“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”
– Pablo Picasso
Have you ever wished you had a crystal ball that allowed you to see your future and what that future holds with absolute certainty? I know I have! Although we cannot see our future, we have some power over the unknown through the lifestyle choices we make every day. Research proves that the way we choose to live our lives, how we move, think, and eat all have a profound residual effect on the quality of life and health we experience in the future. Even when genetically predisposed to specific illnesses and diseases, our lifestyle habits can dictate if or when these ailments will afflict us.
Individual lifestyles are an accumulation of all the little seemingly insignificant choices we make during our waking hours. Although each action may seem unimportant on its own, the accumulated effect of repeating these actions over time begins to shape and determine the future we experience. When we become aware of the small things we repeatedly do, we can purposefully incorporate positive actions and ultimately alter our future quality of life. Just as quickly as unintended actions and habits lead to unfavorable outcomes, you can implement new intentional practices to create more favorable results starting today.
If you have not taken the time to evaluate your current lifestyle habits, please do not skip this valuable step before moving on. Take a few moments to review the Tips to help you evaluate your lifestyle habits post.
It is time to dream big and ask yourself this one question
“If my life had no limits, what would it look like?”
When setting goals, no matter what they are, we need to think BIG! Bigger than we think possible because achieving our dreams is more attainable than we realize, especially when supported with a plan and action. We can be our own worst enemy when it comes to personal improvements because many believe that positive change comes from life-altering modifications that we do not enjoy doing. This belief could not be further from the truth. The truth is, significant changes come from tiny daily actions performed consistently over time that accumulate into something big. It’s the consistency that marks success, not the size of the act.
This fact of life holds true even for those “overnight success” stories that we hear about in the media. They didn’t happen overnight but resulted from accumulated daily action steps completed by this person we now idolize. If you want to know the honest “back of the house” story, dig deeper into how this idolized individual achieved the “highlight reel” you see in the media!
Now it’s time to design your own “highlight reel” and set unlimited goals for yourself!
What do you envision for your future self?
There are no limits here; dream and think as big as you possibly can. I encourage you to write your dreams down in a journal or a notepad, preferably in your handwriting. I am a big advocate of writing goals and objectives in my handwriting because it makes it more personal than a typed generic version.
Determining your most important focused goal:
Now that you’ve determined your most prominent dreams, it is time to review your list and select which ones are the closest to your real-life situation at this moment. Do not cross anything off or dismiss any of your dreams as unattainable. What may seem too far-fetched today may be closer to reality tomorrow. You don’t know what opportunities the future holds for you, therefore do not coss off anything! Review your biggest dreams list and choose just a few targeted goals (1-3) that you know are the closest to where you are in life.
Get real in establishing your first step:
Now comes the essential part of successfully reaching your goal, putting it into an actionable and doable daily act. Without this most crucial part of growth and achievement, your life desires will always remain an unattainable dream. Goals must be met with action to become a reality, and there is no other way. My advice is to always set yourself up for success by making each action as simple and easy for you to accomplish as you possibly can. The goal is to succeed, not fail, so ensure the activity you choose is one you can and will repeatedly do consistently over time!
For more tips and ideas on implementing one simple step at a time, complete our FREE self-guided digital mini-course - 2-week to Re-Boot COVID19 Rescue Plan. The course download provides various small actions you can build into your lifestyle to improve your LEAN habits.
Always remember that most of us fail to accomplish our goals, not because the goal was too big, but because the individual step was not small enough. I have found that unmet goals are generally a result of taking on too much at once, planning actions that are too big and far from the realities of our current life situation, and being unrealistic about what we can do. Change your mindset, take smaller actionable steps that will lead to the future outcomes you desire.
Which one goal are you going to start with and put all your focus on right now?
Once you have decided on your ONE THING, begin writing a list of what actions you need to do to reach this goal. Think of everything and anything you have heard, read or personally tried concerning reaching this goal and pick one thing you can do every day starting today. Make sure to choose a positive action that you know you will do because it almost seems too easy. The objective is to begin establishing a habit of doing this one thing, and then you can push yourself a bit further from there.
If you found this post helpful, please share it on your social media and with friends and family. Check back with us next Sunday when we set exercise goals and begin putting them into action.
Comments