Visions Goals Action Steps

I have taken a Wellness Coaching course. It's a really neat discipline, and highly complimentary to being a fitness instructor. I try to help my clients set goals and move towards their vision of healthy living! And, as I always say, I should practice what I preach!

So, to move towards wellness you need a vision, goals, and action steps.

I have been really focused on the Blackwood Marathon, obviously, and part of me was asking “Yeah, but then what?” In other words, I was wondering what would happen after I finished? Would I just end up in a big lump, gain a thousand pounds and be done with fitness? I mean, to be serious, this is a ridiculous schedule I'm trying to maintain. Do I really want to work out this hard and spead myself this thin forever? No, not really. And I didn't want the other option either! So I needed to spend some time exploring my purpose, my vision.

Now, it's still forming, but I simply changed the focus from the EVENT to the INTENT. My vision currently is:

I am a person who can compete in marathon events.

Too simple?

Not really. After this event, shouldn't I be able to do any event I want? So even if I decide that I don't want to do 5 sports, I only want to swim – I can swim the Rott-Cott swim if I feel like it! I don't have to do all sports all the time! And I can still keep very fit! And the follow-ons of that: the nutrition, the health, the discipline – it all stays. It helps keep me on my wellness path!

So, after you have a vision, you need Goals. Obviously, my ultimate goal is:

To complete the Blackwood Marathon Relay Race on 30th October 2010 as an Iron Woman.

And then you need to break down the ultimate goal into Three Month Goals.
I won't bore you with those, mainly because I haven't actually done them. But it is a good idea, especially to have a target distance, speed, etc, at the three month mark to know that I'm on track to my ultimate goal.  Something for me to do.... put it on the list!

However, I do have many Weekly Goals, as I have laid out a plan for all my sports and hopefully I do better than 60% for the next 20 or so weeks! Basically, I like to think of my Weekly Goals as just my schedule. Easy! I have a schedule, I just need to stick to it!

And after that, you need Action Steps.
Sometimes you have small goals, like “run 5km” which, isn't too hard (relatively speaking) to accomplish, but some people need to have a few action steps to get there, such as “buy running shoes” or “see a doctor to get medical clearance to start exercise”. They're not really goals in themselves, but things you might need to do to get started.

I've taken care of most of my action steps. But I do keep adding things to the list. Like, “buy a Garmin Forerunner 305”  and other great but unnecessary things.

Maybe I should reflect on the fact that I don't really need that much gear, and why do I want all the shiney things with buttons? … Maybe I'm just a magpie! :) But I guess that's a whole other post!!