For those looking to change their life though the setting and achieving of new goals we wish you all the best on your new path. After making the decision to change your life and set out a set of goals you wish to achieve I’m sure you had feelings of excitement, nervousness maybe even a little fear of the unknown. Hopefully there was also some feeling of belief that you can and will achieve your goals. To give yourself the best chance of success we discuss some tips below to give yourself the best chance of achieving your goals.
Set up your plan of attack to achieve your goals
You’ve outlined the goals you want to achieve however what are your plans to achieve these? Do you have a plan in place to help you achieve these goals? This plan doesn’t have to be the most intricately written document or something that tracks your future plans down to the second however it does need to have an outline of setting out how you plan to achieve your goal.
Let’s say you aren’t in the best physical shape that you’ve ever been in and you are struggling with your weight and have set a fitness goal such as to lose 10kg or to run 5km in under 25 minutes.
To enable your best chance of success you would want to outline how you plan to achieve these goals, what will your daily and weekly training plan look like, what will your daily and weekly diet look like? If you need help with your training and diet, which personal trainer or dietitian will you be using? Which gym will you be training at, how often will you need to purchase food for your new diet or supplements to help you with your goal?
The more detail that goes into this plan of attack the more likely you will achieve your goals. This also includes setting up a detailed daily and weekly timetable. Make sure you have your days planned well in advance. The less you need to think about things and things become a routine the surer you are of becoming successful.
Having to think about what you need to do for the day takes up too mental resources, resources you will need when you get tired or sore when chasing your fitness goal. It’s a lot easier to not do a workout or skip a meal that hasn’t been planned for than one that is in your calendar and is booked in and all you need to do is show up and train.
Set up a quality and easy to follow routine to achieve your goals
Further to the above point where we talked about planning, the quicker you set up a quality and easy to follow routine the better your chances of success will be. Let’s use the fitness goal example again and say you have mapped out gym training sessions as part of your plan to achieve your goal.
Set up a routine that allows you to have the best training sessions you can and fits in the best with your lifestyle priorities. This may mean you set up an early morning training session as this allows you the most time and energy to focus on your session.
With your early morning gym routine, this might entail setting up your gym bag/equipment the night before so all you need to do is to wake up and head to the session.
The same goes with your diet. Make sure you have all the healthy ingredients, vitamins or health shakes that you are taking on your new regime ready so all you need to do is cook, or shake or consume these. The better and easier your routine, the better your chances of success.
Change your environment to help you achieve your goals
It makes sense that if you keep the same routine and a similar environment which led to where you currently are in life, chances are you will struggle to achieve your new goals. Sticking with the fitness/weight goal example, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds this will be a lot harder to do if you don’t change the environment that led you to where you currently are.
This may mean getting rid of the junk food that is in your house, cutting back on boozy nights out with friends surrounding yourself who have achieved what you are looking to achieve. Or this may mean finding a new gym which will take you out of your comfort zone with more focus and effort than you are normally used to which will help you reach your goal.
If your goal will involve you working at a desk, such as writing a book, make sure your office area is conducive to productive work. Look at ergonomic chairs or support, have natural light and air where possible, maybe even some pictures or a plant.
Whatever changes that needed to be made to achieve your goals, do it.
Take action and don’t think about things for the first month or so
It’s easy to spend time in the reeds of planning your goals, setting up the routines or even finding a way to procrastinate from actually going out and achieving these new goals. Some people may have a fear of failure, a fear that people may laugh at them if they don’t achieve their goals, there may even be a fear of change.
Whatever it is, it’s not strong enough to overcome your desire for change and your desire to achieve these new goals. Take that leap and don’t look back! If you get knocked down, get back up. If you had a bad training session or a bad writing session, put that to the back of your mind and focus on the next one.
Yes you may need to make some minor tweaks to your routine and show flexibility, particularly if a work or family emergency comes up but keep your goals first and foremost in your focus.
Give yourself a month where you totally commit to this new approach (with the possibility of some small timetable adjustments) and watch what you achieve in that first month! After that first month check in to see where you are on your goals journey, make sure you are on track, making any changes that need to be made then keep going and keep achieving!
As Thomas Jefferson wrote “If you want something you’ve never had you must be willing to do something you’ve never done”. Having the courage to set life changing goals isn’t easy and taking that leap to achieve these goals requires some effort and planning. When looking to achieve your goals everything must be put under the microscope to help you get better.
Plan out your approach, set up a routine that is nearly guaranteed for success and above all else go all in. Once you’ve had a month of so in this new approach, this new routine, where are you at? How are you coming along in the grand scheme of your goals?
There may need to be some slight tweaks that need to be made after that first month or so, particularly with your timetable however the quicker you stick to your new routine, the quicker it will become habit and the more likelihood you will achieve the goals you have set.
Go all in, don’t look back at your old you and embrace the journey of your future success!