Goal Setting & What’s Your Why?

Goals are important because research has continually shown that people who set goals are happier, more productive, and have better relationships. If you're the kind of person that sets goals, and continually focuses on how you can achieve them, then your life will statistically speaking, be better than the person that walks aimlessly through their life.

The biggest reason why people don't get the results in their health and fitness that they want, whether it's weight loss, muscle gain, more energy, a certain part of their body being toned, having their clothes fit better, is because they haven't identified what they really want. The biggest reason why people don't get what they want in life, in general, is because they don't identify and continually review what they want.

In this framing, in this teaching, I want to make sure that you know what you need to set goals because continually throughout this process, I'm going to have you set goals, review your goals, and continually evaluate your progress according to your goals.

Here are the five things that you need to know about setting better goals.

#1: First, goals need to be specific. If your goal is ambiguous like, "I want to lose weight," then you're much less likely to achieve your goal than if you say, "I want to lose 10 pounds in the next 90 days." In setting goals, make sure they are specific so that you know whether or not you can achieve them.

#2: The second principle of setting goals is measurable. Make sure they are measurable. If you don't have a way to track your progress towards your goals, then you won't be able to know what's working, what's not working, and what needs to be changed. So, for example, set a goal that says, "I want to lose 10 pounds in 90 days." Make sure that it's measurable, okay? And also with that, you'll be able to track your success on the way, by getting on the weight scale each and every day.

#3: The third thing you need to know about setting goals is to make them action-oriented. Action-oriented. Your goals should cause you to do something different. If you don't identify different actions to take, in the achievement of your goal, then you're unlikely to get clear on what you need to do. That's why I'm laying out a strategy for you that has, you know, how to move your body, how to eat differently, how to think differently, how to interact with others differently, in order to get you closer to your goal.

#4: Number four, be realistic. One thing that people do when they first start setting goals is they set a goal that is way beyond their reach. That's, "I want to lose 30 pounds in a week," and it actually sets them up to fail and feel discouraged when they don't need to do that. So instead, what will help the person is to set goals that are both going to challenge the person, and also make them achievable. For instance,10 pounds in over 90 days is a very achievable goal. Maybe, if you have a lot of weight to lose, you could lose 10 pounds in 30 days, but set a goal that you feel confident, based on the results of others, that you can achieve as well.

#5: Number five is time-sensitive. Make sure that your goals have an ending point in which you'll know you'll be able to review and know whether or not you achieved them. So for example, from the example above, set your goals for 90 days. In our process, I'm going to teach you to set goals in 30-day increments, 90-day increments, and then also one year because the real transformations happen over a minimum of a year. You can really just get started in 30 or 90 days, but the real transformation happens through much longer periods of time.

What’s Your Why?

The single biggest reason more people don't achieve their health goals is that they're not totally clear on their health goals.

The second biggest reason why they don't achieve them is because they aren't clear on why it matters.

It is one thing to identify a target. It's another thing to recognize how good it's going to feel after you score the goal. Anyone who achieves a dramatic health goal and sticks with it, is clear on their Why'.

Most people who set health goals may lose some weight. But the unfortunate truth is that a large percentage of them gain that weight back.

One of the biggest difference-makers between people who lose weight and those that keep it off is that the people who keep it off are really clear on why it's a must for them.

Knowing their 'why' goes across a couple of different categories. First of all, they know changing their body, or changing their health will affect other areas of their life positively.

For example, they recognize how it will affect their income. People that lose weight and are in good physical condition tend to be higher performers in life. They tend to get more promotions and make more money in their business if they're an entrepreneur.

They tend to experience life better. They also tend to be happier.

People that achieve a goal that they set for themselves in their health tend to be more confident. They tend to believe that they are a better person, and therefore have better self-esteem.

They also tend to have better relationships, because when you take good care of yourself, you come from a healthy place in how you interact with other people.

You become a better parent. If you want to have children or do have children, you become an example to your kids. No parent wants their child to grow up and be unhealthy. All parents want their kids to be healthy. If you are a parent or want to be a parent, the best thing you can do for your kids' health is to be healthy yourself.

People that achieve their long-term health goals are people that know why and how it will make a positive difference in their life if they do achieve it. "Why" is your motivation. If you ever want to have more motivation to achieve your health goals, then start identifying why.

In the exercise in the next lesson, I'm going to help you get clear on what your biggest reasons are for transforming your health. Review these on a regular basis because with identifying your 'why', it's good to review it every single day, so that you're continually filling yourself up with motivation. Giving yourself daily motivation is like giving yourself a shower or bath. You need it every single day in order to stay clean, and motivation is something you need to fuel up with every single day in order to continually have your attention on the right thing.