Raise The Bar

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." -Henry David Thoreau

My wife and I are currently in training for a half-marathon on Thanksgiving Day. A total of 13.1 miles awaits us along with thousands of others. The Atlanta Half Marathon is among the largest half marathons in the US and this will be its 33rd running. We run the annual Fourth of July Peachtree 10K (6.2 mile) Roadrace each year and various 5K runs. But this is pushing us further.

Raising the Bar

Each of us are not great runners but we push ourselves. We want to achieve this goal and it certainly raises the bar of what we can do to what we want to do. As many say, it isn't going to be easy. Achieving many goals in life is not an easy task. Yet you would be surprised by what you can do by stretching beyond the expected.

In training for this half marathon, you have to figure out what your limit is. Or better yet, figure out what you "think" your limit is. And then you push beyond it. The Livestrong organization offers three tips to help you push beyond what you "think" is your limit.

Getting beyond limits.

These tips as noted above come from Livestrong.com and apply to training in order to run faster. But you can apply these to any goal or dream that you have in mind.

- Practice Interval Training

When you keep doing the same thing over and over again, this does not challenge your mind or body. What you need to do is find little or small goals to achieve. Try many different levels of achievement. If ridding yourself of debt is the big goal, try paying off one small bill first. If losing weight is a goal, try putting down the soda and picking up a bottle of water. All little things achieved add up to bigger things down the road. They reinforce a sense of accomplishment and create the movement towards the bigger goal.

- Build a Foundation

Really work on understanding what you "think" is your limit. Without knowing where you are, how can you ever get to where you want to be? It also involves establishing consistency in your every day life. Back to my previous example, if you are trying to get out of debt, put down the credit card, consistently pay an amount weekly or monthly to that card to pay it down. If losing weight is the goal, start every day with a bottle of water and end it the same. Knowing what your limits are and being consistent will give you power over those limits.

- Allow Time to Recover

Do not set unrealistic deadlines for your goals. If you are $10,000 in debt, setting a goal of being debt free in two months is probably unreachable. Adjust it to pay off that smaller one in two months, take a one month breather (save the money from that breather month, don't spend it), then start on the next credit card. Breaking your big goal into smaller goals, pacing yourself and rewarding yourself (in the right way) will keep you on a path that eventually allows you to realize the big goal.

What happens next?

The next dream or goal of course!

Stay inspired my friends and just remember, "you can do it!"