When were you last there?

Before reviving an old goal, check if you can recreate the conditions

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that if you are trying to regain a
past level of performance, consider when you were last there.

(00:24):
If it has been a minute, consider whether the goal
is still attainable. It might be if you recreate those conditions,
or you might need to adjust it, but either way
that is good to know. So oftentimes people set goals
to do something that they used to be able to do.

(00:45):
For instance, someone who used to run and who's been
out of running for a while might set a goal
to run a five k again. Or perhaps the goal
is even more ambitious, the person wants to run a
twenty five minute five k, which is their own personal best.
You might have put on a few pounds and want
to get back to what you think of yourself as weighing.

(01:06):
You might feel perpetually behind on life management tasks, and
you recall that a few years ago you seem to
have good systems for all these things. If you are
thinking about any of these goals, it is wise to
ask when you were last there. If you achieved something
in the past, what did life look like then, did

(01:27):
you last weigh one hundred and thirty pounds six years
and three children ago. Did you last feel caught up
with a particular set of systems three years ago before
your big promotion? Have you run at your goal rate
since you tore your meniscus a few years ago. It's
easy to assume that if you met a goal once,
you can meet it again. And I do think it's

(01:49):
likely that a skill or activity you used to do
faithfully is one you can get back into if you
recreate the conditions. I have been thrilled to see that
I've been able to get back into singing like I
did in college by practicing as much now as I
did in college. I may even be better at sight
reading than I used to be, since I have more
years of experience now. But the key here is that

(02:12):
I am practicing as much as I was then. I
sang in a choir for two hours three times a
week in college, and I now sing on Monday nights,
Thursday nights, and Sunday mornings with various groups, plus other
time practicing on my own. Now. That would not have
been possible when my kids were littler. It would not
have been realistic to have a goal to do as

(02:32):
much singing back. Then. Likewise, when you think about when
you last hit a goal, you may see that it
would be wiser to modify the goal, or perhaps set
a different one. I mean, could still be a cool goal.
You might set a goal to win an age group
award in a local five k, but if you are
forty nine years old, you are probably not going to

(02:56):
win the race outright, even if you could have done
it when you are twenty five. Best to set a
goal that is achievable in life as it is, and
if the goal is going to require time, think about
how much time you actually have. Can you replicate the
amount of time you put into your goal in a

(03:16):
different phase of life, you might get there again. Lots
of people rediscover hobbies once their kids are in school
or are able to entertain themselves or perhaps even stay
home by themselves. Time starts to open up. Not all
goals need to be relics of the past, but it's

(03:37):
important to know which ones are and which ones aren't.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

(03:57):
listening to before breakfast, You've got questions, ideas, or feedback.
You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

(04:21):
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.