There Is Nothing Quite Like A Goal

I’ve learned something huge about myself over the past 6 months.

I am a goal-oriented person.

Give me a goal and I’ll do everything I can to achieve it.

If I don’t have a goal, I won’t be all in and committed. I’ll do what I feel like when the conditions are ideal.

This early spring has not been conducive to riding outside. It’s been cold. It’s been very windy.

Last year I wouldn’t have been riding. I would have found excuses to not ride—too cold, too windy, I’ve got other stuff to do, I’l go for a walk, I’m tired, etc.

Not this year! There is nothing quite like a 120 km ride that ends with climbing Mount Ventoux to get me out on my bike regardless of the conditions and whatever else I’d prefer to be doing.

And you know what—I feel fantastic about this. Setting this goal has been the best decision I’ve made in a long time.

The commitment to riding all winter on the trainer, getting up early to do a weight workout, foam rolling, stretching, etc. has trickled over into other parts of my life.

I’m doing more drawing, taking courses, pushing myself.

I’m spending a lot of time on professional development—getting certified as a content engineer, learning about Skills, Projects, Codex, Custom GPTS, Agents, and how to use AI to create efficient systems for better content creation.

I’m reading more books than I ever have.

I feel like I’m taking advantage of being alive. I’m using all the resources I have to fully develop all aspects of myself. This really excites me.

I think I’ve been in a bit of stasis for a while—nothing to shoot for, nothing that got me really excited, and my brain kind of relaxed a bit.

Not anymore! In the last week, I’ve been more productive and happier than I can remember.

Of course, for a Type A like me, there is a fine line. Too many things on the “I’m so excited I have to do this now” list can quickly become overwhelm, pushing me into decision fatigue and not being able to get anything done.

Good news is—I’ve become pretty astute at noticing this and saying to myself “what is the next thing?” and creating to do lists of only 3 or 4 items that I confidently know I can accomplish.

What a revelation it is to be in this state of mind and body.

I feel stronger, smarter, more confident, and ready to keep going.

You might be reading this and thinking “oh geez, Vicki is going to crack any day now.” Don’t worry, I’ve thought of this.

The course I’m taking is only three weeks long. I’ve finished the first week. I put limits on how much time I spend on the computer. I make sure I’m prioritizing riding, fresh air, relaxing, and doing nothing.

The thing is—there is lots of time in the day, I just wasn’t using it effectively.

What a difference a few goals make in finding the time and recognizing what wasn’t serving me.

If you’re curious about what I’m learning about AI and content engineering, I’m posting weekly on Good Words Work about this. Soon there will be new content about content engineering on my website—this is a new service I’ll be offering as soon as I finish the course and get certified.

I created this image with ChatGPT for the new column on my website. Pretty cool isn’t it?