From desire to goal: Why good goals are the driving force behind your motivation
Motivation doesn’t just fall from the sky. In personal training, one of my most important tasks is to guide and motivate my clients. And that doesn’t start with the very first squat, but much earlier: with setting the right goal.
In this article, you’ll find out why a wish isn’t the same as a goal, how to set goals that really drive you forward, and how we work on this together in our personal training sessions in Basel.
A wish or a goal? A small but crucial difference
Right from our very first conversation, we make a clear distinction between a wish and a goal. That might sound like a minor detail, but it determines whether you’ll actually take action.
A wish is something you’d like to have, but without any obligation. You hope it will happen of its own accord, through luck or favourable circumstances. You don’t even have to change anything yourself to make it happen. That’s precisely why a wish often remains just a wish.
A goal is specific It’s something I can and want to achieve myself. I work actively towards a goal: I plan it and take the steps myself.
An example:
Wish: ‘I’d like to be fitter and have less back pain.’
Goal: ‘From next week, I’ll do strength training twice a week and by the end of March I’ll be able to carry my shopping bags up to the third floor without back pain.’
The wish remains a nice thought. The goal tells you what you need to do and how you’ll know when you’ve achieved it.
Why you should write down your goals
Goals are incredibly powerful. That is precisely why it is important to formulate them precisely. Writing them down evokes positive emotions, and these motivate you to actually take the necessary steps. "Sometime" becomes "from Monday".
How to reach your destination
Specific: What exactly do you want to achieve? Not ‘get fitter’, but ‘do 10 push-ups in a row’.
Measurable: How will you know when you’ve achieved your goal?
Attractive: The goal must mean something to you personally. Only then will it keep you going even on tired days.
Realistic: It should challenge you, but not overwhelm you.
Time-bound: By when do you want to achieve it?
If someone sets themselves a goal that’s too big or unrealistic, I don’t just accept it at face value. Together, we look at what’s behind it and break it down into manageable stages. The dream can remain big, but the next step must be achievable.
Making goals visible and visualising them
A goal that’s tucked away in a drawer quickly loses its power. That’s why it’s important to keep reminding yourself of it and to visualise it. Here’s how you can go about it:
Write it down: Write your goal down in a single sentence, in the present tense, as if you’d already achieved it. For example: ‘I carry my granddaughter up the stairs with ease.’
Put it somewhere visible: Stick the note on the bathroom mirror, on the fridge, or set it as your mobile’s lock screen.
Add an image: Find a photo that embodies your goal, such as one of your favourite walking route, the golf course, or a memory you’d like to relive.
Two minutes a day: Close your eyes in the morning and evening and imagine the moment when you achieve your goal. Where are you? How does your body feel?
Track your progress: Tick off each training session in a calendar. A growing row of ticks is hugely motivating.
From a customer’s everyday life: back to the golf course
A client came to see me with such severe shoulder pain that even lifting a glass off the table was painful. He could hardly bear the thought of exercising. So we started by asking what he really wanted to put his effort into. The answer came quickly: he wanted to get back on the golf course. From this, we set three goals that build on one another:
Period | Goal |
In the long term (in about 6 months) | Playing 9 holes of golf again, without shoulder pain |
In the medium term (in 8 to 12 weeks) | Strengthen and stabilise the shoulder through strength training twice a week. |
In the short term (over the next 3 weeks) | Do 10 minutes of mobilisation and rehabilitation exercises at home four times a week |
The thought of being back on the golf course soon helped him enormously. It gave his exercises a purpose and motivated him to keep at it, even on difficult days.
After three weeks, his shoulder was already so much better that he could lift his glass again without any trouble. The exercises had worked, and he had reached his first milestone.
Goals are not a contract, but a compass
A goal isn’t set in stone. In personal training, I regularly check in with my clients and review things together with them: Have we achieved the goal? Does it need adjusting? This keeps motivation high.
That’s exactly what makes the difference between ‘I really ought to’ and real results: a clear goal, a plan with achievable steps, and someone to guide you along the way.
And now it’s your turn: what’s your next goal? And what’s your next step?
If you’d like some support in finding and achieving your goal, book your free introductory consultation for personal training in Basel. 20 minutes, no obligation, at the studio or over the phone.
Mary Carmen Argast · Personal Trainer Basel · Ruchfeldstrasse 24 · 4142 Münchenstein +41 79 521 71 92 · info@personaltrainerbasel.ch