What Do You Do, When You Hit Your Goal?!

Ash Barty shocked the tennis world yesterday with the announcement of her retirement from the sport when World Number 1 and just 25 years of age. Success at Wimbledon in 2021 meant the Australian star had realised her dreams.??

The situation Barty found herself in is not unusual in sporting arenas. Ronnie O’Sullivan, arguably the most naturally gifted snooker player of all time famously won the world snooker championship at the age of 25 back in 2001. When he was interviewed about his success, he talked of the fact that he had wanted to be world champion all his life and now he was! What did he do next? Like Barty, he thought about quitting the game. He had also achieved his goal.?

These two sets of similar circumstances highlight both the importance and dangers of setting goals in life. Whilst we all may not have same level or type of lifelong ambition this achievement of personal goals raises a question about how high and how far out you should set your challenges and objectives. It is these that drive you to get up in the morning and push yourself to be the best that you can be.?

Starting a business, getting a job, building a career, establishing a lifestyle all of these things are goals you have in life that you can achieve. Perhaps you don’t want to realise them too early and get into this same “and then what?!” situation. Is part of the enjoyment the struggle to achieve something that is possible but at the same time unattainable??

In far less epic circumstances and certainly not lifelong ambitions, I recently hit two of my goals. When I started on my current wellness journey I was in okay shape but certainly wasn’t fit and one of my objectives was to get fitter. I couldn’t do a pull up so set myself the goal of doing ten. It seemed a hell of a long way off! I also set myself the goal of burning 225 calories on one 20 minute session on the cross trainer.??

I have now done both. I am not trying to put my achievement of an old man being able to lift his own body weight ten times, or walk fast while pulling and pushing, in the same bracket as Olympic Gold, a Tennis Grand Slam or World Championship success but it is all relative and raises the same question of what next and where to focus.?

This improvement in performance means that I can definitely do more but aligned with this is what you are prepared to sacrifice to achieve it. That is the question Ash Barty was asking herself, can she continue to give everything physically required to stay at the top when the fire doesn’t burn as bright as it did when she was trying to get there? When is the time when building your career to start to enjoy the fruits of your labour? How big is big enough when building a business, how much do you want to earn to give you the lifestyle you really want, do you know??

When it comes to goal setting even big ones they should perhaps be viewed as milestones, even the ones that seem to be the pinnacle of your achievements. Think big and then think bigger you may not get everything you dream of but you will achieve more than you ever thought possible!?