Dreams vs Goals

The difference between a dream and a goal is a plan.

This is a thought that occurred to me during my long post-Beast drive home. (Another thought: "I'm glad I bought all these John Mulaney CDs before this trip.")

As a personal trainer, I hear a lot of dreams. People who want to lose 50 pounds. People who think running a marathon sounds cool. People who want to "get in shape." Or "look good naked." The problem isn't the dreaming for these folks. The problem is the follow-through, the discipline to buckle down and *work toward* that end result.

Dreams are essentially useless until you are ready to turn them into goals. Goals are dreams that have formulated a plan. A goal takes the dream and erects a little ladder so you can reach it. But you have to step up that ladder or you won't get there. This is why I hate vague ideas like "I want to lose 50 pounds." That is a terrible goal. What would it take to lose 50 pounds? THAT should be your goal. It's much easier to build a ladder when you have something tangible to lean it against.

A year ago I turned a dream (Spartan Trifecta) into a goal. I enacted the plan. I achieved the goal. Now what? They say our goals should always scare us a little, which I agree with, but you don't want a goal to be impossible. So my next goal will be achievable: a Spartan Trifecta in one month. That month being June 2019. I'm even signed up for it already! Chicago Super, Ohio Beast, Minnesota Sprint. And hopefully I'll be able to do another Trifecta later in the summer and fall.

My dream, for one day, is the Spartan Ultra. I'm not ready to turn out a plan for that yet, and I'm not sure what it will take to turn that dream into a goal. In the meantime, I will continue to set goals for myself that will lead me confidently(ish) in the direction of my dreams.