Today's article is a little different than ones I have written in the past. Today we’ll be looking at what it takes to get something you really want. The title makes it sound so easy doesn’t it? But in reality we all know that in most scenarios it is not.
At some point in your life, you have all wanted something. Some of you may have passed it off as being impossible to achieve, some of you may have attempted to achieve it but failed, and some of you have achieved it. So what is the difference maker? The difference is that the first person didn’t really WANT it, the second person only somewhat wanted it, and the third person REALLY wanted it!
Now clearly some things are unachievable or out of reach. For example; If you make $40k/yr you likely won’t make a million dollars by next year no matter how badly you want it… but that doesn’t mean you can’t start taking the right steps today to eventually have that million dollars, even if it takes 30 years! If you truly want something, you have to be willing to work at it no matter how long it may take! You would have to start by building your skill base to become more marketable, learning and reading day in and day out, building your resume and applying to jobs every single day, eventually landing a much higher paying job or even starting your own business. The same goes for virtually everything in life, almost* (be realistic here people!) anything can be achieved if you WANT it and are willing to SACRIFICE and WORK for it... health and fitness goals included!
Along the same lines of the million dollars by next month idea, it's absolutely not realistic for someone who is unhealthy and overweight to lose 50 pounds after a week or two of working out. However, it IS 100% reasonable and attainable (eventually) if you WANT it bad enough, and if you are willing to work at it for as long as it takes to get there. If you lose 10lbs then decide to quit because it's not happening fast enough, it's ONLY because you do not want it badly enough… not because it is not possible.
It all really comes down to 3 “simple” steps…
1- Figure out exactly what it is you want. (be sure to have a concrete goal, not abstract). Be sure it is an attainable and realistic goal!
It is important to know the difference between a concrete and abstract goal for this first step. An abstract goal would be “I want a new job so I can make more money.” Sorry, not good enough! Your goal should sound more like this, “My goal is to get a job in engineering (replace engineering with whatever field you studied/are pursuing) where I make a minimum of $50k/year. A health and fitness-related example could be “My goal is to lose 50 pounds by this date next year.” or “My goal is to go to the gym at least 4 days per week for the entire next month.” The difference between concrete and abstract is that the concrete goals can be TRACKED, while the abstract can not. If you can not track your progress on something, how do you ensure that you are continually making progress in the first place?!
2- Okay now you know what it is you want, and you have a concrete goal. From here you have to figure out EXACTLY what it will take for you to get to your goal.
Let's say your goal is to lose 50 pounds by this date next year. Do you know exactly what you’ll have to do to get there? Chances are you do not, so you would have to seek out a qualified professional (personal trainer, health coach, etc…) who could write out a detailed plan for you. Lets use the other example of going to the gym at least 4 days per week. You might be thinking to yourself, “that's easy, I know exactly what I have to do already… I have to go to the gym 4 days per week for a month!” Well that's true, but that's not ALL you have to do. You also have to block off at least an hour on workout days, you need a backup plan incase something important comes up, etc. And getting there is the easy part… once you are there you then need to have some idea what you are actually doing (another topic for another day!).
3- Time to set you plan in action, and see it through till the goal is achieved.
This is where most people fail, because this is also the hardest and longest part of the process. Many people already have their goal 100% figured out and they KNOW 100% what it takes to get there… so they are then on step 3 already, unfortunately some people spend their entire lives on step 3.
So if you’re someone who has failed on step 3 before, you have to ask yourself “why”? There is a reason you didn’t achieve what you wanted, and you must determine what that reason is before you’re able to either try again or attempt another goal. The main reason most people do not achieve their goal, is simply that they didn’t WANT it badly enough to follow through with the necessary steps to get there.
Lets pick on the weight loss goal again for example. Everyone by this point should know that weight loss is achieved through a healthy diet and regular exercise. Unfortunately, many peoples weak spot is food. People know that they shouldn’t eat fried foods and pizza and cookies and brownies and ice cream when trying to lose weight… yet they often do anyways… WHY IS THIS? Simple, they value the instant gratification of that food more than they value the “far off” gratification from losing the weight. They WANT the food right then and there more than they WANT the eventual weight loss.
What it really all boils down to is this… if you WANT something badly enough (and it's a realistic and attainable goal), you WILL achieve it. If you do NOT want something badly enough, you will not likely achieve it. Nobody ever said it would be easy… regardless of what your goal may be. It will likely be hard, VERY hard. Sacrifices will likely have to be made. Do you WANT that goal badly enough to make those sacrifices? That questions can only be answered by you, and you alone.
Being a personal trainer and health coach, i SO SO SO wish I could give someone the willpower, drive, and determination to follow my exercise routine and diet plan perfectly so they could achieve all of their health and fitness goals. Unfortunately that's just not how it works. They have to WANT it for themselves badly enough to be willing to make the necessary sacrifices, I can only lend my knowledge and expertise in the hopes that they truly WANT it.
That being said, what do you WANT badly enough? Time to go get it!
Until next time, Stay FUSED!
Brian Lepine
Fitness Fusion
413-977-3938