Nearly half way through the year and how are you getting on with the New Year’s resolution you set. Have you remained focused or fallen off the wagon? If you’re the former and maintained your focus, then hats off to you. You’ve nearly completed 22 weeks of whatever it was you set out to achieve. If you’re the latter, then it’s time to take stock and reset your brain to where it was last January. Or maybe you’ve achieved some if not all your goals already and you’re like me, trying to find a new goal a new focus, a new challenge.
My goal in sport following my knee surgery in December was to make it back onto the pitch first, and then back into my clubs 1st XV team. Thankfully on the last day of the season I managed to wear that no. 5 jersey once again for the firsts. It was a huge honour all over again and I achieved what I set out to do.
That was nearly 6 weeks ago and I haven’t taken the time to set new goals. Well new physical or sporting goals.
You see, for those of you playing team sport it’s relatively easy to set goals for yourself because ultimately if you get yourself in the best physical and mental shape possible then you’re doing your bit for all your team mates. Now the season is over, so what’s next?
To be honest, for the first time I’ve taken time to really focus on my professional career instead of my sporting lifestyle. While I’ve always had soft goals in work life I’ve never set out a stall for myself and said I want to be at a certain level in ‘x’ number of years. I’ve simply worked hard and as a result of that, opportunities I suppose didn’t foresee came about. Without sport to solely focus on I now have a completely different challenge. Mainly to find out what it is I want to achieve both in work and through new forms of training and activity.
I’m excited about it because now it’s not just about the season ahead, it’s about putting the foundations in place for a future that will hopefully provide security for me and those I care about.
Time to set new goals or markers. In sport I found it relatively easy to set goals for the season ahead and that was because I didn’t want to let any of my teammates down. Not only that, I wanted to win so badly and that was the real focus. By winning or giving my all I knew that I wouldn’t let my team down and it was my desire to succeed which made playing rugby so enjoyable. Equally as a team we set goals so we made a commitment to each other to do what we needed to individually to ensure collectively we were as best as we could be.
Personal goal setting is a challenge; however, it says it in the name. It’s personal. It’s for you and you alone. I’m in the process of setting my own personal goals and its tricky but I’m going to push the boat out a little. Try new disciplines, new adventures while daunting it’s exciting.
So going back to the start, we’re nearly half way through the year, it’s the perfect time to refocus and evaluate where you are since your resolutions and if you haven’t set any goals then why don’t you start now.
I suppose watch this space. My first training goal is to try something completely knew and something I’ve an interest in, so next week I’m trying Brazilian Jujitsu for the first time. Let’s see how that goes.
My first professional goal is to push forward and get a business I’m involved in Balanced Ireland up and running with the whole objective to help people change their lives in a positive way. Watch this space
I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how you approached goal setting and any pointers you may have for people leave a comment below.