If you’re reading this, then there’s a chance that you’ve set yourself a goal a while ago and did not achieve it, YET. I capitalized the word “yet” because I want you to realize that you are constantly in the process of getting to where you want to be, if you so choose.
Many people are so quick to dismiss their unattained goals and give up on their dreams only because they did not achieve them in a certain time or because someone told them that they couldn’t do it. Also, too many people deem themselves a failure just because they did not attain some of the goals that they’ve set.
If I deemed myself a failure the very first time that I ran the 1500m in 8:30 (very, very slow) and got last, then I would have never been the NWASAA Zone Champion in the 1500m, 3000m and gone on to represent my school at the Provincial championship neither would I have been the “Female Athlete of the Year” in Grade 12.
If I listened to all the people who told me to stay away from sports because I wasn’t good when I started, then I would not be where I am today. However, ever since I was in junior high school, it was my goal to become athlete of the year. Sure, it took me several hours of training, re-evaluating my action plan and pushing myself to reach it, but I finally did. If I can do it, so can you.
1. Re-evaluate the reason you set that goal in the first place. If you set that goal because YOU want to achieve it, then you should not give up on it after the first attempt. Why should you give up on something that you’re truly passionate about? Why quit something that makes you happy? If you love it that much, then you owe it to yourself to give it another shot!
2. Examine the steps you took when you made your attempt. For example, when I ran the 1500m very slow and lost, I examined what my training was like and truthfully I found out that I didn’t do enough speedwork or any quality training for that matter. Since I wanted to win, I knew that my training had to be different.
3. Find out how you think you could have put in more effort. Going back to my 1500m running experience, I found out that I could have put in more effort into speedwork and trained more. So the following year, I made speedwork a priority and trained with a running club.
4. Talk to people who have achieved what you’re trying to do. People who have “been there and done that” are a great resource if you have a chance to talk to them. They are more than willing to share helpful tips, their successes and failures while they were on the road to achieving their goal.
5. Create a new action plan. Once you’re aware of the things that you could improve on and talk to the people who have achieved their goals before you, you will be much more equipped for success. A new action plan is another way of saying “go back to the drawing board”.
Your desire to succeed must be greater than your fear of failure.
Good luck! I wish you all the best!
~Y.