Are You An Action Taker? What Will 2011 Look Like For You?

What does your list say? Same thing as last year?

Aaaahhhhh, those questions again!

Around about now I know there are a lot of people telling themselves what they will do in 2011. Not writing it down or sharing it with people mind you, they’re just saying it to themselves in their head. Did you tell yourself the same things last year and nothing changed? This year will be no different if you do not outline some new strategies on which you can act and take action.

See, I don’t really like New Years resolutions because they’re bullshit most of the time. You can look at the stats and they will confirm that (most people fall of the path to their resolutions by week 3!). The fact that most people wait till the new year to take action on certain goals says enough alone.

I’ll give you an example. I had a conversation with a colleague of mine in September and he said he was tired of the way he felt and looked and he is ready to do something about it……in January. Huh?! Is it just me or does waiting 4 months to do something you are “ready” to do sound crazy? But that is how most new years resolutions look like, they’re goals that keep getting delayed. The chances of success don’t go up because it is another year and January, the chances of success will go up when you get your mind right, outline strategies that will lead you from point A to point B and take ACTION.

I’m not saying to make goals for the next year and go after them.

At the end of each year I reflect on the past year and look at what I have achieved, what I need to improve on, as well as set goals for the next year. When I do this, I write the goals out on paper. Remember, goals that are not written out are just wishes. After I write them out, I also put down what action steps I need to take to achieve these goals (these steps should be as specific as possible).

Let’s dig even deeper. I will give you the goal setting steps that you can put into action (that word again!) and make 2011 or any year after that more successful than you could have imagined. This are some real ninja tactics so drink some Spike and focus when you read this…..and then do something real nuts – act on it! Here are the 3 reasons why you should set your goals in the first place:

It's only ninja if you apply it...

1.  Know the “Why” before you get focused on the “How”. If you know “Why,” you’ll figure out “How.” If the “Why” is big enough, the “How” is easy. Conversely, if “Why” is not identified or significant, then any level of difficulty in the “How” will be enough to defeat you.

I see this all the time. People just want to get in shape but do not really sit down and face themselves (honestly) to determine why they want to reach a certain goal. Whenever it gets really hard and you feel like quitting (it happens to all of us), you have to have a big enough “Why” that will keep you going. Whether the “Why” is because you feel horrible and want to take your life back, you want to get your confidence back and start dating, you just want to make your friends jealous of you, or maybe you want to become the beastliest athlete on the field and show your coach you CAN make it to college on a scholarship, really doesn’t matter as long as that is the “Why” that burns the fire deep within.

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

2. You can’t hit a target you can’t see. The world is goal-oriented. An airplane needs to have a destination set in order to design a flight plan to reach it. When you get in your car, you have to know where you want to end up before you even pull out of the driveway.

Set yourself up for success by being specific with what you want to achieve and when. Then you can break it down into smaller more achievable goals, basically working backwards from the end goal. Example, in the next 6 months (24 weeks) you would like to drop 40 lbs and 15% body fat. Once you break the goal down you will see that to accomplish this you need to lose around 7 lbs and 2% body fat a month, which is around 1.7 lbs and 0.5% body fat a week. This seems much more achievable and that way you can feel the success of achieving each small goal (this is great for the mindset as it builds a success mindset and confidence).

You should also write down the strategies that will help you achieve these goals. For instance:

1. Prepare your meals for the week on a Sunday

2. Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day.

3. Cut down on refined carbs, sugars and starches.

4. Join a gym/hire a trainer/join a boot camp.

5. Get 3 one hour workouts in each week.

…….

This way you can constantly track to see where you can improve and you can assess what changes will improve your results.

3. For what it makes of you.

Set big goals that challenge you to ignite the great potential that lies within you— to become the person you were meant to. As much as I believe in setting achievable goals, I also feel that we should challenge ourselves and push our comfort zones. There really is no limit to what you can achieve. Really (did I say that already?)!

The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.” ~ Jim Rohn

Ok, now that we know why we’re setting goals and we have the “Why”, it’s time to give you the 7 point goal setting checklist. You are going to come back throughout time to make sure you’re establishing objectives with the following guidelines in mind. Without me trying to sound too smart, it just something that will keep you in check and make sure you are doing the things that will get you where you want to go.

1. Don’t just think it – INK IT.

We already mentioned this – which means it’s real important!

