Like a lot of men in their mid-forties I need to keep fit and keep the pounds off and up to now I’ve been running around the countryside that surrounds our house here in Gloucestershire, UK. But constant running can cause serious damage to your health, noticeably the knees.
So I took up lane swimming in our local baths. Swimming up and down the lanes for an hour, that way you don’t bump into people or crash into the sides too often. Pretty boring but did you know you can get a gadget to listen to your iPod underwater – now that’s cool.
Not the point I’m making today though.
Last week, the guys at the pool decided in their wisdom, not to put any lanes up, so we all swam as best we could. But what a nightmare. Swimmers were veering off to the side, I must have crashed into other people a dozen times, it slowed me down, I had to pause often to look up to see where I was going and it was terribly frustrating. It made the whole process far more thorny and difficult.
On my way home in the car that night, the light snow made it tricky to see the white lines in the middle of the road. The upshot was I slowed down, became more aware of the drive home and more cautious.
You see, having no lanes to swim in or lines to drive along is like operating without goals. To not have a clear, thought through direction to follow in your professional life, a mapped out plan to achieve your dreams and aims.
Without goals you’ll crash a dozen times, slow down, have to pause often to look up to see where you’re going and it’ll make the whole process far more thorny and difficult.
January has just left us. Have you got your goals organised for 2010?
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