The new year is approaching! Have you made your list of resolutions? Did you achieve all of your goals from the beginning of 2022? Is this line of questioning making you sweat because goal setting stresses you out?
Making goals and then not following through with them is normal. It's not that you want to give up or quit! It is usually one of 3 things:
1) You lost motivation.
2) You bit off more than you could chew
3) You set a goal for something you really didn't care that much about.
We will discuss how to solve these 3 momentarily.
Goal setting is hard, but goal achieving is even harder.
Ok you are probably thinking to yourself, "Sure but why am I reading all of this positivity on a martial arts blog?" Fair question. Here is the answer. Black belts are not just black belts in martial arts, they are black belts in goal setting.
What?
Yes, hear me out. I am about to tell you that martial arts is in fact the secret to the universe. Ok maybe not the universe, but it is a solid foundation to the art of setting and achieving a goal.
There are a few reasons to that absurd (yet true) claim I just made.
1) Black belts do not come quickly. They take patience, dedication, and pure willpower at times.
At a minimum, you are usually looking at a 3 year journey. It's usually longer, but either way its not easy (or fast). That is just speaking to get a 1st degree. If I told you about the other degrees I might scare you away..(just kidding)...(kinda)...
2) Martial arts is set up with a fundamental long term goal and then short term goals in between.
Anyone that signs up for Taekwondo usually has the goal of black belt in mind. Yes there might be other reasons too like fitness, discipline, or you just like kicking stuff, but ultimately you know that black belt is the end goal. That is a long term goal. When it come's to goal setting and achieving it is important to have a long term goal and then to break that down into smaller (more achievable) goals...like ranking up through the different color belts, learning a new form, performing a new board break, etc. If you are only looking at the long term and you don't set short term goals, you are likely to give up.
3) Perseverance is one of the founding principals in which martial arts (specifically speaking of Taekwondo here) was built upon.
You can not achieve your goals without perseverance. As the young kids say, #facts. What is perseverance exactly? The Oxford Dictionary defines it like this: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. If you are setting a goal for yourself and it is smooth sailing and easy peasy the whole time, go buy yourself some lottery tickets while you are at it because you must be the luckiest person on earth. That just isn't realistic though. Life is tough. Goals are tough. You have to be tougher.
Now back to the 3 main reasons people don't achieve their New Years goals and why martial arts is the answer to the universe and everything (you thought it was 42, you are wrong)...and if you get that reference, you officially get 2 free weeks of class to try out!
1) You lost motivation.
Motivation is hard to keep. That's just the cold hard truth. Here are a couple of ways to combat that:
-write your goals down every day!
-get an accountability partner
-listen to a pump up playlist/podcast
-just start. Sometimes all you are really dreading is the anticipation, but once you get the ball rolling, you are okay.
2) You bit off more than you can chew.
No one wants to do something that they feel is overwhelming. That's why it is important to have a long term goal or a big goal, and break out down into smaller, more achievable goals (much like in Taekwondo ;))
3) You set a goal for something you don't really care about.
Passion will get you so far when it comes to motivation and achievement. Make sure you set goals for something you really care about so it is just a little easier to reach them.
(Here is where I plug the martial arts program)
If you wanna strengthen that perseverance muscle, want to instill goal setting into your kids, or just like to kick things, come see us at our New Year Open House on January 14, 2023! Take a tour of our facility (Rome, Summerville, or Calhoun), meet instructors, and get all of your questions answered. Set up a time using this link:
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