Craig Constantine

Goals versus aspirations

December 5, 2019

A distinction I’ve been making in recent years:

A goal is something specific. It will be clear when the goal is achieved. For me, goals should always be the classic specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time dependent, sort of SMART goals.

An aspiration is something directional. It will be clear when progress is made in the direction dictated by the aspiration.

The more goals I set, the worse my life becomes. I set great goals… big challenging, self-stretching goals. They pile on like dead weight and drag me down. Lose 10 pounds. Read an hour a day. …and so on.

Aspirations, being open-ended, don’t feel so daunting. Provided the aspirations lead to actual action, then I don’t need to worry about tomorrow. I can simply do the things—today, now—which are guided by my aspirations. Be someone who moves. Be exposed to lots of fresh ideas. Be someone who helps others. Be someone who creates value. Be someone whose mind works well.

What aspirations do you have?

90 days out

January 21, 2018

Looking ninety days out, you have a good idea of what you can actually get done in that time frame, so your capacity estimations are about right and yet you can make some very substantial progress towards a big goal. It leads to moving faster without compromising strategy – being more agile. Having goals and visions for three or five years down the line is valuable, but it’s often not very helpful to try and plan out concrete steps—there’s just too much that has to get done which feels overwhelming and leads to inaction.
~ Taylor Pearson from, http://www.asianefficiency.com/productivity/why-successful-people-plan-their-lives-90-days-at-a-time/

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I certainly find that if I spend a large amount of time planning way far out… that ends up never working out. For this year (2018) I’ve a few “visions” — some big picture things I’d like to work towards, but I’m trying to keep my plans/planning on a smaller scale. Makes it much easier to have daily successes too.

Decisions

January 16, 2018

If you want to achieve a goal you’ve set, the most crucial part is to DECIDE to manifest it. It doesn’t matter if you feel it’s outside your control to do so. It doesn’t matter if you can’t yet see how you’ll get from A to B. Most of those resources will come online AFTER you’ve made the decision, not before.
~ Steve Pavlina from, https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/cause-effect-vs-intention-manifestation/

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Reaching my goals does NOT happen simply by my wishing for it. However, making a decision and visualizing the goal DOES get me on my way there. The more I believe, the more I push the boundaries, the more I explore while reaching for the vision, and the harder I work… the luckier I get.

7230: I surrender

June 29, 2016

(Part 36 of 36 in series, 10,000 Reps Project)

I surrendered yesterday with a heavy heart.

Since July 20th, 2015, it has been a long year of ups and downs. I’ve made some massive improvements in strength, and form, for the activities I’d chosen. But I still have much work left to do — both in terms of the number of reps left before the 10,000 goal, and in terms of the quality of the activities I had hoped to reach along the way.

A few weeks ago, I started a sprint to the finish. In an attempt to make the 10,000 goal within the dwindling days, I would need to do approximately 200 reps of everything every-other-day for several weeks. I started using a resistance band to ease the strain on my shoulder during the pull-ups, but even that was not enough to preserve my shoulder. This past weekend, at a Parkour event in Boston, it became painfully(!) clear that my shoulder injury was returning.

I have a Parkour trip planned in August, and I must begin that with my shoulder at 100%. I am forced to choose between a good shoulder for my trip, or the remaining 2770 pull-ups. I am choosing my shoulder.

Now, I find I have to write the “wrap this series up” post sooner than expected. So, what have I learned?

(Part 36 of 36 in series, 10,000 Reps Project)

Anyone can put a challenge in front of themselves that they are unable to do. How well do you know what you are capable of? How well do you know how to make yourself capable of more. I train to know who I am and how I can improve.
~ Jesse Danger

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This 10k project is the largest challenge that I can ever recall attempting. It is the only thing I’ve ever tried to accomplish which spanned the course of one entire year. It was ambitious, huge and has taught me a lot about my ability to stay motivated over a long time frame. (Pro tip: I suck at staying motivated.) I learned (or refined) several new skills involving daily and weekly planning of workouts, planning for road-blocks (winter weather, holidays, trips) and recovering from injury.

It is certainly not the first thing at which I’ve failed. It is certainly not the last thing at which I’ll fail.

Perhaps one day I will do it again and make the goal. But for now, I have other things to do.

What’s up for 2016?

January 21, 2016

(Part 41 of 72 in series, My Journey)

I’ve recently started thinking about 2016 goals. These aren’t “New Year’s Resolutions”; When I pick up a goal, it’s only after a lot of thinking and planning. Most importantly, I only commit if I believe the result of reaching the goal is worth it.

I’m considering things like the following:

Hip/ankle flexibility: Achieve being able to sit, relaxed in a full squat. (I’ve been working on this for 3 months already.)
Reach a lower weight; I’m thinking 210 is probably a good goal for about 6 months out. (Currently about 223.)
Run 10 minute miles; Maybe run a 5K in 30 minutes in October. (I think this would be pretty easy if I was 210.)

…and then a bunch of non-physical training things:

Become fluent in French. (A big challenge!)
Develop a solid writing habit.
Develop a solid reading habit. (I already read a lot; It’s consistently finding/making the time.)

Allez! Allez!