This is the second part in my series on Joy Setting to achieve your life targets while enjoying the process towards that success. If you missed the first part, please read it before reading this. You can find part one here – Goal Setting: Re-Imagined.
This is actually a little out of order from my original plan for the series but it is very timely for my current #Journeyto50 so I had to share now.
Daily Rhythm vs. Routine
Yes, I am playing a bit with semantics.
Joy Setting instead of Goal Setting because the journey is more important than the destination.
Daily Rhythm instead of Daily Routine because routine sounds boring or rote. Heck, “Routine” is a synonym for “Rote.” A few of the synonyms for “Routine” make my point very clear.
- Ordinary
- Unremarkable
- Plain
- Typical
I prefer daily “Rhythm.” Again, a few of the synonyms for “Rhythm” make my point very clear.
- Cadence
- Flow
- Movement
- Pulse
Regardless of the word you prefer, the point of this article is to show how a daily rhythm and discipline can build momentum towards the targets you have set for yourself. Achieving micro targets build momentum that will keep you both joyful and motivated towards your long term target.
Journey to 50
My current journey and long term targets are based on my upcoming 50th birthday in July 2019. My Health target for this milestone is focused on weight loss, blood sugar control, and overall energy improvement. As I mentioned, this is a little out of order. We’ll talk more about long term targets, breaking them down and balancing them within the focus areas of #JTC, and tracking progress with #microtargets soon. Meanwhile, here are the details and flow for my Health target.
It is the progress I am making on this 2-mile APFT microtarget that has me so excited that I had to shake up the order of these posts. Showing up daily with a target in mind is building momentum faster than I expected. First I should explain the target. APFT stands for Army Physical Fitness Test. My weekly exercise rhythm consists of running 3 times a week, lifting 3 times a week, and some sort of stretch/exercise on the rest day such as yoga. For the running piece I decided to set a target of achieving 100% on the Army 2 mile Run Standards by my 50th birthday. During my time in the Army I was able to hit 100% on sit-ups and push-ups fairly easily but even with a marathon runner for a detachment commander I couldn’t hit that 100% on the run. I made large improvements but the requirement of 2 miles in 13 minutes for a 20 year old was just out of reach for me. I believe my best was 13:30 which is nothing to shake a stick at but short of 100%.
100% for a 50 year old according to the APFT standards I found online is 2 miles in 14:24. To be honest I have been worried that its too aggressive of a target. I am not sure there are many active 50 year old Army members hitting this time. I have no issue reducing this target if I find it is not in line with the “Achievable” element of S.M.A.R.T.E.R. rules for joy setting. It is a fairly arbitrary target. I chose it based on my history with the Army and it was simply a good place to start. I am not training for a race that requires me to achieve a certain speed. The most important part of this micro target is “Showing Up.” Having said that I am very happy and proud to share that my progress is better than expected. To use another Army term – I am AOG! (Ahead Of the Game)
To measure my progress towards this target (2 miles in 14:24 by my 50th birthday) I broke it down into monthly targets that I test myself on each week. Last week I not only met October’s target 18 days early but I was 2 seconds shy of meeting November’s target.
Had I remembered November’s target I am sure I could have pushed myself to shave off those 2 seconds. Immediately following drafting this post I will be headed out for my morning run. Today is a test day. I am going for November’s target and reminding myself of December’s target in case I am really humming. I will share the results on the #JTC Facebook Page. Be sure to Like and Follow us to stay in touch on Facebook.
The main point here is that by setting a target (even an arbitrary one) broken down into micro targets and working towards those micro targets builds momentum and joy in the journey. I may still have to reduce this target as I move forward. The journey is the point. If there isn’t joy in the journey then the target needs reevaluated. Who knows, maybe my next target is built around distance vs. speed. I currently run 2 miles (test), 3 miles, and then 6 miles every other day each week in my current journey. If I hit a wall on speed I may move on to distance. Showing up is the most important piece in relation to my Health goals. The micro targets provide a map for the journey. I may decide to change the path!
Up Next – Evaluating Your Current Balance Within the 8 Areas of #JTC to get started.
