason why.