Every year when Fitbit Goal Day rolls around, I think about the time, early on in my career, when I learned the power of setting tangible goals. It was my senior year of high school, and I hadn’t yet achieved my career goal of a Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship. I was motivated to go after this win in my final year, but the season started out rocky. I had been in Holland for a large chunk of the summer on a mission trip and hadn’t gotten in the training I needed—and it showed. I lost a lot of my local league meets and was far from where I needed to be to compete with the nation’s best.
Despite this, I made a poster to hang above my bed where I would see it every day. It said “2000 Foot Locker National Champion, 4-Time State Champion” as my secondary goal was to become the first person in California history to win four consecutive state cross country titles. I kept chipping away in training towards this goal, doing strides outside my house on terrain that resembled the national championship cross country course and visualizing myself breaking the tape.
I lost my league championship race and section championship race, but when the state and national championships rolled around my body aligned with what my mind had rehearsed and I ended up narrowly winning both! They were basically the only two races I won that year. I had learned first hand the power of having goals and visualizing myself achieving them
A goal that’s easy to achieve doesn’t give you the same sense of satisfaction as a hard goal that initially seems impossible. Part of the fun of goal setting is the journey as you rise up to achieve that challenge. It’s easy to stay in your “comfort zone”—exercising your usual amount and at an intensity that doesn’t hurt too much or require too much courage or toughness. You might go weeks without ever really having to look yourself in the eyes and say, “You can do this!”
But it’s those “You can do this!” moments that develop character and make you feel fully alive. Not giving up on that goal in high school—no matter how impossible it seemed—is something I still draw on for inspiration 17 years later.
Saturday, May 20 is Goal Day and the perfect opportunity to challenge yourself. Maybe you want to hit 10,000 steps for the first time or double your average step count. Whatever your goal, just make sure it’s something that makes you feel a little nervous or scared—something just outside the realm of what you know is possible.
Keep track of your steps throughout the day using your Fitbit tracker or Fitbit app, and celebrate your progress rather than focusing on how much further you have to go. I’ll be setting the goal of taking 25,000 steps (running and walking combined), which is more than I’ve taken any day this year with the exception of running the Tokyo Marathon.
To get in on the Goal Day fun, visit fitbit.com/goal-day for information on Fitbit Local events as well as instructions on how to earn a Goal Day badge in your Fitbit app. Share your experience on social media using the hashtag #FitbitGoalDay2017. Happy stepping!
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or condition. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, altering your sleep habits, taking supplements, or starting a new fitness routine.
Thank you! This post was an inspiration to me to keep going and to be realistic about my goals! Love it!
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