BUT Management – 2018 Fitness Goals

But Management 101

Yes, it’s decided. 2018 is going to be The Year of the But. It’s taken me longer than usual to think about my fitness/sports focus for this year. I’m not a great believer in New Year’s resolutions for the same reason I never start anything on a Monday or the first of the month (too easy to quit), but I am a huge supporter of goal-setting and I’ve always had a few to reach for and keep me moving onwards and, hopefully, upwards. Until now, that is. It’s a very strange feeling but for the first time in as long as I can remember I simply don’t have a single fitness or sporting goal. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? To be honest, I’m not sure, but it’s been interesting taking a big step back and attempting to assess why that might be. For somebody who is so driven by goals and competition (I admit I’m a tad competitive – even if mostly with myself) I crossed into this year without a single target and it’s the oddest sensation for an habitual goal-chaser, so while I’m taking an objective view of possible reasons for this life anomaly I’ve decided I’m going to experiment with an all-new so what philosophy that I heard about recently and will be reporting on anon. I shall henceforth leap onto my life-in-2018 snowboard (regular stance, please) and swoosh down that goal-free slope, accompanied by a chorus of groans over these sickeningly dreadful analogies from despairing readers (job done haha). Just two eensy little problems: (1) I can’t snowboard; and (2) at the crest of my 2018 slope there is already a sizeable gathering of BUTs!

That’s where the management comes in, and my focus for this year. Perhaps the reason I have no 2018 goals set is to surreptitiously relieve myself of the stress of all the BUTs that have plagued me for the last two, presenting me with excuse after excuse after excuse for stresses and failings (I can feel a ‘but’ coming already – as in ‘but you did it’ …) in my life, sport, family, friendships … whatever! There’s a lot of personal stuff that I’m not willing to share, and which ultimately contributed to struggles in my public sporting endeavours, I’m pretty sure, but the competitor in me has not really escaped the BUT-stalking and it’s time, I think, to savour lessons learned, roll with this new experience and give body and mind a wee rest from batterings of self-recrimination and hauntings of not-good-enough, not-strong-enough, giver-upper, etc. etc. Here’s to some frank reassessment and improved accountability.

I’ll keep you updated as I go along. Meanwhile, do please feel free to join me and post your own BUT management goals below. Let’s kick BUT together! 😊

                         Sample of BUTs I’ll be working on:

I got to the end BUT

I’m proud of myself BUT

Everyone says I can do it BUT

I started off really well BUT

… BUT I thought I’d done enough

… BUT I failed, didn’t I?

… BUT …

#sowhat #BUTmanagement