What does success look like to you? Is it a strong body? Lean and muscular or thick and strong? Is it a well-balanced life? Healthy family or a thriving career? Whatever you picture success to be, you have to want it more than you want to quit. The emotions that surface when you picture success must be so powerful, that they can overcome your negative emotions that will surface when challenges arise.
The Plan
Once you’ve decided what success is to you, you need a plan to get you there. Pay attention because making the plan seems like an important part, but there’s something even more important.
Do you WANT to do this, or have you DECIDED to do it?
The difference between wanting and deciding is very simple. Once you have made a decision, you have no plan B, no other options. Once the decision has been made, all you have to do is execute.
The first few weeks are easy, you are excited! You're optimistic and motivated by the idea of your success. The challenges come after that excitement wears off. When you just don't feel like getting up in the morning or staying up late at night. When you have other obligations, sickness, or family that get in the way of your plans, that's when your desire has to drive you.
Your desire for success keeps you following your plan.
Your brain needs a little help
Recently I wrote about the 2 systems in our brains one which reacts with automatic responses and emotion. The other requires more thought and planning.
Your brain needs a little help in creating positive, instant reactions. The more often you remind yourself why you are reaching for success, the more often it will fall back on those feelings to get you through challenging times.
There are countless techniques to remind you of why you started your journey and to keep your idea of success front and center in your mind. You might have to try a few to figure out which ones work best for you.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Make a vision board. It can be digital or physical, filled with pictures of things that help you to stay motivated. If your goal is to lose weight, use pictures of the new clothing you'll buy or the activities you will be able to do. If your goal is to make more money or get a promotion at your job, use pictures of what you will do with that money or how you will feel once you have that new title. Make sure that the pictures elicit a strong emotional response.
- Find an accountability partner or coach who is willing to help you with weekly check-ins and who will help to motivate you when you're down.
- If you have a specific point at which you always seem to drop off your new missions, create a little reward system for yourself. As soon as you surpass that specific date, reward yourself with a special night out or something small like a new pair of shoes.
- Put notes in your car, on your phone screen, on your mirror, and at your desk with motivational quotes, details about your goal, or anything that will be a constant reminder of what you are striving for.
Cultivating a growth mindset will improve your ability to succeed in all areas of life.
It’s common knowledge that being healthy requires eating well and exercising, but if you want to increase the rate at which you reach your goals, your mindset has to be included in the process.
How does mindset affect your success? If you have a growth mindset, you’re able to move past challenges and obstacles without missing a step.
With a mindset which is properly focused on growth, you can:
- Quickly move on from setbacks
- Reduce temptation to relapse to old habits
- Use obstacles as an opportunity instead of allowing them to stop you
- Identify weakness in yourself and strengthen it
Success does not look the same to any two people, but we usually achieve it similarly. We identify our goal, we decide to reach it, and we use our desire to succeed to fuel us when we are tempted to quit.
Combining Movement, Mindset, and Macros is a powerful way to achieve rapid success. If you’re ready to streamline your path to success, come and join my newest membership which opens soon! We’ll take a deep dive into all three areas and you gain the tools to rapidly accelerate your success.
