By Brian White | Fitness
Perhaps in no other aspect of our lives do we learn to stay in a comfort zone like we do with our health. Personal trainers, nutritionists and life coaches encourage you to set small, realistic and “achievable” goals in order to build momentum, which has merit for a limited number of people. You are looking for “small wins” but what inevitably happens is the smallest of obstacles shows up and it completely derails your path.
We stay in our comfort zones by designing goals that inspire no heart, no desire and no courage. Perhaps the reason so many people fail in their weight loss attempt is because their goals are too small, too realistic and not inspirational enough.
The drive for real change — the kind of change that gets you out of bed in the morning — comes from a deep, powerful hunger and a desire to do something big and meaningful. Maybe your goals have not been big enough, clear enough and inspirational enough for you to achieve them.
You want to change? Change your body? Change your life? Then do not under any circumstances allow yourself to settle on a goal of losing five pounds when you need to lose 50 — that is uninspiring.
If you want to be clear and driven, make the goal so big and shiny that you can’t stop thinking about it. Make it a goal that scares you a little bit, that takes you out of your comfort zone; this is the kind of change that can change your life. Be brave enough to take action, test different things, fail, get embarrassed for trying, fail more, get up and smile and keep moving. This is courage and it’s the only approach to change that will help you reach your deepest desires.
Do not be afraid to set your goals high and come up short. It is more about the daily habits and your willpower to achieve them than it is about hitting a massive goal. But, I have seen enough clients firsthand to know if they are not inspired enough they are going to let a minor roadblock halt their progress.
I want to give you some tools to help you set big, hairy, audacious goals. The first rule is you need to be crystal clear on your goal. Not only what you want, but also what you don’t want. An example would be that I want to lose 50 pounds, but I don’t want to lose a connection with my family. You don’t want to levy an all-out assault on your goal and be miserable at the end as a result.
The second rule is the “Start/Stop.” In order to reach a huge goal you also need to be clear about what you need to start doing and what you need to stop doing. I need to begin to exercise for 60 minutes a day, and I need to stop snacking when I get home from work each night.
The third rule is to stack habits. In order to reach new goals you need to find places to stack habits each day. An example would be after I walk the dog each morning, I go directly to the gym. The more you can stack healthy habits onto habits you already have instilled, the less willpower it will take each day.
Take an hour today and sit down and come up with several rules for yourself. Write these down and keep them with you each and every day. Read them several times a day. Post them everywhere. This is your new rulebook to achieve massive results.
I hope this helps you look at weight loss and health in a different light, maybe this will be the new viewpoint you need to achieve the health and body you deeply desire. Do not heed the advice of the “realists” or let yourself be robbed of grand ambition by people who tell you to set “smart” goals. Fire up your will and create the desire that will change your life.
