By Joel Sanders
Anybody can make a New Year’s Resolution. It takes someone special to see it through. Or does it?
It’s not always about will-power and determination. Certainty those help, but more important is having a plan of attack that you can implement when life happens. Research has shown that only 20% of resolution makers will succeed. Here are some tips and tricks to make sure you don’t get lost along with the other 80%.
- Read The One Thing by Gary Keller: It’s so easy to get caught in the spin cycle of life. Learn how to identify the one thing that you can do – today, this week, this month, this year – to achieve extraordinary results.
- Ask Why: Dig below the surface layer and think about why your goals are important. How will it make you a better person? What will it allow you to do in life? Purpose is the glue that helps you stick to your plan. The prescription for extraordinary results is knowing what matters to you and taking daily doses of action in alignment with it.
- Process Based Goals Are the Secret Ingredient: Process goals are essentially the road map that you will take to get you to your destination. They are the systems, behaviors, or habits that you are going to implement. I want to lose 10lbs is an outcome goal. The process is how you are going to change your diet habits to get you there, like – I am going to eat veggies for lunch and dinner every day. Read this James Clear post for more depth on this subject.
- Set Performance Goals: Number of push-ups/pull-ups, 1 mile run for time. Focusing more on what your body can do and less on how it looks has been shown to yield greater long term satisfaction. Ask yourself this: If you completely ignored the way you look and only focused on being able to do a pull-up or run a faster 5k, would you end up looking better anyway?
- Set 30 Day Goals: Short, mini-challenges are more digestible and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
- Write Your Goals Down Where You Can See Them: Put them on a fridge or your desk at work. Those that write down goals are 40% more likely to accomplish them.
- Workout With Other People: It’s not as hard to roll out of bed when you know there is someone else ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work beside you. I know a good spot, EXOS Group Training
- Have a Plan B: You are going to face road blocks: It’s inevitable. Anybody can succeed when they deck is stacked in their favor. It’s how you plan and prepare when the deck is stacked against you that really seperates contenders from pretenders.
- Set a Number of Times Per Week: that you are going to workout and make it happen, no matter what. Remember, a workout doesn’t have to be a 1-hour sweat fest. Even 10 min of pushups, lunges, and planks count toward your goal. Check out this website for quick, at-home workouts: Body Rock
- Find a Workout and Nutrition Solution That is Sustainable: Here are my 7 Steps to a Sustainable Fitness Plan
- You Can’t Outwork a Crappy Diet: Any weight loss plan must start in the kitchen.
- Take a Shake To-Go: If you are pressed for time and haven’t eaten, take a protein shake on the road. Here are some recipes: Shake Guide
- Don’t Live and Die by The Scale: The scale is like the stock market. It can fluctuate day-to-day for no apparent reason. Use it sparingly over weeks and months, in which case you should see positive trends.
- Take Pictures and a Waist Measurement: If you are lifting weights, the scale might not budge even if your body is changing. Take pictures and measure your waist (around you belly button) as more than one way to show change in your body.
- Call it a Reward Meal Instead of a Cheat Meal: It’s the same food, but with a different label. You’ve earned it.
- Workout First Thing in the Morning: Not many things “come up” at 6am. If you have the option, earlier in your day is better than later.
- Work + Rest = Success: Most people gear up for the hard work it takes to reach their goals. Prioritizing rest – 7-8 hours of sleep, taking power naps, or scheduling a massage – allows you to attack the work with more vigor.
- You Are Human: The “on the wagon/off the wagon” mentality is an emotional rollercoaster that takes its toll. Know that you are going to miss a workout or enjoy birthday cake and that life will go on. Just pick right back up where you left off.
- Habits Take Time: It takes an average of 66 days to acquire a new habit. Don’t give up too soon. After weeks and months of working to implement a new habit, it can become routine. Once this happens, you don’t spend precious willpower thinking “Should I do this today?” It becomes an unconscious decision.
- “Talk to Yourself Instead of Listen to Yourself:” Instead of listening to your fears and doubts, talk to yourself and feed your mind with words of truth and encouragement you need to keep moving forward. – Jon Gordon
- You Don’t Have to be Great to Start. But You Have to Get Started to be Great: It doesn’t have to be January 1st or a Monday. You can choose to change any day and anytime you want to.
Joel trains pro athletes, physique competitors, and everyday people out of EXOS, a world renowned training lab in North Phoenix. He specializes in training methods for sustainable fat loss and muscle gain while reducing pain and injuries. Joel helps upgrade the way people look, feel, and live.
Follow Joel:
Twitter: @coach_jsanders
Website: EXOS
