CULTIVATE A LIFESTYLE, DON'T CREATE A GAME.

We often create a close association that goals are a lot like trophies. You can either win and have your trophy, or lose and have nothing.

This gives power to the fear of failure, that if we don't "win" we lose, and losing is bad. But we have to remember with setting goals, you can't lose, let me explain.

Human beings are tangibly driven animals. We like to count things, and it's important that we do.

Imagine setting out to run a marathon, and you didn't have any Kilometre markers. It would be unnerving.

Metrics help us measure speed and distance. This is very important, but we have to remember that when we "do" hit a metric or "don't" hit a metric, the game has not been won or lost.

These are only markers, and your goals shouldn't reflect that of a race or a game, it should become a lifestyle.

We can set arbitrary goals, that's completely fine, so let's use some examples. Say I wanted to set the goal to Run 10k in X amount of time, or I wanted to Back Squat X amount of weight, whatever the action is, we have designated a number that we would be happy with achieving.

And with that comes a whole bunch of different things we need to be doing outside of the goal itself. Sleeping 8 hours, eating right, drinking enough water, stretching, getting enough sunlight, maintaining relationships, managing stress, as well as the 20 other things I've likely missed.

Let's say you have also set a date for this goal to be achieved, this is where it gets interesting.

Because you will have days where you can see and feel the progress, and you will have days where you don't see it, and may even feel like you're going backwards.

The day arrives, and you have completed your goal, you've hit the number! You're excited, and incredibly happy and proud.

Guess what, now you need to maintain it, which is easy to do when you have cultivated a lifestyle that supports your goals infinitely.