Goal setting is absolutely the first step; it is crucial to the whole process.  I have seen top level athletes attain their goals and when reached, fail to set new goals, then stagnate, and finally fall from former glory, not knowing exactly why.  It’s very simple, without a goal, or new goal, there is no drive.

How can you ever arrive anywhere without knowing how to get there and more importantly, deciding where you want to go.  Think about it, whenever you go anywhere, you make a decision on your destination and then begin the journey, you then arrive, either by experience, direction, a map, or just sheer, dumb luck.  This are small goals, we do it every day.

A certified sports nutritionist and a good trainer will provide excellent direction, but ultimately, it’s up to you to decide exactly where you want to go.  Goal setting is merely deciding just that.  Very few people ever get to where they want by accident.  From dream to desire, and desire to the reality, goal setting is the first step to planning your road map, from point A to point B.

Your goals can be big or small, long term and short term.  You need both.  Small, short-term goals are the steps to larger, long-term goals.  They can be as simple as increasing meals from 2 to 4 per day, or restricting calories by 200 per day, for the next 8 weeks, (a short term goal to lose 10 lbs. of bodyfat) as part of your longer term goal to maintain a healthy bodyweight and composition.  Perhaps your short term goal is to gain 1 lb. of lean body mass every month, for a larger, long term goal; a net gain of 10 lbs. over the next year.  Maybe running a marathon in under 4 hours by next year is your long-term goal and it’s made up of smaller, short-term goals of running half marathons this year.  You get to decide.

Not all goals are just numbers, perhaps it may be seeking more stress relief or small changes in dietary habits such as eating less saturated fats.  Goals are personal; you decide what you want to change.  Don't worry if you can or can't, or what others may strive for, just decide what is important to you, then write it down.  The more specific you can be, the better.  If you don’t write it down, it remains as a dream or a desire, nothing more.  A magical thing happens when you write your goals down, dreams transform into desires and from desires to goals, goals to reality.  As I said even before Nike . . . Just Do it!

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