Week Forty! – G’s & T’s

 

Life is all about G’s & T’s… and I’m not talking about Gin and Tonic! But Goals and Targets!!!

As I began to think about what to write this week, several thoughts came into my head. I’ve had a busy last few days in Istanbul doing what we call in my company Business Planning. I was cupped up in a room without natural light for 10 hours every day reviewing Business Plans that contain a whole lot of numbers! So I didn’t get a chance to see much more than that and had limited ideas or inspiration this week. I though I could write about Istanbul where I was, it is a great and busy city. I also lost my wallet on the last night, which was a pain in the backside and a horrible feeling, so I could tell you about it. I even thought writing about food as on the last night I attended a great event/competition where participants were asked to prepare a meal with ingredients they were given 4 hours before. Actually I had plenty of subjects to write about but none of them really grabbed me.

I was struggling and began to think why I write my blog and what I am trying to achieve with it. I know some of you enjoy the subjects that you are able to relate to and identify with. Writing about Istanbul or the event I attended would be great if this was a travel or food blog; my blog is much more than that. But what could I write about? All I done this week was talk to people about their Business Plans, eat a lot and run! I had also met a colleague who like me, had lost several kilos in his quest to become fit which reminded me on the importance of staying focused.

On my way back to London my flight was delayed for over an hour due to fog and we were all trapped in the plane on the runway trying to kill time. I looked at my phone and began to open randomly various apps looking for something to amuse myself with. I looked at my running up and it suddenly dawned on me that I’ve been training intensely for 12 weeks for my half marathon this Sunday. Moreover I have achieved over 500 kilometres along the way. “What an achievement” I thought as I scrolled down the weeks reviewing each run and seeing how much I had achieved vs. the target. In most runs I had done one or two kilometres more than what the app had recommended.

The delayed flight continued and searching for something else interesting to do I took out my passport and began looking through it and the many stamps and visas I have form all my travels. It’s amazing what you can learn when you are board! I read the small printing in the passport’s first two pages only to realise that a passport becomes invalid if you run out of pages, which mine is about to! “Good job too” I thought as I should really change it, the picture on it is of “my fat brother”! I obtained this passport when I began to travel in 2007 and I was somewhat larger and unfit!

In my last attempt to pass by the last few minutes before taking off I started to look at my notes from the week. In there I made a remark to prepared a workshop on SMART Goals and Targets. Part of the Business Planning process is to write goals and targets to help you achieve your numbers. During the meetings this week I had come to realise I need to help people to write SMARTer Goals and Targets to help them achieve their Business Plans; it’s all about the G’s & T’s.

And as I looked at the note finally the pilot announced we were ready to take off. “Thank God for that” I thought and put my phone away sitting back and buckling up, ready to take off to the skies! If you’ve been on a plane you will know that take-off and landing is the time when most people sit doing nothing, usually either with their eyes closed or looking blankly into space with your mouth half open! I am no exception and as I did, three things flashed in front of me; running over 500k and my first half marathon, my “fat brother” passport photo and loosing 20k, and how important is to have SMART Goals and Targets to achieve your numbers. Slowly these three things began to intertwine in front of me, eventually becoming one and as we reached 30,000 feet and the seatbelt sign went off with a ping I knew what I had to write about this week… and it was not a Travellers Guide to Istanbul!

Everything is possible in this life, and nothing is unreachable, but to get there, to achieve it, you need to have a goal, you need to have a target. There has to be a focus, something that will guide you and remind you where you want to get to. Nothing is ever that easy or simple and achievements always come with pain and hard work, but the rewards are immense. Loosing weight is hard, it requires discipline and a strong will but it can be done. What’s harder though it’s maintaining it, and that’s why your goals and targets never end. When I had lost 10 kilos I could have stopped there but I wanted to feel and look better. I knew I had to exercise. A new goal was born and started to run managing to lose further 10 kilos. I could have stopped there too but I knew I needed to carry on; I needed a new goal/target, something to focus on. Entering a half marathon was going to teach me mental and self-discipline; I was already fit. It’s like writing a weekly blog; it has been a personal challenge to see if I can sustain writing every week, I already know I have a passion for writing.

40 hours in a room without light was the biggest lesson for me this week as I came to realise that the numbers on those Business Plans will only work when they have Goals and Targets behind them. I now realise that everything we do in life has to have Goals and Targets to help us stay focused and achieve what we want. Take time this week as you reflect on this subject and write down some of your goals and targets, what do you want to achieve, where do you want to go; and believe me you will get there!