Making a goal is fairly easy. You decide what you want most and make a plan to get it. Sticking to that plan is the tricky bit.
On the way to achieving that goal, there will be loads of setbacks. It’s how you deal with these that will decide whether you achieve your goal or not. The three things you MUST have to achieve anything worthwhile are dedication, focus and consistency.
Dedication
Dedication is where you’re putting your best effort into achieving your goal, and you’re willing to sacrifice simple pleasures for it.
Dedicated people aren’t easily distracted or swayed. They pursue their goal even when they don’t feel like it. Even if they're already sick on munching on
protein bars instead of potato chips. Dedicated people find a way to further their plans, even when things are against them.
Say if you’re goal is to get fit, but you find yourself injured, or travelling away from home. Some people may take time off, but a dedicated person will alter their training program to suit what they CAN do, or use the hotel gym rather than allow themselves to fall behind in their fitness goals, some even continue well onto their sleep with the use of
sleeping aides.
Improving your dedication is just a matter of remembering your goal at all times, and wanting it bad enough to put it as your first priority. Above comfort, easy life and sometimes even pain.
Some people can get pretty far without dedication if they have lots of talent, but in the end that runs out. There are few things more common than wasted talent in this world, and everyone knows someone who could have been a champion at something, if only they stuck with it.
Focus
When you’ve set yourself time to train,
use that time to train.
It’s fine to say you’ve been running for an hour, or at the gym since 5am, but if half the time is spent chatting, fiddling with your headphones or posing in the mirror, you haven’t worked anywhere near as hard as you could have.
Focus on your goal while you go about achieving it. Distractions are everywhere, when you need to get a new supply of
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout and procrastination will always be there pulling you, but if you’re fully focused on achieving your goal, they all kind of fade into the background.
Having a laugh and a chat with friends is great -vital even- but when it’s time to get shit done, go and Get. It. Done.
Work hard, then play harder!
Do something that works, then keep doing it. That’s all consistency is! Creating a habit of success.
The more adjustment you need to make to your current routine, the longer it will take for it to become a habit, but it will come eventually, and once those actions become habits, your goals won’t be as far away as you think.
For example, say if your goal is to get healthier, so you decide to go for a morning jog. If you’re already an early riser, it might just mean taking a shorter shower skip reading the morning paper, so it may only take you a week or two to make it an automatic part of your day.
For other people, the same activity may be a big adjustment from their regular routine of sleeping in late. They may have to really push themselves to get through that first week, and the second, and the third, but eventually their mind and body adapt to the new routine and they no longer see it as something they are missing out on (sleep, warmth, comfort) but something they are gaining (health, energy, seeing the sun rise every morning).
The more you reinforce the habit, the easier it is to stick to it, so creating a habit that gets you closer to your goals is a massive boost in achieving them.
Summary:
Combining these three traits will give you the best chance of getting where you want to be, so remember, once you decide on your goal, dedicate yourself to it and keep yourself working towards it regularly and intensely.
Self improvement is always tough, but it’s also always worth it to be able to look at what you’ve done and feel proud of your achievements. And so you should. You rock!
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