“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” -Zig Ziglar

There are very few feelings  like the feeling you get after accomplishing a goal. Whether it’s losing weight, running a marathon, raising enough money to build a building, getting out of debt, you name it . . . it feels incredible!

But what do you do after you’ve accomplished a goal? A lot of people get depressed after reaching their goals. They’ve been chasing something for so long and now that they have attained it, they have nothing to shoot for. That is when depression can sink in.

I thought I’d share what I do after I accomplish a goal. It helps me stay away from the depression that can come after accomplishing a large goal.

I Celebrate – I don’t think we do a very good job at celebrating our successes. In our culture, we’re too quick to jump to the next thing. It is important to celebrate every time you hit a goal! Treat yourself! For me, after hitting my marathon goal, I celebrated by going to dinner with friends, I am going to eat anything I want this week, and I am not going to workout this week! Whenever you reach a goal, make sure you take time to celebrate.

I Reflect - Zig Ziglar said, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” Reflect on the journey of reaching your goal. What lessons did you learn? What habits did you develop? What did you do well? What could have you done better? Who did you become through the process? Remember that experience isn’t the best teacher, evaluated experience is. 

I Re-Focus – Too many people, once they reach their goal, go back to the life they were living before they hit their goal. Your goal should be to take all the lessons you learned in the process of achieving your goal and make them a part of your life. Then, after you’ve celebrated and reflected, set new goals and focus on them! Don’t let yesterday’s success hold you back from tomorrow’s success!

You should always be in a constant cycle of setting goals, achieving goals, celebrating successes, reflecting on what you’ve learned, implementing the lessons learned, and re-focusing on new and better goals.

What do you do after you’ve accomplished a goal?

Yesterday I posted some of the keys to me reaching my marathon goal. One of my keys was following the 3:50 pacer/pace group. In all 3 of the marathons I have run before this one, I had never followed a pace group before. After doing it this time, I’ll never run another marathon without following them. 

I decided to go with a pace group that was 10 minutes faster than what my goal was, in case I slowed down in the last 5 miles. As I was following the pacer, I was thinking how grateful I was that someone was willing to run for the sole purpose of helping me meet my goal! The pacer’s job was to encourage, motivate, and push our group to do our very best and to meet our goal.

Henry Cloud says that, “Where your maturity isn’t good enough to sustain you, bring in an external force.”

For me, the pacer and the pace group were that external force, along with Laura and Lindsay running the last 5 miles with me.

Had I not followed the pacer and had the girls run those last few miles with me, I am convinced that I would not have reached my goal. It kept me focused, motivated, and determined throughout the whole race.

Following the pacer and having the girls run with me was a great reminder that I need external forces (coaches) in every area of my life. People who have been where I want to go and that are willing to help get me there. People that are willing to make me better!

Following the pacer reminded me that I need coaches in all areas of my life.

Such as:

• My life (God is my external force!)
• Finances
• Relationships – Family
• Running
• Nutrition
• Ministry
• Volunteer Coordinating
• Writing
• Speaking
  
• Career

This marathon reminded me that we will never be good enough on our own to become the best we can be in any area of our lives. We will always be in need of external forces to take us to another level. It’s why the greatest athletes on the planet have coaches. We all need people who push us past our own limits and help us reach our full potential.

What areas of your life need an external force (coaching) to help you become your best?

Who are people in those areas of your life that you look up to that could help coach you and be an external force?

“I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious”                         -Vince Lombardi 

I did it. I completed the Philadelphia Marathon in under 4 hours.

My final time was: 3:53:20!

There is nothing like completing a long-term goal when you’ve given it your best! As I crossed the finish line mentally, physically, an emotionally exhausted! When I realized I met my goal, I cried! It was an amazing feeling. It made all the training worth it!

During the race, here are the things I did that made a significant difference in meeting my goal:

I followed a Pacer – I ran with the 3:50 pace group as long as I could. They ended up getting a little ahead of me in the last 5 miles, but sticking with this group was critical to me meeting my goal.

I knew Where I stood at all Times – I had my Garmin watch on, so I knew about where I stood at all times. By mile 20, I knew I was an entire mile ahead of my pace goal of 4 hours. That helped me a lot. 

I had Laura and Lindsey run the last 5 miles with me – Without Laura and Lindsey (pictured below) running the last 5 miles with me, I would have walked more. Having them by my side pushed me to keep going to and to give it my all!

I only had to use the bathroom Once! – This was huge! That is all I am going to say!

I ran through the water stations – In the past, toward the end, I would walk through water stations! Not this time! I ran through them all, it made a big difference in the end.

As for the marathon itself. The course elevation was great, it wasn’t very hilly at all! However, as for a marathon overall, I am glad I did it, but I am not sure I would do it in Philly again.

Here are some pictures from the big day:

I could not have done it without her support!

Believe it!

Laura and Lindsey ran the last 5 miles with them! They made me better!

This was the second marathon I ran with my pastor, mentor, and friend, PL!

Post-marathon Philly Cheese-steaks with my Cadre brother, Luke Brugger!