Are you sick of not reaching the goals that you set for yourself? Well, anyone who ever achieved something great, did so with a plan. Even if they didn’t fully understand what they were trying to achieve, they at least started with a plan. Here it is January 3rd and many resolutions have begun to take shape. Maybe yours is to lose a few pounds, become stronger, more flexible or even eat healthier. Well none of those things happen by accident. Those are all goals that are only attainable with a plan that breaks down your goal into tiny achievements and tasks. The most powerful advice that I can give anyone, for any goal, is to just WIN THE DAY!
Every night before you go to bed, write down the three most important tasks that you must get done the next day to reach your goals. When you wake up, look at the day as a game and the name of the game is WINNING. To win you must accomplish the three most important tasks for your day. To start those things may be 1. Wake up at 5am; 2. Train for one hour; and 3. Eat five small meals. If these get you to your goals, then by 7am you could be 66% done with winning the day. Now the rest of your day you can focus on getting in the five small meals. If you create the three most important tasks you must get done each day to reach your goal and focus solely on winning each day, you will eventually hit your goals. If you focus on the goal and have no daily focus, you will be overwhelmed and never reach the goal.
When I started lifting weights at 15, I didn’t do it with the goal of becoming a world champion powerlifter, I did it to get better at sports. By the time I had competed in my first powerlifting meet, I had already trained for almost 4,000 hours. This doesn’t count the thousands of hours of sport practice I had also participated in. When I became a professional powerlifter, I was putting in 15-20 hours per week into my training. Eventually I won a world championship, but by that time, I was almost 10,000 hours of training into it. If I had told my 15 year old self that I was going to have to train for 10,000 hours to win a world championship, I don’t think I would have even started. This is because that seems way to overwhelming to start. This is where most people get bogged down when it comes to their fitness and health goals.
The problem is that most people overestimate what they can do in a month, and underestimate what they can do in a year. In a world of instant gratification, everyone wants results now. The problem is that when it comes to your health and fitness, there are no shortcuts. It boils down to good old fashioned hard work and consistency. Often, when I tell people they should lose a half pound of fat per week, they are disappointed that it’s not more or faster. When I point out that that’s the equivalent of twenty-six pounds of fat over a year, they perk up. People look at one month and think they can’t accomplish enough, but if they looked at it after a year of winning the day, they would reach their long term goals.
The problem is that when it comes to your health and fitness, there are no shortcuts. It boils down to good old fashioned hard work and consistency.
Winning the day is the solution to this instant gratification conundrum our society has created. Competing against the three tasks every day allows you the instant gratification but also gets you to your long term goal if you do them consistently. There are so many people that sell the “quick fix” or the “instant solution” in health and fitness. Well I have been in this industry of twenty years and have yet to see anything that is as magical as hard work and consistency.
At The Spot Athletics, we will never try to sell you on quick fixes, but we will help you develop a plan that, if followed consistently and with your hard work, will get you to your goals. I know that is not the “sexy” way to talk about fitness but it is the truth and a truth that will never change. With a simple plan, consistency and support and a mind set towards “WINNING THE DAY”, you will reach your goals.