Aim High

 That Air Force slogan should also apply to your training and especially any competition you enter.
 Going in with a defeatist , or  "it's no big deal" attitude will get you nowhere. On the other hand going in with a can do or "I will do this" attitude will take you places. Approach your training or competition with not ordinary goals but rather with high goals.

 Now this doesn't mean you should make totally unrealistic goals but they should be above normal. If you train for cosmetic reasons (i.e. for looks) instead of saying " I just want to look ok" why not "I want to be ripped and cut!"  Or say " I want a 30 inch waistline with ripped abs, popped up veins running through my body, v shape back, and below 10% body fat!"  That will motivate you to train harder and eat cleaner, to stay on the straight and narrow. Competitive athletes should definitely aim high. Instead of saying " I just want to finish this race"  say  " I want to win!". You'll really give it your all in competition, and this will really drive your training harder, where in turn you'll make big goals. For example because you're trying to win you'll decide that you're going to get your 1/4 mile sprints at the track down to 1:30 or less. Or maybe you'll work on building up to a squat with 1 1/2 times or more with your body weight. Or maybe you'll work up to 100 +  non stop kettle bell swings. There are numerous examples.

 Now achieving your goals can definitely take time. There are several factors involved. Are you a newbie? How out of shape are you? Do you have any physical limitations? Do you have quality guidance? If we say that you're in average health and have good guidance, and you stick with the program, you will definitely make it. The bigger the goal the longer it'll take but don't give up. Consistency in training is a must as well as maybe the most important factor in reaching your goals.

 While I've said you should aim high your goals should also be doable and reachable. It's a good idea to go for smaller goals first. And remember some goals may have factors beyond your control. Saying you want to swim better than Michael Phelps has lots of factors involved , and let's face it, for most of us is almost impossible. Plus even if you wanted to go head to head with Phelps you can't because he's retired! So that ends that. Seriously, what we all can do is certainly improve our swimming as well as bringing down our times. And instead  of  concentrating on beating Phelps's record compete in local swim meets and do your best there. Who knows, with enough wins maybe you'll get the call to go to Olympic trials?

 Or maybe 20 + pull ups is your goal. Right now you can only do 3. So there's no point in expecting 20 next week or even next month. Hell, it may take a year. Don't worry, just keep practicing and improving. Instead of 20 next month  try to get up to 10 in 2 - 3 months. If you did, good for you. You're halfway there. You know with consistency at some point you'll make it. If after 2 - 3 months you only got to 6 it's not the end of the world. You did progress, just not as fast as you'd have liked. It's going to take you longer. If you made no progress re-evaluate your training. Setbacks do happen but we have to overcome them. See where you're going wrong. Maybe your nutrition, maybe you're over training or under training, maybe wrong technique,etc. We can usually  find a cause and then fix it. That's important.

 Some of my goals have been reasonably quick. I remember when I got back into working out after a long layoff, I got into reasonably good shape within a few months. On the other hand,some very difficult goals have taken a very long time. For example the first time I was a lifeguard in 2001 I wanted to swim underwater for 50 meters. Definitely a tough task. But I practiced, day after day, week after week. After a while I reached 25 meters. Halfway. I won't lie, those last 25 meters are twice as tough. Nevertheless, I went meter by meter, little by little. Finally, after 4-5 consistent months I made it. Success!

 Even harder and longer to achieve was the 6:00 mile. I believe the first time I achieved it was after 11+ months of consistent training in 2008. Then on July 4, 2008 I actually ran a 5:46 mile in a race ( despite that I only came in 11th overall! Damn! Not to worry, the following year I took it down to 5:45 coming in 10th).

 While ridiculously high goals may be out of most peoples reach ( like a sub 4:00 mile or dead lifting 1,000+ pounds) we can and should always give it our best, striving to be #1. Like retired SEAL Lt./ fitness trainer, and athlete extraordinaire Stew Smith has said "Don't train just to survive, train to be competitive".