Marathons
As January arrives, you might be plotting to start or stop doing some things. Last week I wrote about that third just-as-productive option of doing nothing (lying fallow), but I suspect many of you lol’d at that and are rarin’ to go on something. So with that in mind, I want to start the year with marathons vs. sprints as helpful lenses for your goals.
Sprints get you to the short-term goals, while marathons get you to the longer-term ones. Duh, Matt, you might say. But I would argue that we confuse them often enough to warrant this conversation. How many times have I demanded fitness or body size goals in x amount of time? How often have I expected a promotion or raise while deprioritizing building the skills worthy of one? Who here hasn’t promised that they’d journal, meditate, or go to bed earlier and given up after a few failed attempts?
We want – and are conditioned to want and expect – things immediately. We want to sprint toward long-term goals. When we fail or don’t come in first, we give up, we get too tired, we get bored. I think long-term goals fail because we refuse to see them as marathons. We set time limitations on them; we set perfection expectations on them; we assume an all or nothing mindset.
I want to share two insights here to help you find the lens that might be most helpful for you when determining your approach to goal-setting:
The marathon lens best contributes toward maintaining your energy reserves. In a marathon, you’re able to refuel, get some water, rest your muscles, go slower uphill. A sprint leaves very little time or energy to enjoy the scenery, to grab a cup of water, to high-five a friend cheering you on. In the context of career, trust that most movement toward your professional goals is won one day at a time – over time. Consider whether you want rich relationships on the way to attaining those goals, whether traveling is meaningful to you, if you want to keep or start a hobby.
The second insight is that long-term based decisions (marathons) tend to be more expensive in the near-term (the FS Brain Food newsletter does a good job of reminding me of this). Education, training, support of some kind are often needed to get you started: a doctor copay for your health, a trainer to exercise effectively, software to learn a language. Take this into consideration when allowing the dollar cost of entry to keep you from starting.
The marathon vs. sprint approach to goal-setting is great at keeping me focused, consistent, and my expectations in check. A coach is pretty helpful, too. If you’re looking for ways to stay committed to those new year resolutions and 2023 goals, please come have a chat. I’d love to hear about what you’re working on and where you want to be.
Go get ‘em this week.