It’s almost that time again, the time of year when everyone makes resolutions and nearly everyone falls short of those resolutions. It’s a cycle. And it’ll never end until we change our mindset, our frame of reference. The most difficult part of the process is making up your mind that THIS is the year…and actually meaning it!
As a professional athlete, I have spent a lifetime setting, pursuing, and attaining high-level goals. It’s not an accident. I have developed a system of guidelines and principles that dive deep into our philosophies and actions, and the results are honest, authentic pursuits of excellence.
Strategies for Success
You don’t have to be a professional athlete to make a difference in your own life, and the mere desire to live a healthy and full life should be enough to not only kickstart the process, but to keep it rolling well into next year and beyond. This journey might be a marathon, but we have to start at mile marker zero. Without a solid mindset, game plan and proper execution, the improvements will be short-lived.
I’ve outlined a few simple, effective strategies for success to get you off on the right foot. Some are actions for implementation into your life, while others are philosophies and mindset shifts that have helped me immensely.
1.) Set a Realistic Goal
Not just any goal, one that is realistic and measurable. Don’t commit to going to the gym every day in the month of January if you haven’t gone to the gym in two months. Start slow. Go two days a week to start. If you commit to working out every day and you miss two days in a row, it’s often times psychologically easier to just not go anymore. It’s like avoiding that friend of yours that you know you should have an awkward 2-minute conversation with to clear the air. It’s just easier to not do it. Out of sight, out of mind. So, set a realistic goal.
2.) The glory of small wins
Make sure you allow yourself to achieve some small wins along the way. Set yourself up for success. The snowball effect is wonderful. The Law of Attraction kicks in. One small victory leads to another, leads to feeling better, leads to excitement to exercise, leads to feeling good. In professional sports, slumps are nothing more than a bunch of negative little things compounding into a mindset of failure. Make the opposite effect work in your favor. Enjoy the small wins.
3.) Make a plan
Once you have your realistic goal set, formulate a plan to make it happen. I can’t tell you how many times I used to sit in front of my computer with a million things to do and blankly stare at the screen. Then I developed a system of planning and staying organized. The result? Execution! Write down your weekly plan and follow it just like you followed the school bells back in the day. Daily and weekly scheduling produces HUGE results. Make a plan, and stick to it.
4.) Implement a keystone habit
Habits make or break us. They are either making us better or making us worse. They are the things we do without thinking. A keystone habit is one small habit that, when implemented into your life, has a ripple effect on your other habits. My favorite keystone habit? Drinking water. Lots of it. It makes you feel good by hydrating your muscles, makes you look good by hydrating your skin and helps monitor calories because, hey, if you’re drinking water, you’re not drinking soda or alcohol!
Buy a water bottle that 1. Makes you feel good (imagine a flowing waterfall, how beautiful that is. Now get a water bottle that gives you that same feeling) and 2. Is easy to carry around (all day, every day). Develop a keystone habit.
These are 4 strategies for success that have produced BIG results in my life. I’m continually reading and learning new ways to maximize my performance in life, and I’ll be thrilled if these strategies can play a small part in your journey.
If you’re ready, add a comment below (or link to my blog) telling us your resolution for the upcoming New Year. Or don’t. It’s OK, you don’t have to. You can keep it a secret. No one will ever know if you don’t follow through on it.
Is that a challenge you say??? Heck yea!!! Let’s hear it, and let’s keep each other accountable!
Spaniard
About the author : cbrenneman
Three days after the birth of his second child, The Spaniard discusses Fathership (a Spaniard term): his gratitude, his hopes, his plans, and how little he and his wife are sleeping. What does this mean for you? The tale involving Sheetz will make you think about the power of example. The discussion of summer camp and iffy acquaintances will help you watch for good and bad influences. The story in the hospital will alert you to opportunities to make simple, difficult decisions for growth. Whatever your relationship to parenting—past, present, future, never—there are thoughts here to help you put your arms around what matters most to you. Also: The three inspirations for the new baby’s name!
Three days after the birth of his second child, The Spaniard discusses Fathership (a Spaniard term): his gratitude, his hopes, his plans, and how little he and his wife are sleeping. What does this mean for you? The tale involving Sheetz will make you think about the power of example. The discussion of summer camp and iffy acquaintances will help you watch for good and bad influences. The story in the hospital will alert you to opportunities to make simple, difficult decisions for growth. Whatever your relationship to parenting—past, present, future, never—there are thoughts here to help you put your arms around what matters most to you. Also: The three inspirations for the new baby’s name!
Latest videos
It’s host versus co-host. The Spaniard finds competition essential while Dread questions that. The Spaniard gives a wrestler’s and fighter’s appreciation of flesh-and-blood opponents: how they have shaped him, how they have often obsessed him, and how he sometimes has to search for their equivalents. The conversation highlights how competitors personify high standards and how the highest performance might require a winner and a loser. Also: Will baby Rocky let The Spaniard work out?
It’s host versus co-host. The Spaniard finds competition essential while Dread questions that. The Spaniard gives a wrestler’s and fighter’s appreciation of flesh-and-blood opponents: how they have shaped him, how they have often obsessed him, and how he sometimes has to search for their equivalents. The conversation highlights how competitors personify high standards and how the highest performance might require a winner and a loser. Also: Will baby Rocky let The Spaniard work out?
It’s host versus co-host. The Spaniard finds competition essential while Dread questions that. The Spaniard gives a wrestler’s and fighter’s appreciation of flesh-and-blood opponents: how they have shaped him, how they have often obsessed him, and how he sometimes has to search for their equivalents. The conversation highlights how competitors personify high standards and how the highest performance might require a winner and a loser. Also: Will baby Rocky let The Spaniard work out?
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