Above: Natasha achieving one of her goals to run her first half marathon. Read her inspiring story below.
My journey of goal discovery started on May 20th, 2008 – my first day at lululemon.
My first day in the Store Support Centre (SSC) was a surreal experience. I was overwhelmed by the number of faces and names – but what still stands out in my mind today, as clear as my first day here, was the culture. I remember my first trek up the stairs to the third floor, surrounded by everyone’s goals, dreams and aspirations. The concept of setting goals was totally foreign to me. I understood having goals and dreams, but I didn’t get how important it was to set goals, put them on paper, and to share with your family and friends.
The first goal that I set was to learn how to run, and to train for my first half marathon. When I say learn how to run, I literally mean that; I couldn’t even run one city block without losing my breath.
This was a huge BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) for myself and Shari, my payroll teammate, deskmate, half marathon training partner in crime, and most important – friend forever. We apprehensively signed up for half marathon training after much convincing by our fellow SSC’ers. We showed up for our first run not knowing what to expect.
At 8am on a sunny Saturday morning in July I showed up at the seawall, ready to run and to start working towards the first goal I had ever set. About 15 minutes into the run I was in so much pain that I started crying and decided to turn back, I convinced Shari to go on without me. I was totally discouraged, and in that moment I decided that I was going to quit and wasn’t going to bother continuing on. But wait – I had set this goal, and had told everyone I was going to do it.
After the run I received some great goal coaching and encouragement from my fellow SSC’ers (you know who you are!). I decided to go to the next scheduled training run.
There were many runs like my first, but the most important thing was that I kept coming back, and kept working towards this goal that I had so fearlessly set.
After a little over three months of training I was set to run my first half marathon. Although I was sick with a sinus infection I ran and completed 15 minutes under my goal time. I still remember the rush of crossing the finish line. I was bawling my eyes out, partly because of the pain, but mostly because of the emotional rush of seeing something that seemed so impossible through and finishing. It was that very moment I realized how important it is to set goals, dream big and to see them through. I continue to run and set even bigger BHAGs, but nothing will keep me going like that first goal that I ever set.
I am now working in Community Relations – another one of my goals. What’s next? My BHAG is a half ironman. I want to do this by the end of Summer 2010. I still need to learn how to swim… But at least I have the running figured out!
Want to write your own goals? Here is a little help to get you started! http://goals.lululemon.com/
