3 tips to achieving any goal

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rebbylicious
rebbylicious Posts: 621 Member
in Getting Started
So you have a big goal this year but feel overwhelmed about how to start? Or you fear that loser feeling you might feel if you fail at it again?
My 3 tips for Achieving your goals:

1. Even a little bit of progress is still moving forward. Often people get carried away with trying to do everything at once and get burned out! Tell yourself to do “some” and often times when you are doing “some” you will feel the urge to do a little bit more. Remember “progress not perfection” is key. Even I tiny bit is still progress toward it. You can walk in baby steps some days and a full sprint the next, just keep going. Imagine if you had a weight loss goal 5 years ago and you only lost 1/4 lb per week? You would still be 65 lbs lighter today. So every little bit adds up!

2. Keep your goals in front of you! Make a goal poster/dream board and put it in a place you will see it daily. Put a motivational quote or inspiring picture as your screensaver! There is something about seeing it regularly that keeps in in your mind and will help you make choices toward it. (Do you need reminders? Set alarms in your phone for a time you are most likely free!

3. You can miss a day but you cannot miss 2 in a row. It’s ok to allow yourself a little slack but set rules for yourself. For example, if your goal is to make art every day, perhaps allow yourself 10 “sick days” per year and keep track of it. You can always start the next day if you miss one, don’t get obsessed with perfection. Make sure they are realistic with your schedule or troubleshoot ways to work around things that can get in your way. Today I wanted to go for a walk but gave myself excuses because I don’t want to be cold... so I did a 3 mile walk workout video.

On a side note, I’m going to do something physical every day (other than my sick days). If you feel like accountability is something you need, feel free to add me. I would love to cheer you on and could use some accountability myself.

Replies

  • SpinforCals
    SpinforCals Posts: 112 Member
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    Good advice
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    I have actively avoided keeping my weight loss goal in front of me. I have found over the years the more I think about it the more stupidly I behave trying to accomplish it. I call that trying to strangle time. It takes time to lose weight and you can try to strangle it for faster results but it will (at least for me) only lead to failure faster.

    I try to live the day inside a calorie deficit and try to have an overall happy day in the process. If I do that the weight loss takes care of itself. It can sometimes take weeks to show up on the scale but it always shows up as long as I am in a deficit. Weight loss, for me, is a bonus prize.

    That is not to say that others may not respond well to dream boards and the like but I am not that person.

    I also do not follow the 2 days in a row rule. That would interfere with vacations and other planned events. My rule is that I always log even if it is a guess and that I always have a plan even if I am eating more than I actually need. This is what is right for me but it may not be right for others.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    rebbylicious wrote: »
    So you have a big goal this year but feel overwhelmed about how to start? Or you fear that loser feeling you might feel if you fail at it again?
    My 3 tips for Achieving your goals:

    1. Even a little bit of progress is still moving forward. Often people get carried away with trying to do everything at once and get burned out! Tell yourself to do “some” and often times when you are doing “some” you will feel the urge to do a little bit more. Remember “progress not perfection” is key. Even I tiny bit is still progress toward it. You can walk in baby steps some days and a full sprint the next, just keep going. Imagine if you had a weight loss goal 5 years ago and you only lost 1/4 lb per week? You would still be 65 lbs lighter today. So every little bit adds up!

    2. Keep your goals in front of you! Make a goal poster/dream board and put it in a place you will see it daily. Put a motivational quote or inspiring picture as your screensaver! There is something about seeing it regularly that keeps in in your mind and will help you make choices toward it. (Do you need reminders? Set alarms in your phone for a time you are most likely free!

    3. You can miss a day but you cannot miss 2 in a row. It’s ok to allow yourself a little slack but set rules for yourself. For example, if your goal is to make art every day, perhaps allow yourself 10 “sick days” per year and keep track of it. You can always start the next day if you miss one, don’t get obsessed with perfection. Make sure they are realistic with your schedule or troubleshoot ways to work around things that can get in your way. Today I wanted to go for a walk but gave myself excuses because I don’t want to be cold... so I did a 3 mile walk workout video.

    On a side note, I’m going to do something physical every day (other than my sick days). If you feel like accountability is something you need, feel free to add me. I would love to cheer you on and could use some accountability myself.

