Set a goal for your vacation and you are more likely to get there.
Bob’s goal for his vacation is to go camping at one of the national parks. This vague goal immediately brings up a lot of questions:
- Which national park
- Which camp ground within the park
- When do you plan on going
- How long are you going to stay
- Are you going alone or with friends
- What sort of camping equipment do you need
Once Bob has answered these questions and many others he will have a very specific goal for his vacation and he will be able to measure his progress towards that vacation goal.
Unlike his vacation trip goal, Bob has a very concrete goal for his yoga practice. He wants to be able to pick up his newspaper from the front porch.
A large number of people when they come to the yoga studio have a goal similar to Bob’s vacation goal of a camping trip. Their goal is “I want to be more flexible.”
Why you need to set a specific goal
“I want to be more flexible” is too vague a goal. It is a good goal, however it is too vague. How will you know when you have reached your goal?
Will you be flexible enough when you can:
- put your leg behind your head
- touch the floor with your fingertips
- twist to the side and look over your shoulder
- sit on the floor with your legs in full lotus.
If you are not specific in your goal, like Bob with his newspaper goal, how will you know when you have reached it. You need to be more specific and set a concrete goal for yourself.
Set a Concrete Goal
You need a concrete example of your goal. For example Bob has a very concrete goal. He wants to be able to pick up his daily newspaper from his front porch each morning by just bending over. He does not want to have to squat down to pick it up any more. Now that is a specific and concrete goal. This is a goal Bob can visualize and he will be able to tell when he has reached that goal.
You need to decide what you mean by “I want to be more flexible”. Change this goal into something that is specific for you and meets your vision of being more flexible. Once you have determined what that long term goal is it is time to move on to the next step and map out the path towards that goal.
Set Intermediate Goals
You need to be able to measure the progress you are making towards your goal. In order to measure your progress you are going to need to set some smaller goals along the way.
In Bob’s case his goal is to pick up his newspaper. He has worked with his yoga teacher to develop a yoga practice that let’s him measure his progress towards that long term goal.
There are several poses that Bob can track his progress in that are taking him directly towards his goal. As he gets more flexible Bob can see that his hands are getting closer to the floor in Uttanasana. Bob has several intermediate goals along the path, inch pebbles, on his way to his milestone of getting his hands on the floor and picking up his newspaper.
For Bob some of his intermediate goals are:
- getting the top of his palm in line with his knees
- getting his wrists in line with his knees
- getting his wrist below his knees
- getting his fingertips just above his ankles.
- and the list goes on and on.
Once you have picked your specific goal, work with your teacher to develop a yoga practice that will move you towards that goal and set some intermediate goals along the way. Once you have these inch pebbles established you need to keep track of your progress.
Measure your progress
Bob has his long term goal firmly in mind and he has set his inch pebble goals along the way. Now he and his teacher are following the path they have laid out. With all of these little goals along the way Bob is able to easily track his progress.
He started out with his fingertips at his knees. Now the top of his palms are in line with his knees. Later his wrists will be in line with his knees. Bob is still a long way from reaching his goal of touching the floor but he knows that he is making progress. Bob has passed some of his inch pebbles already and he knows that he is making progress towards picking up his newspaper.
Once you have set your long term goal and then set your intermediate goals you need to track your progress towards that goal and celebrate when you pass a pebble.
Celebrate your success along the way
When Bob’s wrist comes in line with his knees he will have reached yet another inch pebble. It is a small step but an important step in his journey to that milestone of touching the floor.
Each time he passes one of these goals, Bob has a small celebration. He has a positive feeling of success as he moves along the path to his final goal. Each inch pebble that he passes gives him a boast of enthusiasm.
These small success along the way keeps Bob motivated to continue on towards his final goal.
As you work towards your goal celebrate your success as you pass each of your inch pebbles.
Summary
Unlike his vague camping vacation goal, Bob has set a specific goal of picking up his newspaper and established a series of inch pebble goals along the path towards that goal. He and his teacher have developed a yoga practice that moves him towards that goal. Now Bob is able to track his progress and celebrate each success along the way.
Next Steps
Set a specific goal for yourself. “Getting more flexible” is a good goal but it is kind of tough to know when you have achieved it. Share your goal with your yoga teacher and together develop a yoga practice that will move your towards that goal and celebrate your progress towards that goal as you pass each inch pebble along the way towards your milestone.
