Achievable Goals

Set the goal, get the goal. These were the words of an athletic director I worked for in my early days of being a Personal Trainer. The phrase was actually used as sales pitch to entice people to sign up for training sessions. The words felt cheesy at the time- but somehow they’ve stuck with me for years.

A good trainer will be able to assess where a client is and set up a program to get them from where they are to where they want to be. One thing I always ask a new client is how many days per week they will be able to devote to training. It’s a non-judgmental question meant to inform me (and them) on how long it will likely take the client to get where they want to be.

A lot of middle-aged women want arms like Michelle Obama. All I can tell you is Michelle works out more than 1X/week. So. Can you settle for arms that look more toned than yours but not quite Michelle’s? Because on a quick google search I found this: Michelle Obama works out almost every day, except when she is traveling. Her routine includes a mix of cardio, Pilates, tennis, and kickboxing. She has also been known to wake up as early as 4:30 a.m. to make time for her workouts.

Achievable goals, my friends.

As for me- well, I’m in the business of training and health so maybe I’m willing to put more time into my workouts than the average person. Still- my athletic friend and client who swims in the open ocean and ran a marathon suggested to me that I start with the shorter duration “Sprint Triathlon” (rather than the Marathon Tri) when I told her my plans for 2026. Achievable Goals.

Similarly, my younger daughter recently and bravely came to see that a goal of hers was perhaps too big of a bite to chew. It’s not that the ultimate goal isn’t achievable, rather- the reaching for it felt consistently defeating. Sometimes we put the cart in front of the horse. Reminds me of the stock market when a stock price suddenly skyrockets seemingly out of nowhere- and then has to drop back down to backfill the gap it created. It’s ok, and there’s nothing “wrong” with overshooting….but life will most likely make us go back and fill in the gaps. Writer Samuel Beckett said “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

I’m sore this morning because I’m pushing myself towards my goal to do the (Sprint) Triathlon next year.. I go to the pool. I hate the pool. I hate cold(ish) water. I hate the swim cap and goggles. I hate the dead bees in the pool. I hate that it’s hard. I hate that I’m bad at it. But I was damn proud to swim my first 500 meters the other day. And, as I’ve told you- I hate running. Though I’m learning to hate it less- because I’m running a little bit further here and there and in the habit of telling myself: You did that!

If you want Michelle Obama arms— what it will take and what can you give? If you want to do a triathlon. If you want to make a million dollars. If you want to become a famous actor. If you want to plant a huge garden. If you want to play the guitar. If you want to get into Harvard. If you want to be bi-lingual. What are you willing to commit to? What’s in the way that’s keeping you from committing more? How can you keep things reasonable and not overshoot? It’s an inside job to figure out the answers to these questions. That’s what I tell my kids, that’s what I remind myself, and that’s what it always comes back to.

Are you willing to fail is an interesting question. But a much more interesting question to me is… are you willing to succeed?

The idea of a Sprint Triathlon keeps me training but keeps the dread out of it. The distances are reasonable enough that I can take time to focus on speed and technique rather than just praying I can finish the event without dying. It’s an achievable goal.

Brick by brick, my fellow goal-setters. Stroke by stroke. push-up by push-up and step by step. Are you with me? What’s your goal for 2026? Let’s get ‘em, tiger.