    I think this is mostly fine advice if it works for you, but #3 is potentially dangerous. It's completely fine and sometimes healthy to miss a day, or two, or more of whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. This is not a job; you don't have a limited number of sick days. If you want to work out but you have the flu, for example, pushing yourself to work out anyway could be dangerous to yourself and those around you. It could take a few weeks for you to feel like working out again. Be reasonable about your body and its needs.

    Agreed. It also pertains to eating. You should not try to be in a calorie deficit while sick or recovering. It just slows down your ability to heal.

    I do not personally like to break or bend rules so I try my best to design rules that are flexible enough to handle how messy life can be at times. Others may not have this particular hangup. My first priority when it comes to health is that my immediate health comes first and my future health comes second. I am motivated to keep building a better future health state so I do my best to always tip the scale in that favor but not if it means prolonged sickness or injury. When I was young and far dumber I chose to keep exerting myself while I had a high fever from an infection. I, of course, was forced to stop when I became so dizzy I started slipping in and out of consciousness.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    NovusDies wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    rebbylicious wrote: »
    So you have a big goal this year but feel overwhelmed about how to start? Or you fear that loser feeling you might feel if you fail at it again?
    My 3 tips for Achieving your goals:

    1. Even a little bit of progress is still moving forward. Often people get carried away with trying to do everything at once and get burned out! Tell yourself to do “some” and often times when you are doing “some” you will feel the urge to do a little bit more. Remember “progress not perfection” is key. Even I tiny bit is still progress toward it. You can walk in baby steps some days and a full sprint the next, just keep going. Imagine if you had a weight loss goal 5 years ago and you only lost 1/4 lb per week? You would still be 65 lbs lighter today. So every little bit adds up!

    2. Keep your goals in front of you! Make a goal poster/dream board and put it in a place you will see it daily. Put a motivational quote or inspiring picture as your screensaver! There is something about seeing it regularly that keeps in in your mind and will help you make choices toward it. (Do you need reminders? Set alarms in your phone for a time you are most likely free!

    3. You can miss a day but you cannot miss 2 in a row. It’s ok to allow yourself a little slack but set rules for yourself. For example, if your goal is to make art every day, perhaps allow yourself 10 “sick days” per year and keep track of it. You can always start the next day if you miss one, don’t get obsessed with perfection. Make sure they are realistic with your schedule or troubleshoot ways to work around things that can get in your way. Today I wanted to go for a walk but gave myself excuses because I don’t want to be cold... so I did a 3 mile walk workout video.

    On a side note, I’m going to do something physical every day (other than my sick days). If you feel like accountability is something you need, feel free to add me. I would love to cheer you on and could use some accountability myself.

    I think this is mostly fine advice if it works for you, but #3 is potentially dangerous. It's completely fine and sometimes healthy to miss a day, or two, or more of whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. This is not a job; you don't have a limited number of sick days. If you want to work out but you have the flu, for example, pushing yourself to work out anyway could be dangerous to yourself and those around you. It could take a few weeks for you to feel like working out again. Be reasonable about your body and its needs.

    Agreed. It also pertains to eating. You should not try to be in a calorie deficit while sick or recovering. It just slows down your ability to heal.

    I do not personally like to break or bend rules so I try my best to design rules that are flexible enough to handle how messy life can be at times. Others may not have this particular hangup. My first priority when it comes to health is that my immediate health comes first and my future health comes second. I am motivated to keep building a better future health state so I do my best to always tip the scale in that favor but not if it means prolonged sickness or injury. When I was young and far dumber I chose to keep exerting myself while I had a high fever from an infection. I, of course, was forced to stop when I became so dizzy I started slipping in and out of consciousness.

    For me, the worst is feeling well enough to want to exercise, but not actually being well enough to exercise. Then I just sit around the house complaining about not running.

    Last spring I was stupid about my training and kept running through minor, nagging knee pain. It felt fine on race day, so I taped it up and raced. I set a PR and then my knee promptly called it quits, after which I spent about 8 months rehabbing ITBS. I'm still not totally confident about that knee. I'd have been far better off if I'd rested, and I definitely knew better at the time.

    tl;dr: sometimes your body needs a break!

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