Mini Goal Setting

I have some goals I am working towards.  They are the bigger kind that will take a longer period of time to accomplish.

I have physical goals as well as business and relationship goals.  I think goals are a great way of holding us accountable and keeping us moving in the right direction.

But when we know we won’t make our goal for weeks or months or even years, we can hit slumps or less productive phases.  That’s where I think mini goal setting is important!  I set goals that I can accomplish today and pat myself on the back for doing it!

Here’s an example:  I’ve been working on upping my running mileage and getting a little more competitive again.  Already this week I’ve done 3 hard runs.  Today I was teetering between taking the day off or running a few easy miles.  I set a mini goal of running 3 miles today.  I knew my legs would be a bit sluggish and my pace would not be stellar.  About 2 miles in I was near my home and had the urge to just call it day and quit.  It wasn’t going to be a great run – so why bother with one more mile??  I realized though, with less than 10 minutes of effort – I could reach my goal.  And do you know what – I ended up running 3.5 miles.  Again – this was no PR worthy run – but I felt good when I finished.  I proved to myself that I could push through.  I proved I could finish what I started.  And I proved that I could exceed my own expectations.

Now you may be thinking – big deal – you ran 3.5 sluggish miles – so what?  The so what is next time I hit a rough spot I will remember that I am tougher than I think I am.  That I can push the negative thoughts away and find success.  All of those little victories from our mini goals do add up!

So much of goal setting and accomplishment is mental.  It’s about believing in ourselves.  It’s about not letting set-backs or failures conquer us.  It’s about perseverance.  Mini goals give us confidence and more chances to celebrate along the way.

What can you accomplish today?