Take time to rethink, re-group and re-action if necessary

Planning and execution strategies for any major goal can be time consuming, confusing and sometimes hard work. Therefore it is important to take time at the end of a major planning session to review what your action steps are - before you jump in with both feet.

Now I know that taking action is important. But this first review is only one of many you will do along your goal path and it could be argued the most important.

Have you outlined all the steps you need to take or just listed some high level moves you need to make?
If the latter - can you drop in a few, smaller action steps to make each of the higher level strategies become more meaningful to you?
If you've focused only on the small first steps, can you flesh out some of the broader strategies you will need to consider and implement as you get closer to your goal line?

And the reason we do this is simple - it makes you re-think what it is you say you want and want to achieve.

Take the goal to run a marathon. Admirable health and fitness goal. You know the marathon will be run on a certain day, and you've downloaded a recommended training schedule from the Internet (yes there are some I checked) and you've slotted the required training dates into your calendar.

You might say - but there isn't anything missing from this plan. I would "argue" there are several pieces missing from the plan itself. For example:
. Get a health check from your doctor first. This may involve some blood screening and / or x-rays to determine if that dodgy left foot will take the pounding from the training you are going to inflict upon it.
. Get a decent pair of running shoes. No, your "old" trainers will not do. It is recommended you replace your trainers every 3-6 months depending on the amount of exercise you do. And the reason is not to keep shoe manufacturers and retailers in business, but simply the material the shoe is made from only has a limited life span. So be prepared to buy a couple of pairs as you train.
. Have you considered what you will do if the weather turns (too hot or too cold / wet) - you may need to factor in some gym time and therefore expense.
. What are you going to have to give up as a result of the new training regime?  doubt that cigarettes and alcohol would benefit your health goal, and may put your training back if you don't consider your diet as well as your exercise.

As you can see, these are just a few extra things you need to think about as you plan. And as you can imagine, you may need to make some adjustments as you go along.

Wishing you luck with your additional planning and actioning exercises

Elle