Unless you write down your goals, they are often lost in the shuffle and excitement of life, new problems, challenges, and decisions. Eliminate outside interruptions. When we write things down they become more real and it’s an action step that sets things in motion.

2. Suspend reality

Don’t filter, qualify, or judge. In the beginning, don’t factor in experience, resources, or ability. Let the giant that lays sleeping inside you out to play. If you had every skill, resource, or ability in the world, what would you do and what would you set out to accomplish? I constantly hear people start their goal setting with negative thoughts, “Well, I can’t do this because I’m too old”, “I’ve had kids so that’s not possible but….”

Don’t worry, you are not committing yourself; you are simply playing a game and scratching ink on paper. During the process, let it flow. Later on you can set it in stone as far as the “precise” goals you want to reach (and guess what, during the process those may change….just make sure you ink them).

3. Think BIG

You can’t achieve great things with average goals. Think BIG.

What is your BFG? That stands for your Big Freaking (I change that word just a bit) Goal. What is that one thing that it makes your palms sweat a little whenever you think of it? You should set these types of goals for yourself. The magic is breaking them down into smaller goals that seem more achievable and reaching them, creating a success mindset.

“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it.” ~ Michelangelo

4. State in the positive

This is so powerful and one of the main things you have to train yourself to apply day in and day out.

Decide what you want to move toward, not away from. Focusing on your problems will only bring more of them into your life, so be conscious of the phrasing you use to define your goals and objectives.

14Examples: “I am at my ideal weight of X pounds by X (date)” versus “I want to lose 20 pounds.” Or, “I have a positive net worth of X by X (date)” versus “I want to get out of debt.”

You are if you declare=

5. State in the “I AM”

This builds on the previous point and is just as important.

State your goals in the present first person. I am X versus I want X. The latter only reinforces just that—the wanting versus the having. If you write a goal like “I want to be worth millions,” your creative energy will only produce exactly more of that outcome—the “wanting.” If you say, “I am worth millions by X (date),” then your creative power will go to work producing what you have declared to be.

So what are you declaring? Pick up that pen…..

6. Be sure your goals are YOUR goals

Many people set goals that they think they “should” have rather than what they truly want for themselves. Don’t let the goals or expectations of your family, colleagues, or society dictate your what you should set as your path. In fact, if your written goals are not from your true heart and YOUR ambitions, your creative spirit will not work to produce them anyway. All it will do is frustrate you and give you the illusion that you are a failure and not capable, when in actuality you successfully avoided (didn’t achieve) what your inner spirit didn’t really want anyway. That’s deep and it’s real…….remember that!

7. Make sure your goals align with your core values

Some goals aren’t worth going for. Every promise has a price. It is important to be sure you don’t sacrifice your core values to pay for the acquisition of a promise less worthy. Goals must fit your own values, standards, and desires. If they do not meet your needs, you will find it impossible to remain interested or involved in them.

The truth is that  if you are honest with yourself, the things you are really striving for, from the heart, will be aligned with your core values.

You have the steps to successfully set your goals and achieve more than you ever had in 2011. Don’t wait, start the process of goal setting NOW! Your choices will determine what your life will be like so take action on the things you want to achieve.

If you don’t feel YOU in your body and your goal is to change it through fitness, whether it’s losing 30 lbs of fat and getting a flat stomach, feeling confident and sexy to wear the swimsuit you haven’t wore in 10 years, or getting ripped and  ready for the most grueling challenges life will throw at you then find experts that will help you with step by step system to your results, keep you accountable and motivated and guarantee you results then turn to Hocevar Performance and the Renton Results Boot Camp, voted TOP 3 in Best of Western Washington Personal Trainers as well as the most results driven in Seattle and South King County.

The one thing I don’t want you to do is read this blog post and then not do anything. Knowledge is nothing without action. So get to work!

3 Responses to “Are You An Action Taker? What Will 2011 Look Like For You?”

  1. C. J. Brown says:

    Luka,
    Thank you for a blueprint for goal setting…now I will go act. Good stuff.

  2. Aaron says:

    Couldn’t agree more. Far to many people float through life hopeing that things will change. I always tell them “nobody cares what you hope for”! Telle what you are going todo. Put the “I AM”.
    Thanks luka love your post and point blankedness!

  3. [...] NOTE: if you haven’t read it yet, check out my goal setting article that includes a checklist of steps to set and achieve your goals HERE [...]

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