Brief
John Stoker tells of a college roommate who literally tried to eat as much of a bicycle as he could one year, and while most of us have less intensive goals, we can all benefit from starting small, having a plan, being consistent and adjusting as setbacks occur. “The challenge is to keep doing something, to keep moving in the direction of the goal that we want to achieve,” Stoker writes.
Insight
When I was in college, I had a roommate who was determined to get into The Guinness Book of World Records for eating a bicycle. Every night when we returned from studying in the library, we would all sit in front of the TV and watch M*A*S*H. He would take a file and grind himself a teaspoon of bicycle. Then he would place his bicycle “grounds” in his hot cereal the next morning.
During the eight months I lived with him, he ate the front tire, the rim, all the spokes, one of the forks, and part of the handlebars. I moved out before he finished, and I haven’t seen him since. I can’t tell you how his quest ended. But you can eat a bicycle, one teaspoon at a time.Although 2022 is well on its way, there are some principles that are timeless to remember about setting goals to improve your success this year.
1. Start where you are. It’s unrealistic to set the goal of running a marathon in three months if you haven’t been exercising regularly. Be honest in your assessment of where you currently are, and then make some objective goals that are reachable. If you can be realistic about the starting point, you will be more likely to achieve your goal.
2. Strive for 1% improvement. Many years ago, the British cycling team was performing dismally. They ended up hiring a coach who demanded that in the little things that team members did, that they perform just one percent better each day. At the end of the year that one percent improvement a day translated into becoming 37 times better.
Choosing a small goal allows you to make regular progress, rather than being overwhelmed and giving up before you see results.
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