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Two Types of Goals
You have a goal, right? This is a fitness related blog, so if you are reading it you might have goals like lose X lbs, fit in your clothes better, have more energy, get stronger, all of those, etc. You probably have other goals that are unrelated to fitness. Pay off school loans or other debt, save up for something, etc.
When you have goals, they can be subjective goals or objective goals:
Subjective Goals
- “I want to feel better and lose weight!”
- “I want to save up for a vacation!”
- “I want to pay off my school loans!”
- “I want to learn to play guitar!”
These types of goals rarely lead to taking action.
Instead, you are more likely to reach your goals if you make them specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.
Objective Goals
- “I want to lose 10 lbs in 12 weeks.”
- “I want to pay off my school debt of $20,000, 5 years early.”
- “I want to save up for a vacation to Iceland by next year, which is going to cost $10,000.”
- “I want to be able to play Stairway to Heaven by my next birthday in 11 months.”
Those are great! But they are lacking one thing, and that’s a plan. A plan to take specific action.
So you want to lose 10 lbs in 12 weeks without doing a fad diet? HOW do you plan to achieve that? You need a plan.
Goals With a Plan
Objective Goals With A Plan
- “I want to lose 10 lbs in 12 weeks. I’m going to track my calorie and protein intake, and lift weights 3 times a week with the program Chuck wrote for me.”
- “I want to pay off my school debt of $20,000, 5 years early. I’m going to limit my restaurant meals to 1 per month and put the savings of roughly $100 per month into another loan payment.”
- “I want to save up for a vacation to Iceland by next year, which is going to cost $10,000. I’m going to audit my finances, cut out discretionary spending, and put that money into a savings account.”
- “I want to be able to play Stairway to Heaven by my next birthday in 11 months. I’m going to hire a guitar teacher this week, go to lessons twice a week, and practice at home at least once per day.”
Without that action plan, it’s probably not going to happen.
Why Else is a Plan Important?
You’ve probably seen this image, or a similar one, about the winding path of success.
Getting to your goals is rarely going to be simple, even with a plan. There are going to be road bumps, and detours and your success may depend on how well you navigate those without giving up. I’d go as far as to say that your success is simply a summary of what you’ve learned from your failures.
So how does planning come into this? The more that you have a plan, and stick to it, the less that it matters when you simply cannot stick to it.
It’s like building up an emergency fund that you hope you never need to use, but if you didn’t have it, you’d be screwed.
My personal example is that I plan to get as much sleep as possible, as often as possible, so that when I choose to stay out late and lose some sleep as a result, it matters much less. Compare that to if I stayed up later every day, wasting time on the phone/laptop scrolling through social media.
Also, my family has a really solid budget so that when I want to go out it’s not a problem. I also plan my meals in advance most of the time, so that when I’m at a restaurant, it’s merely a blip on the radar.
So, what are your goals, and how are you going to reach them?
Need some additional help?
Lastly, If you need some help on implementing strategies like this and moving toward your fitness goals, I can help. Check out the coaching application here: Coaching Application. I hope to hear from you soon and thanks for reading!