An arbitrary goal, a failure, and why I call it success

A cautionary tale about goal setting . . . 

In January 2024, inspired by a podcast on being happier, I wrote a list of 24 things I wanted to do in 2024. A few things were somewhat serious, while others were smaller, lighter, and more fun. Some of the things were one-offs that I wanted to check off my bucket list. I wanted to try playing pickleball - and I did! I wanted to try downhill skiing finally, and I did! I set pretty modest reading and writing goals, which I would say I did OK with, (though not 100% successful). I set the goal to get my will written, which I have not done. (This is terrible, I know. It will be back on this year’s list!) And while I gave myself an entire year to learn to use my apple watch. . .  um.. no, I didn’t really learn to use it and I actually decided I hate it. For my next watch purchase, I will return to one of the Garmins that I used to have and love.  

One of the “fun” and ambitious items on my list was “Climb 1,000 routes.”  This was inspired by a climbing friend of mine who did this in 2023. For my version of the challenge, I included any rock climbing route / pitch / problem, whether it was outdoors or inside at a climbing gym. I wanted to complete 1,000 of any of these types of climbs in 2024. 

Turns out, there were several flaws in this particular goal: 

• It was kind of arbitrary. It didn’t necessarily set me up for risk-taking or growth, or really even skill development. There are many different types of climbs, and obviously they vary widely in difficulty level. So for example, a lead climb outdoors requires equipment, skill, planning, a ton of focus and energy, and can be quite scary. In addition to all the planning time, and then the hiking time to get to the climb, one single pitch of climbing outdoors might take me upwards of 20 minutes or more, plus a great deal of effort and some stress to complete. On the contrary, in the gym, the easiest bouldering route (these are climbs on walls that are short enough so that you don’t climb with any ropes - you just climb to the top, and then down-climb or jump down onto cushy mats) might take me as little as 15-20 seconds to complete. For my goal of completing 1,000 climbs, each route carried the exact same weight, making this goal somewhat arbitrary.

• It didn’t provide incentive for me to work at hard climbs or leave my comfort zone. Even within indoor bouldering (the shortest of the types of climbs I included in my challenge), there is a big variation of difficulty level. I have had days at the climbing gym where I've worked on a challenging climb for a solid 45 minutes before completing it (or putting it aside and trying something else). There are plenty of climbs that might take me a few different visits to eventually finish, and still many more that I never managed to complete. In my version of the challenge, I only counted completedclimbs, and an easy climb that I finished on my first try (in 20-30 seconds) counted the same as the climb I spent hours projecting. So my goal didn’t provide incentives for me to go out of my comfort zone and try harder climbs; rather it rewarded me for doing the faster easier climbs - even ones designed for complete beginners.

 
Despite its flaws, there were also many upsides and benefits of this goal for me: 

It provided motivation to re-engage in an activity that had, of late, become a little more stressful than fun, and I rediscovered my enjoyment of it. 

It helped me develop and sustain a consistent habit. This challenge was just about getting my reps in - and that really kept me consistent and active. It kept me going to the climbing gym twice a week, and even when I didn’t have my strongest climbing days, I felt successful because I got it done.

It gave me focus and direction: Simply having a goal can give you a target to aim for, and mine helped me keep going even when I didn’t feel like it. Even on the days I was really tight for time or just wasn’t feeling it, I was less likely to bail on my plan because I had this goal set. And I knew that even if I could notch just a couple of easy climbs and add them to my log, I’d be closer to achieving my goal and I'd feel good about it. And not surprisingly, I almost always felt better once I was climbing and was always glad I got it done.

It made me a better and more confident climber.  Even though my goal incentivized easier climbs rather than harder climbs, I think there was a real benefit to that. Get lots of reps in on easier climbs where I could climb with a relaxed body, rather than one filled with tension, allowed me to improve my technique and boost my confidence. I feel good about my climbing now and that is a huge plus. 

So… did I do achieve it? 

So I am proud to say that this goal kept me climbing consistently all year. I tracked every single climb I did. I made some graphs and did some data analysis that you’d probably find mind numbingly boring, but I find fascinating! (For example…  81% of the climbs I did this year were indoor bouldering. 19% were rope climbing.  I spent at least some part of 108 days this year climbing; 11 of those days were spent climbing outdoors, which is not nearly as many as I would have liked, but understandable given the logistics of outdoor climbing and the fact that I live in NYC.)

As for getting to 1,000…  I knew that to reach my goal I needed to average a little more than 19 climbs a week, which seemed quite modest to me. All year long, I was climbing consistently, but slightly under that goal - averaging about 18 climbs per week. So probably close enough to get it done.. Right? Well… clearly my math was not great, because while the difference between 19 and 18 climbs in one week is not much at all, over the course of a year, that’s an awful lot. Add a few unexpected setbacks (injuries, illnesses, schedule conflicts) where I'd have to take a week or more off of climbing.. and I found myself heading into the last two weeks of December with a grand total of . . .  874 climbs. 

Not too shabby.. But not close to 1,000. And I was about to drive to Florida to close out the year. 

Fortunately, there is a climbing gym near where we stay in Florida, and I calculated that if I could climb four, maybe even five out of the six days we were there, I could maybe possibly squeak out a win??  Of course, I also knew that there was family in Florida who wanted to spend time with us, and a lovely beach that is a lot more inviting than a dingy climbing gym. So what would I do? Just give up on my goal that I had spent the year working towards? Or just give up my entire winter vacation to meet this arbitrary goal? And possibly risk injury by packing in more than a month's worth of climbing in a five-day period?

Well.. I decided there were enough hours in the day to do both … hang with my family and at the beach.. And also hit the climbing gym to give it my best shot to accomplish my goal. So I went every day I could, climbed a lot, and still managed to enjoy some sun and my family.  I wasn’t sure I would actually hit 1,000, but decided to just do as many as I could.  

And .. well.. In the end, my total number of climbs for 2024 was … 

drum roll ….

968. 

So close.

Not 1,000.  

But close. 

A failure? Technically, yes, I guess so. Sorry for those of you hoping for a more triumphant end to the story. =) But I am not sad or disappointed. And I consider it a success. Even a not-quite achieved attempt at a not so great goal kept me motivated, directed, focused, and having fun. I learned about myself, I pushed myself, I learned what I like and don’t like about climbing, and have thoughts about how to set a better climbing goal next year… 

How about you? What are your goals for 2025?

Do you have any goals or challenges you want to set for yourself for 2025?

Do you want to set a “get your reps in” type goal that will help you create a consistent and sustainable habit, like mine did? Like walking or running 500 miles this year? Or aim to read a book a week? Average 7-8 hours of sleep a night? Or maybe you have more of a performance goal you are aiming for – complete a 5k or a half marathon, or do an unassisted pull-up? Are you not sure what your goals are, but you know you want to feel better, stronger, more energized, less tired, less sluggish, less stressed? Would you like some help with setting goals, shaping them, and creating a plan to achieve them?   Our 4-week Get Started  program is for anyone who wants to get moving and could use some help in developing a consistent routine and sticking to it. For this program, the nature of how you move (whether you walk, run, strength train, etc.) is less important than building the habit of doing *something* consistently. We will help you determine what types of exercise and routines work for you, help you with goal setting, planning, and scheduling to keep you on track and set you up for success. Consistency, not perfectionism. You can attend any two MoveRunPlay classes per week. Check out our full schedule here.