I’ve realized recently that I got distracted for a long long time.

While there’s nothing wrong with that, and I was perfectly happy being distracted in the way that I was, when I woke up from my distraction, I was a little upset.

I mean, I realized that I could’ve been making advances that whole time, instead of just being upset.

So I started thinking about it.  How could I have stayed on track?

There’s only one way I could think of.  It was to have had a list, some sort of checklist of stable, unchanging goals that will persist throughout my life.  I’ll call them persistent goals.

I’m not talking about to-do lists.  I’m not talking about weekly, monthly, or quarterly goals.

I’m talking about goals that persist across the years.

They’re different for everyone.  But strength – greater strength – is one of those persistent goals for me.

Greater strength is easy to measure.  It’s most easily measured in the “classic” lifts – squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, (and perhaps bent row and pullups, to round things out).

I’ve decided to start keeping track of that persistent goal (and a few others).  To make sure I’m always gaining on it…at least till my body just won’t anymore (but, based on the performance of 75 year old Wim Van Weenen, who deadlifted 523 pounds, I don’t have to worry about that for a while!).

I recommend that you do this as well.  With all of the fitness gadgets and fads out there, it’s easy to lose sight of your long-term, persistent goals.

Do it for everything that matters.  Right now is a perfect time to start.