Today marks 51 days into the 2015 year. Be honest and ask yourself, how well have you stayed true to your resolutions and goals. If the answer is, uuummm, well, or has any excuse as to why you are succeeding, then maybe it's time to revise your goals and the approach. All too often goals are set with an idea of, I only want to lose a few pounds, I want to lose my stomach for the summer vacation, I want to save money, I want to finish my education, etc. There is not anything wrong with having these goals but it is often the approach that will set you back and leave your goal as a dream. Sometimes the goal is set too broadly or is not thought out. At this point, it is time to be honest and get serious about the things you deemed serious at the beginning of the year. Below are a few ideas that you may or may not have in place that will help you along your journey.
Get Excited Again
Don't let any setbacks or hurdles stall or stop you from meeting your goals. As with all things in life, the goal does not have a clear and straight path. It often comes with seemingly impossible obstacles that can hinder your success. Remember why you set the goal to begin with. See the big picture and the end result. Visualize yourself in that moment of success and reaping the benefits of all your hard work and sacrifice.
Break It Down
When goals are set, often it is the big picture or end result that is the focus, as stated above. But what about all those small steps, pot holes and hurdles that must be overcome before we reach that goal. It is time to be realistic and accept that the journey will not be as smooth as we visualize and hope. One visual exercise that I like to use is a dry erase board. I set my goal at the top and draw two lines from either end towards the bottom of the board. On one side, I write down all the known small steps I must accomplish before I reach my goal. On the other side, I write down the obstacles that arose as I undertook the journey. This visual allows me to remember that unknowns exist but can be overcome. However you must break your goal down to smaller accomplishable goals, then I suggest doing so. Losing twenty pounds of body fat starts with losing the first pound. http://youtu.be/C4tlIkBzBf8
Make It a Priority
Now that the excitement has returned and we've broken our goals down, let us now add in priorities. The goals are not a self-sufficient or low maintenance thing that can be realized with a touchup maintenance approach. This has to be a top priority in your life that doesn't take backseats to excuses. When we put an excuse in our head that others will agree is completely reasonable, we accept it as a one time thing. More often than not, that one time thing repeats itself more often than the followthrough of our goals. It Is Time To Remove The Excuses and Set The Priorities. Whatever it is you must do to stay on track with your goals, then do it. No excuses, no reasoning, no exceptions. Nothing but followthrough and execution. We all have things that are important that must be finished on the day-to-day grind, to include careers and family. Now your goals will be one of the priorities. Take a look at where you can cut back on waisted time in your day. Long phone conversations, social media surfing, waisted couch time, unplanned trips to stores, etc. Instead, try to multitask your leisure activities. While your watching television add in folding laundry or washing dishes. While your on the phone, prepare your meals for the next day or iron your clothes. The minutes and hours we save with this approach leaves more time for the priorities to be accomplished.
Consistency, Followthrough and Execute
These three go hand-in-hand with one another and is often why those who are successful continue to have success. All things worth having are worth sacrificing for. Nothing new there but what does it really mean? It means to repeatedly do what is necessary to accomplish your goals. To not give in to any obstacle because you realize it is only a challenge to be overcome. It means to say your going to do something and actually do it. SHUT UP AND GET IT DONE. Being able to back-up the claims that you speak of by following through. It means to execute your goals on time. Battles are not won in the first day, it takes consistent execution to win. Treat your goals as such. Slow progress is still progress. Remove the fear, remove the doubt and execute your plans. After you find a starting point, these three things will fall into place.
Accountability Keeps You Honest
This comes harder for some than others. A small group of people can go through the day with keeping mental notes and staying true to the course. For the rest of us, we need something to look at that notes what we've done and not done. Personally, I like having something I can review to show me exactly what I have done and what is yet to be crossed off the list. From keeping a note pad handy to updating an organizer application on your phone, maintaining accountability will keep you on course with your goals. Do not leave your goals to chance or to estimations, get an accountability tool and most importantly, USE IT.
YouTube video of pause squats: http://youtu.be/C4tlIkBzBf8
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