New year, new goals and thoughts what we want to achieve – most fail after 3 weeks and I will show you how to avoid that.
In order to crush your goals in 2018 there are a few key points which need to become habitual.
Step one:
Set your goal
Sounds easy but most people set the foundation for failure here and there. I believe it is essential to be emotionally attached to your goal. If you do not want it from the bottom of your soul, you will not reach the consistency needed day by day to reach that target. Do not be afraid to set too big goals! Most set the desired barrier too low and lose motivation half way. It can be a scary, big, unrealistic goal that most around you shake their heads when you speak it out loud. Do not listen to ANYONE. You can reach any goal that you want. Take Philip Knight, founder of Nike as an example. He started out selling Japanese shoes in out of a van as a broke student. He had the desire to create something special and meaningful and worked on it day in and out. I am not saying your huge goal will be achieved right away or even in near future. You need to have the vision though to get there.
Step two:
Planning
It does not matter if your goal is to shed 10kg and have a fit body, to manage stress better or to improve a relationship. You will need planning to get there, as minor and unimportant it might seem. Buy a journal book where you can write things down on paper (studies support this tactic, being more efficient and more likely to achieve set goals). Take 5min before going to bed to roughly plan out the next day in advance. You can plan it in blocks with things you should have done. Do not make a list, since this could overwhelm us. Think in blocks not a list you have to tick off. After I started thinking in blocks, I am much more present in the moment. When you are in a block, this is the only thing you will be thinking about - no distractions.
Example block of me with full work day:
5:40am wake up, bullet proof coffee, take HRV, visualize, relax. Bike to pool.
6:40 – 8:15 am: Swim and bike back home.
8:30 – 10:00am: Bike turbo trainer indoors.
10 – 11:30: Shower, cook, relax with girlfriend and leave to work.
12 – 20:00: Work
20 – 22:30: Bike home, read & relax with girlfriend. Mental recap of day what went well. Plan day ahead.
22:30: Make sure I get in 8 hours of sleep (less than 7 will make me feel unbalanced und feel stressed)
Do not even start thinking “but I don’t have time to...” – stop that. You have time. Get up earlier, stop watching Netflix or whatever you are wasting 2 hours a day on. If you really want something and you have developed the deep desire to achieve it, anything will be possible.
Step three:
Executing
This is the part people start to struggle with over longer periods of time. Anyone can keep up motivation for a week or two, but doing it for months day in and day out is more difficult. First of all, it is important to know that your plan will fail to some extend. Now you think “whats this guy saying, first he tells us to make a plan be super badass and blind in executing it” – no that’s what you thought. I didn’t say you should deviate from your goal.
You have to be rigid on your outcome and flexible with your approach. You probably know this friend where you think that he has it so easy and everything seems to be coming to him at ease. Highly likely is that he just has the right mind set and systems that make that possible. We all have those moments where life gets in the way of whatever we had planned for the day. That is normal and even the most successful people experience it. The art is to cope with that. Do not get frustruated if your neatly planned out day does not go exactly according to plan. You will need to gather experience on how to build an effective and stress-free plan. Most people think that creating plans puts pressure on your shoulders to achieve it. As controversial as it may sound, it does the exact opposite. How many times did you go through your day having lightning like flashs of thoughts of what you HAVE to do today and you get immediately stressed out about it. By writing things down and planning it for a day where you actually have time to get it done you bring peace to your mind. You can forget about it for the time being since you know it is on the list (even if you hate to do it, procrastination will just pain your subconscious and make you feel restless, get it over with then relax and feel good about it).
That being said, it is just as important to not let feelings get in the way of your desired goal. I am not saying you have to walk through the streets like the Terminator just executing block after block. That will get you exactly nowhere. Why do I know? I did it in the past. Just being so stubborn and driven by a desire I was not really emotionally attached to, I blindly pushed my path in that direction- true German style. The result is no secret and many people struggle with it day by day not knowing what to do or how to get out of it. I avoid using these words since just speaking them out loud will bring you into a negative mindset, examples are “burn out” “depressed” “exhausted” and so forth. I was on good track towards this thing they all call “burn out” until my self-awareness took over after all and I changed things completely.
Nowadays, I am doing way more day in and out and I do not feel stressed. Since I know exactly where I want to go and have that huge vision, things became so much easier. I used to struggle to get out of bed early to bike 20min to the pool and hop into cold water just to torture my body and mind when others are still sleeping. With the right mindset you can turn it and think: “I get up earlier than everyone else and use the time I have been given on this planet to do what I love and to reach my goal. I will push myself in that swim set since I started this out of pure joy of moving. Not even the fullest breast-stroking swim lane can stop me from enjoying that swim set. I will exit this pool with a smile, no matter how bad or weak I felt. I will execute it at the best of my ability that given day”. If you are not emotionally attached it will not last.
If you feel healthy, slept, ate and drank well – do not give your mind space to wander when you hear the alarm at 6am. Keep momentum, get up and go. No analyzing or doubting anymore. Do not let your particular feeling of tiredness affect your big goal.
Remember why you do it. Again, the emotional attachment to your goal is the foundation of developing a momentum day in and day out to get you wherever you want to be.
Become the unstoppable you!
All the best and happy new year,
Matti
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