Goals
Sitting in the coffee shop this morning, swimming my way to alertness-
My motivation is low for much other than drinking coffee. –A half dozen things are muddling their way through my mind, lyrics to old Pink Floyd, the project I am finishing, emailing clients, prototyping a new site, I have some bills that need paying, endless etc etc etc…
I start training again for real today, my break is over, in the past I used to be excited about this, today I am blah blah, blah—-
and then this bird comes zipping along and CRACKS into the windowpane next to my keyboard at high velocity!!!
It spins in the air for a few seconds, a confused ball of wings, and then darts off in another direction at top speed, it NEEDS TO BE SOMEWHERE RIGHT NOW!!!
This bird has goals, and even though it smacked into a window, I admire the intense pursuit of flight across the species line. Like an ant to his task, I will go through the motions of training today, but I don’t feel all that inspired to pursue my goals right now.
To attain a goal, you have to state your goal, and then state the concrete things you need to do to accomplish it. Here is the question I am tossing out to this blog reading crowd:
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THIS UPCOMING YEAR?
WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL THINGS/SKILLS DO YOU NEED TO DO/GET BETTER AT, -TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS?
You do not have to be a skater to answer this question, some of my goals for this upcoming year have nothing to do with skating. I talked with a fellow last night at a dinner party who lost his home to hurricane Katrina, his goals all changed in a few days.
A goal is a goal, but one thing that is true about goals, is that stating them, and then being “process oriented” gives you a better shot at achieving. For example: Last season it was a huge goal of mine to skate a sub 37 second 500m, but I tried hard not to think about that number, instead I obsessed on aspects of skating technique, especially my last 200m, to attain that goal.
Also, imagining your process to reach goals is like creating your flight plan: it’s looking where you are going. Although I admire the drive that bird had, it’s flight plan was not too well thought out. How many people & athletes are like that bird…. trying hard and flying blind….
So now it’s your turn—- So what are your goals?
Filed under: from the coffee shop
This is going to sound stodgy, but #1 goal is to keep on keepin’ on.
Once that would have been taken for granted, but I suppose my
perspective’s changed. As a parent, partner, child, employee,
householder and human being, to maintain and deliver - it’s no small
thing.
To pay the bills, answer the questions, get things fixed; to
listen and remember and DEAL… a lot of people actually fail at that
prosaic goal, and so much sorrow results that I want to honor the goal
explicitly.
Above and beyond adequacy, to be the best possible parent. Just as you
can always try to skate faster, you can always try to perceive more,
offer more, guide more wisely, stand more firmly, share more joy. Here,
though, there’s no clock, no metric, no grade, no certainty - comrades,
but no competitors, only the most intermittent and opaque coaching,
constantly changeing rules and situations - and barring the worst
catastrophe in the world, this race doesn’t end until I do. From time
to time a section feels particularly good or bad, there’s a cheer or a
groan from someone in the audience,
but by and large the feedback is little and often actually backwards -
“Mom, you are RUINING my life!” may mean you’ve just made a damned difficult maneuver perfectly.
Then, to believe 6 impossible things before breakfast…
No, but indeed to consider each new idea as it presents itself, thoroughly, openly,
honestly. To keep the doors open. To keep questioning authority, and
reality; to stay healthy; to be willing to look like a fool or an oaf
for learning or for love. Even for the young, entropy takes some
fighting. Many of our greatest sagas, like Lord of the Rings, are less
about achievement than steadfastness, and steadfastness against entropy
as much as against evil.
First, do no harm. First, try not to slide backwards.
Specifics, you say. how about some specifics?
OK - to fly. (April 18, 9 am HST!) And if flying proves to be one of
the big things that i was born to do, to get at least one level of
pilot’s license.
To finish the Lexa forest room project, at least the first big draft,
before Christmas.
To blog till April 2007, 5 paragraphs average a day.
To develop my investments and retirement fund to (a number that I’m not
prepared to publish) despite flying lessons and major art projects,
though I’ll cut myself some slack for acts of war or of gods.
How’s that? I don’t ask much, do I? My motto in my high school yearbook
was
“Aim high and at least you won’t shoot your foot off.”
I think it’s my next blog entry, anyway
My goal is to see how much change I can bring about in USSPEEDSKATING in the next few weeks, and then to get this sport the hell out of my life.
OK, a few different goals in mind… One is to keep being more and more generous to my family and friends by showing them how much I appreciate everything they do for me. This actually isn’t so hard - I want to make more phone calls, make sure the people I don’t get to visit know I miss them, offer advice, pay attention, etc.
Another is, in skating, to do well most of the time instead of once in a while. And what I mean by that is that while I know I’ll do better at the important competitions, which is good, I also want to be able to have a “bad” race that is not a complete disaster. This one is harder to control because sometimes I try hard in a race and it doesn’t go the way I want, but I think I can figure out things like when to sleep extra and what to do if I don’t feel great a day or two before I race.
Also in skating, I want to be fun to train with agian. Everybody might argue that I am fun to train with, but I spent so much of this past season complaining that I want to be MORE fun to be around. I’ve been irritated with my slow progress, but I’m always optimistic that I will improve again…I just have to focus more on the good things.
At work, since I started a new job, I want to be GREAT at it. I could do my job and be ok, but I want people to be asking for my help because I make a difference to them. I think I can do that by pushing myself to be creative and by comparing what I’m doing to what I know how to do.
Of course there are other things I want to do, too, but I’m thinking of the bigger goals.
By the way, on Kate’s parenting goal, I guess when the kids are in their 30s, they start to figure out what was so good
I have the six impossible things quote (along with a few others, on magnets from my mom) right in front of where I put earrings on in the morning. I almost took flying lessons after I started grad school but changed what I was doing in grad programs and started skating. I went for the little “discovery flight”, which I liked, but didn’t sign up for the lessons.
that’s a fair question to ask us, andrew, as much as you’ve shared with us.
my goal is to continue to be a good primary caregiver to my wife, whom some of you have met so i won’t go into that more.
my other goal is to refine my ‘essentialness’; that which i am, without ‘dross’. this is both mental, spiritual if you will, and physical. to me there is no separation.
of course, the above ‘pilgrims’ progress’ yields, coincidentally, faster laptimes, but this is to be expected with attaining sublimity…;)