Have you ever anticipated reaching a goal?
What happens when you aim to break a personal record or pass a test, and you don't succeed? What about when you do succeed?
Setting expectations for achieving a goal results in two possibilities;
Success or Failure
How will you respond?
Coach Silas recently completed his third marathon.
His objective for this marathon was to finish the 26.2-mile race in under 4 hours. Before his third marathon, Silas's goal for his first marathon was simply to complete the race. He finished his first marathon in 4 hours and 20 minutes.
Silas's expectation was just to finish. He achieved that. Time wasn't a factor in that race, and because of this, Silas was delighted with completing his first marathon.
Not only was he thrilled with the result, but it also gave him the confidence to tackle challenging tasks and raise his goals further.
For Silas's second marathon, the goal remained the same: just finish the race, this time in San Francisco. He trained a bit more for his second marathon and completed it in 4 hours and 10 minutes. Silas was thrilled again and surprised to find he was 10 minutes faster than his first marathon.
Silas then aimed to improve further and set his first time goal for his third marathon: run 26.2 miles in under 4 hours. This was an achievable goal, as he had run 10 minutes faster the second time, and he believed he could do it again.
The expectation: Run under 4 hours
Silas knew achieving this goal required extra effort and more training. Day by day for months, he worked towards this goal. Silas understood that he needed to focus on the training process for this marathon and that repeating his previous routine wouldn't suffice. He trusted that his training plan would yield results on race day.
On race day, all of Silas's efforts would either pay off or not. At the start line, he believed he could achieve his goal, provided he adhered to the plan. He maintained his pace, focused on his breathing, and ran smart, not just fast.
Silas completed the race, his third marathon, in 3 hours and 38 minutes.
Wow. Silas not only finished under 4 hours, but he also beat his time by 30 minutes!
He was so focused on the process that he didn't realize he was exceeding his time by such a margin.
How did Silas react to this significant success?
Well...
Silas reflected on what he did right. He looked back at all the days of effort that led to this achievement. While grateful for beating his time, it meant much more to him. Silas felt that the process he followed and his patience brought him to this point. If he wanted to advance further in running or life, he would continue to stay present and appreciate every moment leading to success.
Now, what if Silas hadn't beaten his time?
What if he hadn't met his expectations?
Silas would likely have been disappointed.
He realized that without training, he couldn't expect to meet his 4-hour goal.
The essence of this story is to emphasize Silas's process and illustrate what to do when aiming to achieve a goal in any aspect of life.
Enjoying the process should be fun. There's no pressure on race or test day when you've enjoyed the process and established a solid plan.
You cannot fail if you follow your process.
Even if you don't meet your goal while following the process, it indicates a need to revise your plan. Perhaps you didn't work hard enough, or maybe the plan didn't align with your strengths. Whatever the reason, the outcome is the cumulative result of the time and effort invested in your goal.
If we follow Silas's example, we should TRUST the process and enjoy it.
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