On Your Mark, Get Set, Goal Setting

Photo by Erick Durano

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain

All success stories start from somewhere, and a big reason for that success is persistence until the objective/job is completed. The process of goal setting is very similar to running a race. From the moment you start the race, navigate everything and anything that happens in the middle, and hopefully by the end you don’t just cross the finish line, you win. 

When it comes to this concept and speaking of running, a few famous races come to mind. Legendary Jamaican track sprinter Usain Bolt was known for having a slow start, then picking up his stride, and ultimately winning many of his races. Especially in the 100 meters that would only last less than 10 seconds. Another example is legendary runner Sir Mo Farah from Great Britain who, with many successful races of his own, fell in the middle of his 10,000 meters final at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic games yet came out victorious, winning the gold medal despite this incident.

Aside from these elite Olympic legends, there is another race that many of us have heard of and can learn from—The Tortoise and the Hare. The short version of the story is:

“A speedy hare constantly boasts about how fast he is and mocks a slow-moving tortoise. Tired of the teasing, the tortoise challenges the hare to a race.

Confident he’ll win easily, the hare sprints far ahead and then decides to take a nap midway through the race. Meanwhile, the tortoise keeps moving at a steady, consistent pace and eventually passes the sleeping hare. By the time the hare wakes up and rushes to the finish line, the tortoise has already won.”

When it comes to goal setting, more often than not, it’s easy to go too fast from the beginning as you start working towards a specific objective/goal in mind. However, going too fast can result in going off track. From that point your only two options are: try to get back on track, or you go off track completely.

“Those who make resolutions for the New Year, about 41% say they have given up on at least one of their new habits by the end of January.” - verywellhealth.com

When you veer off track, how do you get back on the right path?

Have a plan. Specifically, use the concept of “shaping” with your plan. In behavioral psychology, “shaping” is a learning technique used to gradually teach a new behavior by reinforcing small steps that move a person or animal closer to the desired final behavior.

After his slow start, Usain Bolt would pick up the pace. After his fall, Sir Mo Farah stood up, and kept going to keep up with the pack. The Tortoise used consistent, incremental steps throughout its race until the very end. All three of these examples share a common goal: to win from the start.

Whether you have goals for the day, for the week, for the month, or for the year and beyond, before you start your race, make a planned decision. Which one will you be? Are you going to be the Tortoise, or are you going to be the Hare?

ABOUT the AUTHOR

JD Duran is the Communications Manager for INCIGHT and a former recipient of the organization’s scholarship program. JD is also the Founder & CEO of a digital marketing business, Create Everyday PDX, and spends his free time as an online content creator and competitive adaptive athlete cross training between Wheelchair Racing and Wheelchair Rugby.