I know I am! I’m going to tackle some 🙀big scary, life changing, 💕soul filling goals. What works for me is to literally map out my days/weeks to ensure I’m staying on track and using my time wisely. There is something about putting goals in writing that flips a switch in my head and makes it mandatory, not optional. I highly recommend taking the time to write your goals down and track your progress. Although it sounds tedious, it ends up being a very efficient use of your time and you can look back at what you’ve recorded to see what worked and what didn’t work.
As you think about those long term goals think about the tips below to help you build out a plan to help get you there.
Find your “Why” – dig deep on this one. Be sure to find a compelling reason to do what you are doing, to serve as a motivator when times get tough and you want to “throw in the towel”.
- Make sure your goal is SMART
- Specific – The more detailed your goal the better. If your goal is to get six pack abs, envision how you will look. What kind of clothes will you feel confident wearing? Maybe you had a six pack before and you can use an old pic to serve as a reminder every day. How will you feel? Write all these details down and use then as a daily reminder.
- Measureable – that which does not get tracked, does not get achieved. Determine what measurements are appropriate for your goal, determine an appropriate goal, measure your current baseline, and consistently track periodically, so that you can determine if your current approach is working or if it needs to be adjusted. In the case of wanting six pack abs, measurements like bodyfat %, inches, and weight would help you determine if you are moving in the right direction. Not to mention taking weekly photos.
- Achievable – make sure the goal you have set for yourself is attainable considering your current life situation. In other words, set yourself up for success. If your goal requires you to work out 2 hours a day, but you can only physically fit in 45 min max, be realistic about that and adjust accordingly. Going back to the six pack example, if you can only commit to 45 min of exercise per day, you can still achieve your goal, but it will take you longer to get to your long term goal, so be sure to build that expectation into your plan.
- Realistic – Along the same lines as being achievable, be realistic about what you are up for mentally. Think about the trade off you will need to make. Are you willing to commit to eating nothing but chicken and broccoli for the next two months to achieve your goal. If not, adjust accordingly and give yourself grace along the way.
- Time – Establish a realistic deadline to give yourself a sense of urgency, while keeping it realistic. Build in a buffer to allow for plateau’s and special occasions you’ve already committed to that may slow the progress towards your goal. In other words, make it a challenging time frame, but also recognize the fact that life gets in the way.
- Simplify your goal by breaking it down into smaller action steps
- Determine 3-5 process goals that will help you achieve your product goal. Process goals are action steps that will help you get to your product (end result) goal. To get those six pack abs, you will need to focus on nutrition, exercise, and active recovery. You will need to set a calorie goal, set your macros, come up with a meal plan that hits on those goals, schedule time for planning, shopping, meal prep, and think through the logistics of when you will have those meals. So examples of goals related to this would be setting a goal of meal prepping every Sunday and Wednesday. In regards to exercise, set a goal of working out 5x per week for 45 min. Pro tip: schedule it in your calendar as if it was a work appt to ensure it happens. We all know recovery is crucial to exercise, so be sure to schedule time on your calendar for active recovery once a week. Some good options are a relaxation yoga session, going for a long walk, meditation, etc.
- Reverse engineer from your goal to present day and carve out a path to get there. If you want to get those six pack abs in 90 days for a family wedding you are attending, break down your 90 days into 30 day goals, and then into weekly and daily goals
- Determine potential obstacles/pitfalls based on past failures and work towards removing or minimizing the potential impact of those obstacles.
- Track and be sure to alter your path if what you are doing is not producing results.
- Create a visual to motivate and show your progress.
- Determine goal supporting rewards for when you achieve certain milestones. For example, when you hit your halfway point, treat yourself to a massage or a new pair of leggings or running shoes. Try not to reward yourself with “off limit” items like sweet treats that will set you back from achieving your goals.
- Seek out others that are more knowledgeable than you on the subject. This can easily be done in our virtual world. Look on social media including podcasts for information from various sources as well as doing your own research via Googling. In today’s world, you can find pretty much anything for free if you look hard enough. There is nothing wrong with asking for help or guidance from a mentor or other like minded individuals. Even trainers need trainers.
- Find a way, person, process, app to hold you accountable. This goes along with writing down your goals and recording the process. If you can log your progress and share that with a friend, trainer, or mentor it will help hold you accountable as most individuals will hold themselves to a higher standard when they need to “report” their results to someone else.
I hope you find my tips above helpful and as always feel free to DM me on social media or leave a comment here if you would like to chat in more detail. Make it Happen!
