The Importance of Setting Goals
This week I hung a new banner in my gym containing our core values. The first core value listed is ‘Know Your Goals’. Seems pretty obvious at first glance, and yet so rarely do we actually sit down and assess : what am I really trying to accomplish?
Now this could apply to pretty much all aspects of life - fitness, career, family, sports, and on and on and on. Today I want to use my perspective as a trainer in order to hopefully spur some new thoughts in the brain of anyone taking time out of their day to read this.
When working with my adult clients, I’ll typically make them set a goal for themselves, and write it up on my big ‘SFT Adult Client Goals Wall’ (creative name, I know). The goal can be anything : an exercise they want to improve on, a consistent schedule they want to keep, or a certain amount of weight they want to lose - these are just a couple examples.
Setting this goal has several cascading effects. First, I as the trainer now have a direction I’m going to take with the programming. By making the necessary adjustments in the programming, the client is more likely to ‘buy-in’. The goal has been set, the work is being put in, and the client’s eyes are on the prize - having something to strive for will absolutely make their effort more rewarding, and less mundane.
Finally, when the time comes for a client to cross off the goal because it’s been accomplished, BOY OH BOY do they feel good. This is such a boost in confidence - they set their sights on something that they previously thought impossible and conquered it. This sense of accomplishment, I have found, gives clients even more hunger towards improvement - ‘what can I set my sights to next?’
As previously stated in this blog, this applies to fitness but it also applies to life. It’s truly clear as day, and yet so often is missed - set goal, work towards goal, accomplish goal, feel amazing sense of confidence and accomplishment, repeat. Do that enough times and it’s likely you’re going to live a pretty fulfilling life.
