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Today I want to talk about
goal setting. Around this time of year people get all excited about coming up
with their new years resolution. They think of some grandiose plan of how they
are going to change their lives or change the world in some fashion or another.
This is a complete waste of time and is actually more of a negative in that
persons life than a positive. The resolution is swept under the rug and
forgotten about by mid January and becomes nothing more than another failure.
New years resolutions are always the thing that you want to do or stop doing but
haven't been able to successfully do (or stop doing) in the past twenty to
thirty years or so. But this will be the year, damn it! No it won't. Don't fool
yourself.
It's great to want something. I want to be the lead singer for the biggest rock
band in the country and have Eva Longoria on staff as my personal masseuse. But
trying to accomplish those things this year would be about as realistic as most
people's new years resolutions.
An easily aggitated friend of mine decided last week that her new years
resolution would be to stop getting mad at people. Who can do that? Everyone is
going to get mad at someone from time to time. It's not realistic. When I saw
her on Tuesday she told me that she had canned that idea and was trying to think
of a new one. See what I mean?
While new years resolutions are nothing but a waste of time and a set up for a
let down, realistic goal setting is something tha should be part of everyone's
life. It doesn't have to be a new year for you to set goals. You should set
goals all the time.
As far as your training goals go for the year ahead, you should decide what is
important to you and why it is important. What will achieving that goal mean to
you? Once you come up with those answers you should set three, six and twelve
month goals.
Let's say your goal is to gain as much size and strength as possible in 2007. If
right now you weigh 150 pounds, setting a goal of looking like Arnold in Conan
the Barbarian might be a bit of a stretch. You have to be realistic and set
goals you can achieve. Success breeds success.
A realistic goal would be to shoot for a gain of one to two pounds per week for
twelve weeks. If you are more of a beginner, you could even shoot for two and
half pounds per week.
Aside from short term, achievable goals, you should also have long term goals
that are a bit of a stretch. That is the goal of transforming from a skinny kid
now to Arnold in Conan over the next five years. Always keep one of these types
of goals in the back of your mind.
Along with your goals, you will need a mapped out plan to follow. You can only
get where you want to go, with directions and a map; there is no other way. So
if your goal is to gain twenty pounds by April 1st, you can't just haphazardly
go to the gym and do whatever you feel like doing. You can't just eat whatever,
whenever and hope for the best. You need a detailed training program and diet to
follow. There can be no guesswork. That is how goals are realized.
I hired someone recently to help me with something I need help with. I
specifically told this person to tell me exactly what to do and I will do it. I
don't want to question his expertise or come up with my own ideas, that is what
I hired him for. All successful people in life have a plan and I want to follow
the one he lays out for me.
Choose a goal, choose a plan and follow it to the letter. That's a good new
years resolution.
Train hard,
Jason Ferruggia
goal setting. Around this time of year people get all excited about coming up
with their new years resolution. They think of some grandiose plan of how they
are going to change their lives or change the world in some fashion or another.
This is a complete waste of time and is actually more of a negative in that
persons life than a positive. The resolution is swept under the rug and
forgotten about by mid January and becomes nothing more than another failure.
New years resolutions are always the thing that you want to do or stop doing but
haven't been able to successfully do (or stop doing) in the past twenty to
thirty years or so. But this will be the year, damn it! No it won't. Don't fool
yourself.
It's great to want something. I want to be the lead singer for the biggest rock
band in the country and have Eva Longoria on staff as my personal masseuse. But
trying to accomplish those things this year would be about as realistic as most
people's new years resolutions.
An easily aggitated friend of mine decided last week that her new years
resolution would be to stop getting mad at people. Who can do that? Everyone is
going to get mad at someone from time to time. It's not realistic. When I saw
her on Tuesday she told me that she had canned that idea and was trying to think
of a new one. See what I mean?
While new years resolutions are nothing but a waste of time and a set up for a
let down, realistic goal setting is something tha should be part of everyone's
life. It doesn't have to be a new year for you to set goals. You should set
goals all the time.
As far as your training goals go for the year ahead, you should decide what is
important to you and why it is important. What will achieving that goal mean to
you? Once you come up with those answers you should set three, six and twelve
month goals.
Let's say your goal is to gain as much size and strength as possible in 2007. If
right now you weigh 150 pounds, setting a goal of looking like Arnold in Conan
the Barbarian might be a bit of a stretch. You have to be realistic and set
goals you can achieve. Success breeds success.
A realistic goal would be to shoot for a gain of one to two pounds per week for
twelve weeks. If you are more of a beginner, you could even shoot for two and
half pounds per week.
Aside from short term, achievable goals, you should also have long term goals
that are a bit of a stretch. That is the goal of transforming from a skinny kid
now to Arnold in Conan over the next five years. Always keep one of these types
of goals in the back of your mind.
Along with your goals, you will need a mapped out plan to follow. You can only
get where you want to go, with directions and a map; there is no other way. So
if your goal is to gain twenty pounds by April 1st, you can't just haphazardly
go to the gym and do whatever you feel like doing. You can't just eat whatever,
whenever and hope for the best. You need a detailed training program and diet to
follow. There can be no guesswork. That is how goals are realized.
I hired someone recently to help me with something I need help with. I
specifically told this person to tell me exactly what to do and I will do it. I
don't want to question his expertise or come up with my own ideas, that is what
I hired him for. All successful people in life have a plan and I want to follow
the one he lays out for me.
Choose a goal, choose a plan and follow it to the letter. That's a good new
years resolution.
Train hard,
Jason Ferruggia
