Do you want to succeed in life or just complain about how hard and unfair life is? There are people who think that complaining justifies failure. It doesn’t. If you use all that energy that you put into complaining about the unfairness of life, into working towards your goals, you will win.
1-Make a plan and work it in a relaxed controlled manner. Even if your goal is lofty and attaining it is extremely difficult, take control. Dig in. Learn everything you can about your goal and be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. Get committed.
2-Analyze your weaknesses and strengths. If you can’t resist M&M’s, for Heaven’s sake, don’t have them in your house! That’s a no-brainer. If you are an avid swimmer and thoroughly enjoy that then you might want to choose that as your main fitness activity. If you hate yoga, don’t do yoga. Know yourself and work with what you’ve got.
3-Learn everything there is to know about your goal. I am a strength trainer. The worst possible thing that I can do is to assume that I know everything that I need to know about this topic. Not only would I stop progressing towards my goal, I could get hurt. At first glance, I thought that lifting weights was simply picking it up and putting it down. That is only a small part of this lifestyle. I ask questions and discuss lifting. I also study all the time, literally. I analyze my nutrition by keeping meticulous records of what I eat and lift. That way I know how different foods, schedules, hydration. rest and state of mind affect my performance. Just as I study to write for you, I study to be healthy and strong for me. Keep learning. Knowledge is power.
4-KEEP RECORDS! David taught me this some time back. Without proper records it’s impossible to know how we are doing. Keep records of everything that affects your progression towards your goal. I know that my state of mind is critical to my performance with the Iron so I added that category to the records that David had me keep. Make your records detailed to the point that a year later you can go back and look at your notes and know exactly what happened that day and why. If I have a “bad” day at lifting, I analyze my performance and write down what I discover. If I have a great day, I do the same thing. That way I know what helps and what hurts. Take the time to analyze your behavior. Always keep a food diary. Include your calories, carbs and protein at the very least.
5-Perfect the small stuff. In this fast paced world that we live in, we tend to rush through everything. If we are trying to lose fat, we tend to look at our day in a block of time and say things like’ “I don’t eat that much, I don’t know why I’m fat.” when the truth is we don’t have any idea what we eat. Here’s where the record keeping comes in, but remember, it has to be detailed. Vaguely scribbling down at midnight what you “remember” that you ate all day is not adequate. You must get the details right. If you are lifting weights or swimming laps, you must get the details right. Your form will either make you successful or destroy your best efforts. If you swim laps have you ever tried doing the “Butterfly” stroke without paying attention to detail? You will most likely drown that way. Whatever you do, make sure that you do it right.
6-Positive self-talk is important. You cannot go where your mind won’t take you. Don’t allow negative thoughts to interfere with your progression towards your goals. Wake up every day and tell yourself that you will be successful today and most likely you will.
7-Decide what means success to you. Make sure that your goals are realistic for you. Don’t sell yourself short but don’t set ridiculous goals either. I have very specific goals for myself and they are attainable. They are not easily attainable. I will have to work long and hard to get to where I am going. It will be an uphill climb all the way. It doesn’t matter. Success for me means a very specific body type in excellent health. I have the tools. All I have to do is commit to the work. Deciding what you really want makes it easier to lay out a plan to get it.
8-Prepare. In your learning about your goal, figure out what could keep you from attaining it. Decide how to prevent that from happening. Get what you need to work with and have a long-range plan for the future. For example, in the case of getting ripped and lean, laziness and gluttony will keep you from getting it, decide to not be that way, make sure you have what you need to work out and realize that this is not going to happen overnight. Your ripped and lean body is your long-range goal, accept that now.
9-Commit to working towards your goal every day. There is no “cheat day” because this is the rest of your life. It is a lifestyle. It will not “end” until your life ends so living the healthy lifestyle every day is your pathway to ultimate success. There is no way to fail if you go at it like this.
10-Associate with like-minded people and avoid those who do not support your goals. This is critical. Have a role model and talk to them and listen to what they say and implement it into your life. If they are where you want to be, they know the way to get there. Stick with us here at David’s Way. We will help you. It’s FREE.