One of the things that I do to reduce and manage stress is to exercise about 5 to 6 times per week. It not only lowers stress and promotes the release of endorphins that help me to feel good, it also supports clear thinking and optimal health. Well, the other day, I was listening to a trainer work with his clients and he told them something that made enormous sense. He said that even though you have a number of repetitions for each exercise which is essentially a goal; what is even more supportive is to “make your goal intentional and think about stretching that goal a little each and every exercise.” So, rather than just knocking off your set as you usually do, be deliberate and focus on the achievement of that “stretch” goal. I tried it and it made a big difference in my workouts…a little more challenging but also more rewarding. So often goals are set and then just as quickly forgotten. We lose site of the fact that a goal is not just a destination it is a tool.

 Most people are familiar with the importance and power of goals. But, then again, are they? Goals have been written about in more books than can be counted. With all these missives on goals, why is it that they are so over-talked about and under used? Let’s begin with some definitions of the word goal: a goal is an aim, a target, an objective; the end to which a design tends, or which a person aims to reach or attain (Webster’s Dictionary).   So, essentially, a goal is where you want to end up in any particular endeavor. It is the result that you seek and the outcome that you desire. In this regard, some think that goals are only to be identified when you want something “important” or “large”. However, setting and reaching goals is a skill, and like anything else that requires skill you’ve got to practice them. Not to mention, consistent targeting and hitting of small goals is like taking consistent small steps … if you keep going you’ll reach any destination – even around the world. Herein lies the argument for having goals for everything; i.e. anything about which you’d like to have a positive experience. This would necessarily mean goals for eating, exercising, sleeping, conversing, selling, working, and playing.

Now, many readers may have a somewhat negative reaction to this plethora of goals; but if you take a look at people who are most productive and happy, they will tell you that they live their life by design…not by default. What does that mean? It means that you are self-aware of your thoughts, emotions and actions. Self-aware and living by design means that you are intentional about the results and the outcomes in your life. Living by design also means that you remain focused on what matters most in what you are doing and why you are doing it – and that includes the seeming mundane. Living by default means that you are governed by the old programmed patterns. As Stephen Covey writes in “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” begin with the end in mind. That refers to whatever you’re doing. In other words, if it’s important enough to do, it’s important enough to do it in intentional awareness.