Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Hang: 10.

Today is day 10 of my 70 day challenge to myself. While I did awesome on my workouts today, I ate too much at dinner tonight. It was healthy food so I allowed myself to splurge; but right now as I sit on the couch at 10:40 pm, I realize, it was too much. I shouldn't be going to bed this full, healthy or not. :(

I've been reading this book on how to be successful in sales (to help me with work), but interestingly enough, many of the skills discussed in the book apply to other areas of my life. Tonight I was reading about how to achieve your goals, and one thing the author was saying was that you have to really break down the plan you make for yourself. Most people know they want to get from A to B, and they make a plan to do so. But it's what you do in between that matters most; and yet it's the area that most people don't really plan out. Here's what "a plan" (a goal) typically looks like:

A --------------------------------------------- > B

Now at the onset, people set the goal (B), they see it from A, and they get motivated and excited and that motivation is what propels them on the journey. But then they don't really know how to keep the motivation up, so eventually their motivation starts to wane. They try to stay focused on B (the end result), but eventually all of the line in the middle gets in the way. :) So how can you stay motivated to get to your goal? By planning more specifically! The more you prepare for and plan the journey, the easier it is to stay motivated. Having mini goals along the way helps, but how are you going to have mini goals if you don't plan them out first? Suddenly it doesn't seem so daunting, once you know exactly how you're going to get there.

So now you're probably saying..."yeah Diz, I already know this. Blahhhhh...." Well. Let me ask you this. If you already know this, is your plan planned out? Where exactly do you intend to be in 5 years? Are you being specific? Do you know how much you're going to weigh, where you're going to be living, or how much money you're going to be making? Do you want a different job?Or are you saying something like...I want to be more rich. You need to know how much "rich" is first so you can plan exactly how you're going to get "more rich". So...

1) Be very specific with your goals. (This means I need to pick a goal weight. I get it.)
2) Don't be "realistic". Realistic is just picking the lowest possible goal so you don't disappoint yourself. Which also means you let yourself off the hook if you don't get what you really want. Make a real goal, get very specific, and then figure out what it's going to take to get there.
3) Use frames- such as a time frame, to keep yourself on track (maybe it's a weight frame- such as 5 pound increments).
4) Create a plan and don't limit yourself on what you want and how you're going to get it. Remember, be specific!

I love this! I hope this helps you guys as much as it's helping me, even if it's only to realize what you really want. If you're not willing to work for it, do you really deserve it? I'm asking myself this now. If I really want to be a certain weight, what am I willing to do to get to that weight?

D






3 comments:

  1. Just so I get this... :D Let's say your goal (B) weight is 120 pounds. and you're here (A) at say 146--------------> 120. What's your mini goals between 146 and 120? Is it pounds lost or actual tasks achieved--like x number of w/outs or cals or what? :D Deb

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  2. For me, personally, I would probably do a combo- such as for every 5 pounds, I can celebrate with some kind of reward, while also having goals of working out and eating properly to keep me on track. Does that make sense? Time frames help too; so one goal I've made is to try to be at 140 by the end of Jan. The more specific you get with the plan, the less likely you are to fail...? Unless you just really don't want the goal in the first place. Right?

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  3. Okay, so you know I love this because I love giving myself props whenever possible. And that is, in essence, what we're talking about here.

    I make weekly goals, and I (usually) stick to them. This week, I will eat t least a certain amt of fruits and veggies..ir I'll drink at least 8 glasses of water each day or I'll workout at least Monday, Wed and Friday, etc.

    You know I have further to go to get my from my a to be than anyone else we know...and so now you know how I do it. =) You can definitely utilize some of the things too because when you eat 5 fruits and veggies each day or drink the 8 glasses of water that week, you'll be more apt to make other positive choices surrounding it.

    You can do it Diz...just stop letting yourself get overwhelmed by trying to do it all at once.

    Love you!

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