“The chains of habit. We work to attain an object, and the object gained, we find that what we miss is the daily toil.” Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Neil Armstrong was the first man to step foot on the surface of the moon. In preparation for this occasion, it is calculated that he spent 7 years learning, training, and studying for this momentous event. Alongside him were over 400,000 men and women who served as employees and independent contractors of NASA. President JFK stated this as a national mission, and the nation watched in awe as Mr. Armstrong verbalized his now infamous quote, “That’s one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind.”
After returning home to parades and fanfare, I can only surmise the thoughts he encountered of what would be next for him. I mean, what can be grander than landing on the moon? What would be his ‘Best Is Ahead’ moment? I can imagine his reaction when his wife called him to remind him to bring home a gallon of milk on the way home that evening. What a letdown.
The same is true for Olympic athletes. They toil and strain and train for the biggest athletic stage on the globe. And last summer in Paris, hundreds of these athletes gathered to put their skill set to the test against other competitors from around the world. And many were crowned with gold, silver or bronze. Many Olympians experience the post-Olympic blues as they struggle to determine that next goal, or milestone achievement to keep them going, engaged and training hard. Too, they re-enter ‘normal’ life and must find a job and begin to balance social life and pressures once again.
Turns out what they miss, is the daily toil.
For me, I’ve experienced a very small dose of this feeling. Being an age-group triathlete for many years, I remember the feeling of the day after the race that I’d been training for all summer long. Wondering what I’d do to stay motivated and healthy. Now that the goal was behind me, it strained my routine and weighed on my desire to get out of bed to go for a run. So, what did I do?
I created another goal. Notice I didn’t say ‘bigger’ goal. Not everything has to be grandiose. Just ‘another’ goal. Something else to keep me active and motivated. Next up was a 5k Turkey Trot. Then a Jingle Jog. Then a Hot Chocolate 15k. Then a yearly run mileage goal. Then a yearly bike mileage goal. Then swimming. On and on the goals went until I found a groove and kept myself active.
This isn’t to say I’m better than anyone. Just consistent. I’ve found a way to game my system. My mental foe begs me to turn off the alarm and stay in bed for just a few more moments. My run goal prevents me from doing that. Cold, dark mornings play tricks with my desire to head out to the garage for some strength training, but my percent body fat goal gets me out there. Sometimes I do hit snooze a few too many times, but for the most part, my ‘another’ goal concept seems to be working.
So, what goal have you recently accomplished? Finding it hard to engage with something else? Well, sure, take a rest. But get back up and find another goal. No, it doesn’t have to be a bigger goal than landing on the moon, but there’s meaning and purpose in the toil. It keeps you grounded, healthy, motivated, and active.
Set the next goal. Then the next. Toil well.
And life with purpose today.
