Well. . . .

Yesterday was the day….January 1st, 2017.

The day that you told everyone or at least yourself that things were going to change. . .

The day that you decided was going to be the day that you do things differently. . .

So . . .Tell me.

What did you do differently?

What steps did you put into action today?

What plan did you create for yourself?

No offense but I’m going to go out a limb here and say Nothing.

I mean I get it. . . .

It probably went a little something like this:

It was Sunday. . . .

You were up late last night. . . .

You have a ton of holiday left overs to eat. . . .

You have Monday off from work. . . .

Yeah . . . .I’ll start Tuesday

But what happens on Tuesday. . . .?

You go back to work…..and have to work late.

The kids have school and all the extra activities that go along with it.

A snowstorm comes and you get stuck shoveling.

And. . . Oh yeah…This weekend your family is coming into town to visit.

Next thing you know it’s Sunday again and the cycle just continues.

Suddenly. . .It looks like 2018 is going to have to be your year.

So…

Why can’t you ever follow through on their resolutions?

Why do you get stuck in what seems to be this endless cycle?

The problem is that you never took the next step.

That is the problem with a “Resolution” . . . It’s only ONE of the steps.

A “RESOLUTION” is only a DECISION to do or not to do something. . . .

I am going to create a healthier lifestyle.

I am going to lose weight.

I am going to read more.

I will not eat sweets.

I am not going to smoke anymore.

A decision is nothing without the acton behind it to make it happen.

The FOUR steps to successfully achieving a goal.

Step 1: Appreciation

The first step to achieving your goals actually starts with first going back and reviewing where it is you came from and appreciating what you have accomplished. This is key to moving forward.

I reviewed this in another blog that you can check out HERE

You may remember my famous (possibly ACCIDENTALLY plagiarized) quote:

“First, you have to appreciate where you came from and all that you have accomplished along the way. Only then will you truly recognize where it is you need to go.”

– Coach O.B. –

Step 2: Decision

This is the “Resolution” or the decision that you are going to make a change. In order to make this decision you need to first ask yourself the important question:

“What Do I Want To Create In 2017”?

Honestly, this can be the hardest part of the whole process because most people never think about what they really want.

I mean REALLY REALLY want.

That’s the most important part of this “decision”

You have to decide on something that is extremely meaningful and close to you.

A superficial statement of “I want _____” will not work.

You have to be emotionally invested in the GOAL that you are DECIDING to go after. . .

If you’re not?

Maybe it’s not the right goal.

Step 3: Action

How are you going to do it?

How are you going to track it?

It’s one thing to say that you’re going to do something but to actually do it is a completely different story.

This where most people fall off. . . They get an idea of what whey want but never make a plan for how to get it.

The best way to take action on a goal is to reverse engineer the process for achieving it.

Start at the end and work your way backwards.  

For Example: Let’s reverse engineering the goal of losing 20 pounds in 3 Months.

**Notice the goal is specific, measurable, realisitic and there is a time table.**

Losing 20 pounds in 3 months = 6.6 pounds per month which = 1.65 pounds per week.

See what I did there?  

I took this big goal that could be very overwhelming and broke it down into much smaller goals which are much easier to digest.

Ler’s break it down even further . . .

What would I need to do to lose 1.65 pounds per week?

– Complete 3 training sessions per week

– Eat Protein and Vegetables at each meal

– Eliminate refined sugars from my diet

– Drink 60 oz. of water each day

– Sleep 7-8 hours each night

Now, there are a ton of different actions I can list here to describe what needs to be done to lose those 20 pounds but remember we always want to be confident we can complete our actions.

What you should notice is that each one of the actions that is listed above can be measured and tracked.

So for example in my journal I might have something like this:

Training Sessions – ( _ / 36 )  **3x/Week = 36 total training sessions in 90 days) 

Sleep 7 – 8 Hours – ( _ / 90 )  ** 90 Nights of Sleep to Measure

I thik that you get the point . . .

What I did is take a BIG goal of lose 20 pounds and then I broke it down to ACTIONABLE steps that I can start with TODAY.

It’s much less overwhelming to look at the ACTION you can take TODAY to succeed rather than the long winding path to reach your overall goal.

Find your ONE THING and get after it.

Step 4: Accountability

How are you going to keep yourself on track?

How are you going to reward yourself when you get accomplish it?

The last step to successfully achieve your goal is to put a system in place to keep yourself ACCOUNTABLE.

I think the best way to do this is to have a COACH.

Look at every top athlete, top performer, top business person, top pet groomer….doesn’t matter the field……I’d bet anything that they have a COACH.

Everyone should have one.

I have one myself.

Why?

To keep me accountable.  

To guide me.  

To get feedback. 

To push me to be the BEST version of myself.

Don’t worry .  .There are other ways to keep yourself accountable.

A support group . . . Create or join (cough cough…O.B. Training) a group of friends and family to keep each other accountable.

Literally it’s that simple.  . . Get some friends together and say “Hey let’s share our goals with eachother and kick each others ass’s if we don’t stay on track”

BOOM! Accountability done.

Use a journal . . . Take the reverse engineering method that I showed you above and draw it out in a journal.

I love this idea too and use it myself every quarter for my 90 Day Outcomes.

You can use an electronic journal but for me there’s something about using pen and paper that makes it more REAL.

This can be a place where you mesure and track your progress as well as reflect back on why you have or haven’t stayed on track.

Just like a scientist, the more data you have the more likely you are to be able to repeat results or make calculated adjustments along the way.

Try out one of these methods and if you don’t think they’re working I’m pretty sure they sell some wrist band now that will shock you every time you screw up. . . . Maybe that’s more your style?

Have Fun!

This time of year is hectic, stressful and often overwhelming…especially when everyone starts asking “what’s your new years resolutions?”

Don’t let it get the best of you.  Have fun with the process.

I mean think about it. . . You can literally do anything you want if you follow this process and stick to it.

That should be exciting!

Not stressful.

So the next time someone asks “What’s your new years resolution?”

Politely respond with: “I’m sorry but I don’t make resolutions, I make an appreciation list of my accomplishments from last year and then I decide on the goals I would like to achieve this year. From there, I reverse engineer the process of achieving them into monthly, weekly, and daily actionable steps.  I also just hired a coach and started journaling to make myself accountable…..What’s yours?”

Happy New Year and Best of Luck Achieving your 2017 goals!