People Power Pushes Potential

We all know that to commit to a goal we should:

• write it down
• put it where it is visible
• share it with people who will help us stick to it

Here's what I learned yesterday.  There is even more power in sharing your progress in attaining your goal.  I am certain that it matters who you choose to share the progress with.  Only pick the people closest to you who you know really really really want you to succeed.

Here's how it works in action.  My husband has run 4 marathons with me, but decided he didn't want to do one this fall.  I shared with him my goal of running it and all of my hard work that went into training.  Each and every time I went further or faster I gave him a celebratory update. 

The day before the race I decided that I would run with a pace team for the first time.  At the expo they were all lined up.  The teams were named after celebrities with those finishing times.  4:29, Team Oprah - you know you want to beat her time.  Yes, my goal was to beat my PB of 4:22.  4:14 P-Diddy Pacers.  This was a natural for me.  Right where I should fit in.  I would be thrilled to beat my best by 8 minutes!!!

Then I saw the 3:56 team, Will Ferrell's sub 4's, and got to thinking.  I know I can do 1:58 the first half, it's just the second half that will be tough. I think that if I stick with this team I will for sure beat 4:22.

Race morning I had second thoughts.  I wasn't confident that I could keep the pace and I didn't want to cross the finish line behind team Oprah with a 3:56 pace goal plastered on my back.  This is where sharing my progress paid off.  My family wouldn't want me to either, but they new how much training went into this event.  My husband looked at my bib, number 1356 and pointed out that I aready had 356 on the front. Definitely a sign.  Hesistantly, I asked my daughter to pin the pace goal to my shirt.

Running with a pace team was one of my best decisions.  They were fabulous!  Upbeat, helpful, consistent, chatty.  Encouraging, but not over the top or aggressive.  Their just in time advice guided me to bananas and pickle juice mid race.  I focused on this amazing team instead of how hard the run was and kept going. 

I didn't keep up in the second half, but knowing that I was going to beat my best kept me going.  The power of people pushed me to a new personal best of 4:03.  If I had run with team PDiddy I would have been successful, but wouldn't have pushed to my potential.  Sharing my goal and my progress forced me to work to my peak performance.

Share your goals with as many people as possible to push yourself to commit.  Share your progress with the people closest to you and go further than you thought possible.