In August 1770 Captain Cook sailed into Dingaal Country during his exploration of Australia’s east coast.
The Endeavour became lost in a labyrinth of reefs off the island. He resolved to visit a local island, climb its summitand identify a path out.
He found Lizard Island and climbed to its highest point with a mixture of hope and fear swirling in his gut. He discovered the reef extended farther than he could see but found a passage to escape.
In 2022, Cook’s Look became the scene in which a story about the power of goal setting played out.
At the beginning of every year, I set myself goals aligned with the three pillars of my life:
1. Energy
2. Work
3. Love.
[Side note: I adopted these three pillars from Brian Johnson, founder of Heroic. More on this in a future blog.]
In 2022, one of the Energy goals I set myself was to climb Cook’s Look once a week.
An eight-kilometre round trip with a 397m elevation, I knew this goal was going to be strenuous. But I knew my love of nature and pushing my fitness levels would propel me onward.
This goal delivered in spades.
From some of the best sunrises I’ve seen in my life and witnessing changes in the resident monitor lizard colony, the soaring ospreys floating in the winds on the ridge line to having the weather turn on me and coming down the mountain turned water slide on my butt – my repeated Cook’s Look climbs gifted me with some unforgettable moments.
As I became familiar with the path, I pushed my speed and reached a personal best of 36.5 minutes from the base to the summit.
At the end of the year, I had 52 photos of the joy I felt at the top.
Climbing a mountain is a great goal but an even better symbol for the power of having a goal to pursue. This was especially powerful when having more stressful week. Or squeezing in a couple of extra climbs in the week after being off island for a couple of weeks.
Setting goals always focuses my thoughts and actions and facilitates changes in my behaviour.
This is the time to set goals for 2023.
I encourage you to use the SMART goal format and WRITE THEM DOWN. There is something about writing the goal down that makes you more accountable.
Specific – understand exactly what you want to achieve and put a figure or percentage to it. Know what success looks like.
Measurable – how will you measure it? Do you need to put any systems in place to count/measure your actions?
Achievable – make sure that your goal is realistic. Setting unrealistic goals will set yourself up for disappointment.
Relevant – make sure you have the direct ability to achieve that goal. It should rely on others.
Trackable – you should be able to track your progress i.e.know where you should be half way through the year
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