The steps between the first step and the goal

Posted on January 25, 2013 by CoachJay

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

- Lao-Tzu

You’ve no doubt heard this.  And you’ve probably recited it in your mind on a run or at the gym when you’re just beginning to get in shape.  You have a goal in sight and this quote brings you back to the current moment.

But the problem is that many runners forget all of the steps between the first one and the goal.  If your goal is to run under two hours for the half marathon then you need to be honest about all of the little steps to get to that goal.

…and what I’d rather see you do is to get the goal out of mind completely, but rather focus on the process, not the outcome.  Process orientation, not outcome orientation.

You should have goals, but you should take it one step at a time.  And you should be honest about the fact that you don’t know how many steps it will take to get there.

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  • Anonymous

    I absolutely agree Jay. I coach distance and sprints and nobody seems to understand that there is a process to getting great in the first place. And just as much as you can go overboard in trying too much too soon, many kids at the high school level think that they can do little and still get the results. While its great that I have kids that are doing track to be good at other sports the big point is showing them that track is not a part time sport. You’re either in it or you’re not. I know its not as big of a problem at the college level but what’s your take on the athlete doing track as a part time sport?