The Secret to Health and Fitness Success
Use the Secrets of Wildly Successful People to Achieve Your Health and
Fitness Goals!
To improve your health, it takes dedication day in and day
out and – most importantly – the ability to pick up and stay motivated even
when you face challenges or failures.
…Henry Ford failed in his early business ventures and was
officially broke 5 times before he successfully founded the Ford Motor
Company.
…Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a television
reporter and told she was “unfit for TV.”
…Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who told him
that he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
The difference between those who are successful and those
who aren’t is not the rate of failure.
In fact, successful people have often failed far more than those who
have made fewer attempts at goals.
The only difference between those who are successful and
those who aren’t is simply – that the successful did not give up, no matter how
many times they stumbled or failed.
According to the CDC, more than one-third
of the U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese.
That means roughly 78.4 million adults in the United States are
currently living in a state that drastically increases their risk for obesity
related illnesses and death.
…Now of this 78.4 million, how many have tried to reduce
their weight, increase their fitness and improve their lives? The sheer number of billion-dollar diet
companies, gyms and fitness equipment companies in the U.S. alone is proof that
millions try to improve their health each year.
…Then why do the obesity statistics continue to rise?
While we all have ideas about factors that could be to
blame, consider a simple factor…How many people give up on these goals each
year simply due to the frustration of challenges and failures?...And if you are one
of those people, how can you stop that cycle?
Start by Setting
SMART goals - Goals that are: S –
Specific / M – Measurable / A – Attainable / R – Realistic / T – Timely. You may have heard this term in a work or
business setting. But goal setting for
your personal life is no different!
·
S –
Specific Goals: Set goals that are clear
and precise, not vague. Don’t say “I want to lose weight.” Say: “I want to
lose 30 lbs. by February.”
·
M –
Measureable Goals: Remember when specifying your goals, there needs to be a way
to measure your progress. If you are
setting the goal to lose 30 lbs. by February, break it down into weekly
increments and that will give you a set weekly goal that you can measure
against to see whether you are on track to reaching your goal.
·
A –
Attainable / R – Realistic: Don’t
set yourself up for failure. Setting
unattainable or unrealistic goals like, “I’m
going to get to the gym for an hour every single day” – will simply make
you feel like a failure the first day you miss a session. Set small goals – “I’m going to get to the
gym at least twice a week” and then aim to exceed them!
·
T –
Timely – Set a time-frame in which you can achieve your goals so that you
stay on track. Ex: “I will reduce my
cholesterol by x amount by x time.” Pick
a goal that your doctor agrees is achievable in the timeline you have set and
create specific steps for attaining that goal.
Also, set short-term
milestones. Keeping motivated when
staring at the mountain peak is difficult.
Instead, break a large goal into smaller increments. Plan to lose 5 lbs. by the next holiday or
increase the speed of your walk by 1 minute by the end of the week.
After your SMART Goals are set, keep the following tips in
mind to keep yourself motivated:
·
Give
Yourself Credit – If you were coaching a friend to achieve a goal, you
would likely praise them each time they overcame a challenge. Remember to give yourself that same praise
you would give a child, a friend or a family member. We all need positive encouragement and
reinforcement to maintain a positive attitude!
·
Set Small
Goals – Remember from the SMART Goals above – A = Attainable and R =
Realistic. Start small and work your way up.
Pennies add up to dollars very quickly!
·
Stop
Thinking in Black and White – Life is not always 100% one way or another,
good or bad, perfect or terrible, so stop thinking that way! There is no such thing as perfection so
expecting to eat perfectly every single day or to stick perfectly to your ideal
fitness routine is again – unrealistic.
Instead, give yourself credit for
improvements. Aim to improve over the
day before and give yourself credit for going against the little voice inside
trying to throw out an excuse for not working toward your goal. Again – positive reinforcement and realistic
expectations will allow you to live in the ‘gray’ and improve a bit more each
day.
All in all, remember that the failure rate for those who are
famously successful is no different than yours and therefore you are just as
likely to succeed in any goal you set for yourself. Just keep getting up every time you stumble
and keep moving towards that goal!
