Goals that are so exciting they whisper to you..

I'm a big goal setter in general but on New Years Eve just gone I had a couple of looming challenges to my 2014 goals..

My first challenge was double edged - exhaustion and time poverty. We just had a baby girl in December and so I've been scratching my head wondering; 'How do I fully show up for my amazing wife Cara and now our beautiful new daughter and yet set exciting goals that stretch me and grow me as a person in2014?'

(Images; top finish of Ironman Austria 2012 and bottom below - Aras an Uachtaran [The President of Ireland's house] in Phoenix Park, Dublin with baby Aimee in sling)

My second challenge is also a kind of luxury problem but felt real nonetheless. The problem was that when it comes to fitness goals I've already achieved a lot of my goals.  There isn't much in terms of fitness events like triathlons or marathons that really excite me enough to get off the couch apart from obvious ones in exotic places or maybe to climb Everest which appeals immensely but having researched it I've decided to wait until I'm an old man because the risk of dying is so high (1 in 10 climbers don't come home).. 

..'How do I find a goal that is exciting enough to get me interested and yet somehow achievable enough to make it happen?'

So I decided to discard logic and ask some exciting questions.. 'What goals would I set myself if I had no fear and I couldn't fail?' (Which is a terrifying question to ask yourself and I double dare you to do so!!!)

My answer was something like this; I'd set a goal of re-doing all the fitness events I've already completed in my life again in one year - 2014.  Plus I'd also maybe have a real boxing match and set a new personal best in marathon and Ironman Triathlon - crazy stuff..

Now, I'm not yet saying I've fully committed to all these goals just yet.. the point I'm making is that allowing myself to dream some creative illogical new dreams has helped me to tap into some serious motivation. It has helped me to awaken a dormant creativity and excitement that I hadn't really put to good use for a while (I've been using my creativity to justify drinking coffees and eating mince pies over Christmas if I'm honest!). I feel very excited about allowing myself to think about this mind-blowing goal.

(Images above left - cycling the length of Ireland in 2012, above right - Arriving in City Centre Dublin with baby Aimee in sling on Saturday 4th Januray)

So, I was thinking of this outlandish goal while out walking with my almost 4 week old daughter on January 1st. Aimee was wrapped up in a carrier pouch and we ended up covering 6 or 7 kilometres in Phoenix Park because we were trying to give Cara a chance to get catch up on her sleep. I had another thought; 

'If I walked 6 or 7 kilometres like this every day for the first week of January then by Wednesday 7th January I'd have done my first marathon of the year! I have done 7 marathons so by the end of February I could have ticked that off my list alone.  Yes, they wouldn't be official marathons with medals and finish lines but it'd certainly feel like an incredible achievement and it'd give me an excuse to hang out with my daughter while giving my wife some space which ticks a few boxes at once.  

Today (Sunday), we did another 11k and yesterday ended up being a huge day as I walked with baby Aimee into city Centre Dublin so as I type we're just closing off Day 5 of January and we've covered 50 Kilometres so far (7.8k more than a marathon) so we're way ahead of schedule for completing that first marathon in the first week of 2014. 

Again, I'm holding the whole thing lightly at the moment but I'm delighted to report that my heart feels more alive and excited about 2014 by allowing myself a few crazy dreams and by then toying with them long enough to realise they could be broken down into bite sized daily chunks! 

If weight loss is one of your goals for 2014 then get over to this link and sign up for my free Kick-Start Programme and let me know how you get on (50 Places available).. or come join me at Saturday's '1 Stone off by 12th February Workshop' Please note that the workshop is now running 10:30-1:30pm and not 1:30-3:30 pm as the website says!