Stop Setting Goals…Well, Kind Of [Here’s What to do Instead]

Last week I hosted the first of our 60 day GPS workshops at the gym.

Basically a goal setting seminar, but way more awesome. Why?

Because we worked on setting OUTCOMES instead of just goals, which doesn’t sound like a huge difference but goals often end up just being a thing that “would be nice.”

An outcome has a deadline, a set of instructions and plans and we tied in a ton of accountability with it as well.

We had 13 women in the workshop (free to be a part of this as a member of DPT, of course).

The cool thing was that NONE of the outcomes they set were “I want to lose X pounds.”

Instead it was bigger picture things:

-I want to spend less time at work and give
myself the three “me” days that I come to the
gym
-I want to be in the
process of finding a new job and during that
time, find a way to not hate my current one
-I want to be able to run 8 miles so I can
train for the 1/2 marathon with my friends

The list went on and on. It was inspiring, fun and truly eye-opening for these women to see what they were capable of. See here’s the thing, fitness IS the catalyst for all of these things.

When you start training the way that we train you will feel more confident, empowered, you’ll have more energy and you’ll just FEEL better.

Then when you start to set outcomes, it becomes about how you can better your life instead of just chasing the pounds on the scale (exhausting and WAY boring, right?).

Take a look at your fitness and lifestyle right now. First, lay the foundations. Think of this as if you were building a house. You may want a beautiful master bedroom on the top floor but you can’t do that on a cracked foundation.

Do you have these things in place?

-3 full body strength & conditioning sessions per week
-Sleep 7-8 hours per night
-Drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water each day
-Walk 10,000 steps per day

Start with those things. They may seem “simple” but we call these the big rocks. Each of these means a lot in your life and can improve many areas. Once you dial in the big rocks and the basics, then you can move on to more detailed processes.

In addition to those big rocks listed above, think about your outcomes. Instead of just a goal that sounds nice, dig into it. Why do you want it? What will show up in your life if you get there? Are you willing to do the work?

The most important thing for all of this is coaching. Find a coach who can guide you through the process and help you discover what works for you in your own lifestyle. It’s not a one size fits all, unfortunately. That’s why so many people end up failing, they try to jam these things into their life without figuring out if it actually aligns with what they want and how much they can handle.

Find a coach. Keep it simple. Do less instead of more.