Recipe for Success
Identify your goals
Identify actions consistent with your goals
Execute those Actions
Repeat
Obstacles will come up. Don't worry about how big the obstacles will be, worry about how big your commitment will be.
Whatever you are trying to achieve in life, it is as simple as the steps provided above. So why don’t more people successfully achieve their goals? Let’s look at where things can go wrong.
Identify Your Goals
Step one is where most people get tripped up. Not even one step in, and already they are falling down. Why? Because you have never been taught how to set a meaningful goal. Here are the most common errors I see people make (including myself) when setting a goal:
1) Ladder Against the Wrong Wall
Peer pressure tells us what we should want, and too often, we buy into it shoulding ourselves into chasing after goals that we never really wanted. Then we wonder why we can’t stick to it. Well, I guess that’s better than putting in all the work to achieve the goal only to find out it wasn’t what you wanted after all. Before you sit down to start the goal-setting process, first get really honest with yourself about what you really want and why. Before you invest all that effort, be sure it is for something you truly care about.
2) It Lights You Up
And it had better light you up. Does the thought of achieving your goal trigger little butterflies of excitement in your belly? If not, it's probably not the right goal.
3) Outcome Versus Process
Sure, we’re talking about achieving goals, but a good goal is usually process based. Instead of setting a goal such as ‘get my first pull up before Christmas,’ which is dependent upon factors outside your control, and leads to an all-or-nothing mentality, a better goal is ‘I will spend 5 minutes of dedicated pull up practice 3 times per week.’ The latter is well within your control and, if you fulfill upon it, will eventually lead to pull ups. And note, I said eventually. By removing a timeframe, you have taken pressure off yourself so that you can focus on the process instead of the looming deadline.
4) Bite Sized Aspirations
Excitement is great, but don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you currently attend the gym once per week and declare a goal of working out five times per week, you are setting yourself up for failure. I remember the year I levelled up from three CrossFit workouts per week to four. I was sore and tired for most of that year. That extra workout really took it out of me. Imagine if I had tried to jump from three to my current six days per week? Take it one step at a time. When your new goal becomes consistent and easy, you can take it up another notch.
5) Plan to Fail
Build failure into your goal setting. What will you do when you break down and eat that slice of cake in contradiction to your new goal of eating healthy? It is a fundamental law of the universe that whenever you set a new goal for yourself, life will throw some speed bumps your way in an effort to derail you. It’s a test to see how badly you want it. And look, sometimes you have no choice. Maybe you committed to running ten minutes every morning, but then twisted your ankle walking the dog. What now? You need to have a back up plan for what you are going to do when you cannot stick to your plan. Notice I said when, not if. That’s because if you want to master goal achievement, you need to live in reality. If you get stopped the first time things don’t go to plan, you won’t get very far.
Identify Actions Consistent with Your Goals
The good news is that this second part is much easier, especially if you started out with process-based goals. Don’t worry if your road map is unclear, this may be the part where a coach is most helpful. We are great resources for mapping out exactly what exercises will best help you develop your pull up strength or how to stage your running volume increases, and we are chock full of ideas on how to prepare to fail. We will have lots of alternatives for how to continue progressing when unforeseen circumstances get in the way of your plans.
The key words here are ‘Actions’ and ‘Consistent’. Goals without actions are daydreams. Only action will get you results. Actually, only consistent action will get you results. Action performed consistently AND actions consistent with your stated goal. It seems logical, but you would be surprised how many folks take actions contrary to their stated goals. The one we see most commonly in the health and fitness space is well-intentioned athletes cutting calories to improve body composition. Not sure why this sabotages their success? Maybe you need a coach.
Execute Those Actions
If you guessed that this is the second place where folks fall down, then you have been paying attention. If wishes were wings, pigs would fly. Actions produce results. You can say that you eat healthy but anyone looking at you knows what you are actually eating when you’re alone in the kitchen. A coach is good for accountability, but only to a certain extent. For most of us, this part is the long, lonely road. There are no cheering squads or merit badges awarded for effort invested. This, by the way, is also called the ‘Champion’s Road’ and every top performer in any walk of life has had to travel it. It is the Rocky montage minus the rousing soundtrack, and instead of playing out in quick camera cuts that are over in a few minutes of breathless effort, it goes on and on with no end in sight.
This is where a failure plan pays dividends because you are going to face setbacks, inconveniences and impassable obstacles. Adaptability is the hallmark of mental, emotional and physical resilience. Your long-term success will largely be dictated by your ability to adapt to the changing circumstances without losing focus.
Please notice that nowhere here have I used the word motivation. Motivation and inspiration are fickle traitors who will abandon you at the first sign of struggle. Determination, focus and discipline are far more reliable travel companions.
Repeat
This is actually the easy part. Once you’ve made it this far, just keep going. Don’t let yourself be distracted by new shiny objects or fancy new training ideas that promise to accelerate your progress. Prematurely changing programs is the number one error athletes make at this stage. The basics are boring, and they work. There is probably no harm in testing out a few new things here or there as long as they do not interfere with, replace or detract from the basics. Everything takes longer than you expect. Many people quit when they are only a few yards from the finish line.
This may be because gains typically do not stack linearly. There is an exponential effect, much like the power of compounding interest. In the early going you will notice no noticeable change, but as the effort invested appreciates over time, the progress accelerates, success building on success. But only if you keep on making contributions long enough to get the momentum going.
Obstacles
Obstacles will come up. Don't worry about how big the obstacles will be, worry about how big your commitment will be. Here again, a coach can be a valuable resource to help you adapt to obstacles as they arise in real time.
Want help with your health and fitness goals?
WOD Father is happy to book an hour to sit down, define your goals and build an actionable plan to help you achieve them.
To schedule, email WOD Father at Corey(at)Empowereverybody.com
