How to Reach Your Goal

Hi Everyone!

Today I want to talk a little bit about HOW TO REACH YOUR GOAL. 

If I were to give you one piece of advice on how to reach your goal, it would be to 

"Do things that bring you closer to your goal". 

Sounds simple right...like DUH CAITLIN! 

However, if you really stop to think about it, if you are doing things that lead you towards your goal, then you are always going to be ONE STEP CLOSER to reaching your goal. 

I'm sure we could all think of a few things that we do that bring us closer to our goal. I'm also sure that we can think of a couple things we do that bring us further from our goal.

I will give you a few personal examples.

MY GOAL: To increase lean body mass, decrease fat, and complete my 4th Half-Marathon in April sub 1:45. 

Things I do that bring me CLOSER to my GOAL

-I exercise on a daily basis-teach spin classes 3x a week, lift 4 days a week (okay, I take one day off a week, which is HEALTHY)

-I put healthy food into my body 90% of the time

-I make sure I get enough sleep.

Things I do that bring me FURTHER from my GOAL

-Sleeping in (sometimes) and getting my workouts in later in the day when I am less productive=less productive workouts=further away from my goal

-Drinking coffee multiple times a day= increase calories and drinking less water.

-I may indulge in something sweet more than I'd like.

-Going out with friends and having drinks more than I'd like. 

So there it is. To be honest, writing that all down made me realize that I definitely have some room for improvement, that I am not truly giving 100% to my goal. I just had an AHA moment, as Oprah would say. 

So now what? After you list things that you are doing that are bringing you close and that are bringing you further away, all you have to do is make a game plan. Keep going with the things you are doing that bring you CLOSER to your goal! You just gave yourself positive reinforcement.

BUT,What are you going to do about those things that bring you further away from your goal? 

Well, I have an idea. 

Turn them into something that will bring you CLOSER to your goal.

Remember the things I wrote that are bringing me further from my goal. Here's my game plan.

-I am going to find a way to motivate myself to wake up in the morning and to not sleep in. I may post a motivational message next to my bed next to my phone (alarm clock) so when I go to press snooze, I am reminded to GET UP. Also, I am going to make sure I am in bed sleeping by 10pm (which means I am getting into bed at 9:30pm) so I can wake up feeling refreshed. 

-To turn my coffee consumption habit into something positive, I am going to tell myself that if I want something hot to drink after breakfast (I am never giving up my morning coffee), I will drink tea! It's hot, I can still get a kind with caffeine, and I will be getting water from it! Also, I will drink water with my meals and then with my snacks. 

-To turn my something sweet craving into something that is positive, I will find food that is sweet but that is a fruit. I have already started this actually. I found FREEZE DRIED GRAPES that are AMAZING. They taste like candy, but it's fruit! Problem solved. 

-Last but not least, I am going to still go out with friends and but limit myself to 1-2 drinks per week. That way, I am not over consuming nor am I saying "no drinks". 

So there it is!

The process of figuring out some of the things you are doing that are negatively affecting your ability to achieve your goals and the SOLUTIONS.

TRY THIS FOR YOURSELF!

Do Something Healthy for Yourself,

-Caitlin *

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