One of the most commonly searched question about goals is “How do I set and achieve my goals?” Many people peruse parent-child-connect.com looking for that exact answer, so I decided to repurpose a previous article I wrote. Below, you’ll see practical advice (by way of a cheesy acronym) on how we can set and achieve our goals. Also, in a separate but supporting article titled, “Establishing Winning Habits,” I provide some winning habits that will help you crush your goals! Let’s dive in!
We achieve our goals one day, one rep at a time!
Where does “one day, one rep” come from?
I am constantly tweaking my workout routine to meet new strength and/or physique goals. Without fail, I find myself flexing in the mirror after every workout–including the first day. Of course there’s no noticeable change. Yet, I wake up early the next day and execute my workout routine even more diligently than the day before. I usually start to see and feel minor changes after a couple of weeks.
Many inspirational leaders would simply say that you should use those minor changes as motivation to continue exercising day after day. The issue is the change you see and feel will be so minor that you may feel discouraged–especially when the soreness lingers. That discouragement makes it harder and harder to muster up the strength and motivation to exercise the next day, and your goals stagnate.
That’s where my one day, one rep methodology comes in handy.
When I flex in the mirror, I flex to measure my progress and dream, not to simply motivate myself. My motivation is based upon how challenging the workout is each day. I recognize that the rhythm of my stride during sprints and the muscle contractions during lifts are what will cause me to reach my ultimate goals!
How does the one day, one rep methodology help us crush goals?
Whether you want to build muscle, become more patient, get a promotion, find a new job, or any other goal, here’s how to apply it.:
The phases for setting and achieving goals!
I am going to introduce an easy-to-remember (and slightly cheesy) acronym to discuss the phases of setting and achieving goals. I will place more emphasis on the execution phase. You ready?
Successfully achieving our goals is DOPE!
Dream
Have a clear vision of what achieving your goal looks like. Maybe that means identifying someone who has been where you are trying to go, reading books, watching movies, reading articles, or doing whatever it takes to boost your imagination. You have to clearly see “future you” after accomplishing whatever goal you set! I’m encouraging you to dream in such high definition that you can physically feel yourself in that future moment. Sounds crazy right? Not really. That’s one reason I stare in the mirror after each workout; I am picturing what “success” looks like, and I encourage you to do the same.
Offload
Brain dump every aspect of your dream! This is why the clarity and high definition vision are important. Focus on what you see in your vision, not how you are going to achieve it. We will address the latter soon.
Imagine you’re an artist painting the world around you. Don’t worry about structure or a template during this phase. The purpose of this phase is to simply write out every single aspect of your dream. Try not to omit a single detail.
Honestly, this phase can be both fun and overwhelming. For me, the offload phase can create a range of emotions because I get really excited, then overwhelmed when I start to cheat forward to the plan phase, then I get excited again once I realize I don’t have to worry about the “how” yet. Writing down your dream or vision in detail is a crucial step, so do your best to stay focused and inspired by your dream!
Plan
This is the first time you have to apply the reality of your expertise and resources to your dream. Sometimes, it can be the most discouraging phase as you feel like you have to completely erase portions of the dream you offloaded in the last step. Before you do that, slow down. You may not have the knowledge or expertise, but there is someone out there who does. Be creative as you add structure to the dream you offloaded.
Before I begin planning, I like to highlight four “legs” or critical aspects of each dream. Similar to a chair, without all four legs being equally balanced, the overall goal will rock and eventually fall. I equate these “legs” to the “mini-goals” I previously wrote about. The difference is these legs aren’t necessarily sequential, but they are required to achieve your overall goal. For example, if my goal is to lose weight and build muscle, the four legs I would identify are diet, cardiovascular workouts, strength training, and rest. Then, I would go through the first three phases (Dream, Offload, and Plan) for all four of those legs.
The next step is to conduct research on how to accomplish each of the legs. Here are the eight questions I want you to answer for each leg.:
- What does achievement or success look like in the end?
- Are you in the right physical, spiritual, and mental position to accomplish this goal?
- Why do you want to accomplish this goal?
- How does this goal align to your overall purpose?
- Who is involved?
- Who needs to be involved?
- What sequential steps do you need to take?
- How long will it take to complete?
Execute
You know the “aha!” feeling you get when you’re watching a movie and one of the characters says the title? Well, we’ve made it to the last phase–the execution phase–and it’s time to reveal the title!
Make every rep count!
Many of us naturally feel refreshed and rejuvenated by the idea of getting a fresh start each day. Build upon that momentum! Wake up every morning and affirm this:
Today is a new day and a fresh opportunity to achieve my goals! Yesterday is gone; I won’t dwell on my mistakes, but I will build upon my momentum. Tomorrow’s challenges remain unknown, so I will live in the moment to set myself up for success tomorrow. I will make every rep count today!
That’s exactly how I want you to prep your mind every morning. You should execute a small portion of your plan each day if your goal is important to you. Those small actions (“reps”) accumulate over time and result in you achieving your goals. That means you must be laser-focused and apply all your energy into each rep.
Coach Waldron, my high school basketball coach, would always say something that has stuck with me over the years, “the next game on our schedule is the most important game of the year.” That means that no matter how talented or unskilled the next team was, we would have to recalibrate our minds and focus our efforts on solely preparing for the next team. I apply this same logic to accomplishing my goals. We have to be laser focused on completing the current reps regardless of how challenging the future may appear to be.
Never give up on your goals!
Trust the process. Some days will feel like big wins while others feel like significant losses. The most important thing is that we remember that whatever sacrifices we made that day were worth it. Measure and celebrate your progress no matter small it may seem. Keep pressing and pursuing your goals! I have no doubt that you will be one of the success stories as you achieve whatever behemoth goal you dreamt of accomplishing. Remain focused, committed, and consistent. I believe in you!
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