The best way to learn is to stretch yourself. When I competed in my first triathlon race about 3 years ago, I just wanted to finish the race. At the time, that was a significant achievement as I had no history with endurance sports.
Three years on that goal no longer works for me (except in very early season races when I am not in shape). I need a higher goal. While I will still keep finishing healthy as my number one priority, I need higher standards to stay motivated. The way I have done this is my setting stretch goals and by picking focus areas to work on. I set overall time goals for myself. First it was 3 hours, now its 2hrs 45 mins. This keeps me increasing my standards and motivates me to stay with the training which can be tedious at times.
Think about an area of your life that you wish to improve, can you set yourself a higher goal? An income goal, a fitness one, how about the amount of quality time you spend with your family? Put a number to it and track your progress. I take detailed notes of all my training sessions now, and the value comes in my monthly reviews. I can see how my day-to-day activities build up to my overall success (or failure). If you achieve a target, set another one. Keep the stretch going. Look around at your peers and see who can be your role model. Choosing someone who is more successful than you, can help you focus on how you can bridge the gap. My new triathlon role models run 2 hours 30 mins and when I break it down I feel that I could achieve that time. But it’s going to be a stretch.
The way to achieve a stretch target is to choose a focus area. In triathlon, this can be choosing a discipline (swim, bike, run). I started with my run. In April this year I was running around 7 km/hr on average. My target was 10km/hr which I reached in July. Now I am working on bringing that up to 12km/hr. I select specific workouts that help me achieve this. Intervals where I run at a moderate pace for 250m and then sprint at high pace for 250m over 3 to 4 km helps with my speed. Hill and steep gradient training also improved my running form (technique) and this translates into faster paces.
In the area you wish to improve, what can you focus on? Is it your marketing material, your telephone manner, your attention spent with your children, your sales pitch? Narrow down your goals and build up a few set piece exercises. Famous motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, when he was a sales man used to have a sprint day every month when he would pack in the sales calls and go flat out to bring in the deals. Find your own “sprints” that improve your technique. It could be as simple as smiling and saying “please” and “thank you” more often to your colleagues.
Self-improvement needs you to stretch yourself. Make it tangible and focused and you will surprise yourself by how quickly and by how much you can improve.