Over the weekend I ran in a 10K race. This was the second time I have run this race. Last year my goal was to complete the race in under 50 minutes. This was the first 10K and race I had ever actually competed in. I ended up completing the race in 49:42 and that is about an 8:01 average minute per mile.
So this year after training for well over a year, I set a much higher goal. This year my goal was to complete the race in 45 minutes or less. To complete this race in 45 mins or less I would have to pace at a 7:15 minute mile. I can do this for 5 K and maybe 4 miles, because I have done it before, but I have never averaged that time for 6 miles or in this case a 10k (6.2 miles).
So needless to say this was a lofty goal I set for myself. I am proud to say that I finished the race in 46:40 seconds, which is an average of 7:32 seconds per mile. This was still by far my best time for 10K and I finished 49th overall out of 1170 participants in the race.
Did I set my goal to high? Did I place unreasonable expectations on myself? Absolutely not. What if I wouldn’t have set a goal and I just went out there for the heck of it. Or worse case, what if I would have never even signed up for the run?
Most people are doing this every single day. You are heading out there for the heck of it. Maybe to just get by. Or even worse, maybe you just aren’t signing up for anything.
Set a few goals today. Don’t set a goal too low either. Set a goal that makes you stretch some. Get in the game. Do something that you don’t normally do. Don’t just get by today, get something accomplished that pushes you further, your family further, and your future desired state closer to the present. Please share with me what you do differently today.
I should have completed the race on Saturday in 45 mins. but instead I completed it in 46:40, which means I completed 97% of my goal. A percentage of something is better than a percentage of nothing.
To your success and your future.
Pennies into Fortunes 
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