However, if you’re anything like me, you find you spend way too much time thinking and planning about your goals instead of actually working on them.  I even found myself buying some “special” goal-setting paper this past week!

Forget that!  Forget about following a special goal formula or using special goal-setting paper or journal.  Quit spending so much time on designing your goals and start spending most, if not all, of your time working on them.

Someone once said, “Life is not practice.”  That’s right.  We don’t get a chance to live life over.

So don’t worry if you don’t have a neat list of goals for 2012 – all categorized by area of your life, cross referenced with your family goals, and put in order of date due.

It’s the start of a new year.  Just pick a direction and go!  If things change, it’s much easier to change direction if you’re already in motion that it is to rearrange your card catalog of goal cards.

Like Nike says, “Just do it!”

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach andPersonal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S.  Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.”  This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – no email, no cookies, no catch.  Download and enjoy!

Email Me:  Hiram Perez   

Technorati Tags: goals, new year, 2012, resolution

Related posts:

1. Setting Goals for the New Year
2. Setting Successful Health Goals
3. How to Stick to Your Diet

Why?  Because if you don’t decide where you want to go, any road will take you there.  Because if you don’t set goals, you’ll just float along life with no direction.  Because if you don’t set your sights on something, you won’t have a compelling reason to get up early and stay up late.  Because if you don’t set goals, you’ve already failed.

“Failed?  Failed at what?”  If you don’t set any goals at all, you’ve already failed to accomplish all the great things you’re capable of.  It could be losing weight, building muscle, earning extra money, building a relationship, really anything you can imagine.  Anything – you can really have and achieve anything – if you’ll only set a goal and consistently work towards it.

SMART Goals

Every great journey begins with the first step and every great accomplishment, whether it’s finding the cure for the cancer or putting a man on the moon, begins with a goal.  But how do you set goals?  The best way I’ve found to explain the process is by using the acronym S-M-A-R-T.  Here’s what it means:

S – Set SPECIFIC Goals

Make sure your goals are as specific as you can possibly make them.  Saying “I just want to be happy” is not going to cut it.  ”I just want to lose some weight” isn’t effective either.  In both cases, you’ve got to be specific.  What exactly would it take to make you happy?  Exactly how much weight do you want to lose?

Setting a nonspecific goal like “I want to make some extra money” may prove very disappointing.  You might find a discarded penny on the sidewalk and stop to pick it up.  Boom, you just completed your goal!  You just made some “extra” money.  You see how important it is to be specific?

The first key to effective goals is to be specific, specific, specific.  If you can’t clearly see the outcome of your goal when you close your eyes at night, it’s not specific enough.

M – Make Your Goals MEASUREABLE

Now that you’ve made your goals as specific as you can, you need to find a way to measure your progress.  You might think that making your goals measurable is simply an extension of making them specific but it’s much more than that.  Making them measurable is like putting a ladder under an apple tree that allows you to climb up, step by step, to reach the best pieces of fruit the tree has to offer.  Making your goals measurable provides a step-by-step road map to their accomplishment.

If I ask you how your weight loss goal is coming along, you should be able to tell me exactly how much weight  you’ve lost as well as exactly how much further you have to go and how long you think it will take you to get there.  All specific, measurable steps.

Once you specifically define what it is you want, figure out a way to measure your progress.  It could be dollars, days, pounds, inches, boxes shipped, whatever.  Just find a way to measure your progress.

A – Make Your Goals ACTIONABLE

Like all the others, this one is key.  Your goals should be something that you can DO, WORK TOWARDS, or ACT ON.  Here’s the difference:  if you say “I want to make a million dollars” and don’t add any actionable steps, it’s a wish, not a goal.  On the other hand, saying “I want to make a million dollars through affiliate marketing (or product creation, or by writing a novel, or whatever you want to do),” then you’ve got something you can actually work on.  This puts you in control.

Every January 1st, most people set “I want to lose some weight” as one of their New Year’s goals.  Can you see why 99.9% of people that set this kind of goal never accomplish it?  It’s not specific.  It’s not measurable.  It’s not actionable.

Now, the person that says “I want to lose 15 pounds by the end of March through better diet choices and exercise” has got a much better chance of reaching their goal.  Their goal is specific, measurable, and actionable.  They’ve got something specific to work on.

Note:  some people list the “A” in SMART as “Attainable” as in “your goals should be Attainable.”  I like “Actionable” because I think it better describes the fact that YOU HAVE TO WORK ON YOUR GOALS.  They don’t come true all by themselves.

R – Your Goals Should be REALISTIC

Time for a gut-check:  is your goal realistic?  Can you really see yourself achieving it?  If you can’t, you need to work on 2 things:  your self confidence and your goal.  Once you become practiced at goal setting and have accomplished a few, your self confidence will explode and you’ll automatically begin setting bigger and bigger goals.  However, at the beginning, make sure you don’t set your goals so high that they end up discouraging you instead of inspiring you.  Make them realistic.

Also, make sure your goals are congruent with your life in general.  In other words, don’t work towards a goal that is actually going to create problems in other areas of your life.  For example, don’t set a weight loss goal that is so aggressive that you damage your overall health in the process.

T – Make Your Goals TIME BASED

Set a time limit on your goals.  Otherwise, you’ll always procrastinate and put off working on them for another week, another month, another year.  Set a deadline and stick to it.  Saying “I want to lose 5 pounds by the end of the month” has a lot more power than just saying “I’d like to lose some weight.”

Putting a time limit on your goals is another way to measure your progress.  You tell yourself, “I’ve got until the end of the month to reach my goal and it’s already the 15th.  I’ve got to get moving!”  There’s massive power in that.  It creates a momentum that propels you forward and keeps you moving.

Reaching Your Goals

Is it really this easy?  Well, yes and no.  Setting effective goals is a straightforward process.  However, you still have to DO THE WORK and that part isn’t so easy.  But setting up the right process, making your goals specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic, and time based will provide a framework where you can see exactly how much progress your work is producing.  Your work will have purpose – and that will inspire you to maintain the pace.

You see, if you can’t measure where you are and you’re not sure where you’re going, it’s difficult to find a compelling reason to do the work. If you can’t see the “big payoff” at the end and see yourself moving closer to it, there’s no incentive to put in the extra effort and you’ll quickly find reasons to procrastinate.

So be SMART about setting your goals this New Year.  Stack the deck in your favor but making your goals specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-based.  You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish!

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach andPersonal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S.  Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.”  This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – no email, no cookies, no catch.  Download and enjoy!

Email Me:  Hiram Perez   

Technorati Tags: goal setting, goals, smart, resolutions, new year, motivation, weight loss, lose weight

Related posts:

1. Setting Successful Health Goals
2. The Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions
3. New Year – New Theme

Of course, he was talking about “just showing up” at the gym, or wherever you do your exercise routine.  But you can’t argue with the pure logic.  Just show up.

I’m sure you’ve heard the quote that “90% of success is just showing up.”  Same goes here.  Whatever your health goals are, however impossible they might seem to you right now, you can achieve them if you consistently show up and do your routine.

The key to success is consistency.  Working your routine day in and day out.  Logging the miles, doing the reps, putting in the time.  That’s how you lose 50 pounds.  That’s how you improve your cardio and lower your blood pressure.  That’s how you do 100 push-ups.

This is so simple, yet so powerful.  And the neat thing is that it works on pretty much anything.  Want to get your degree?  Just show up at the library every day and hit the books.  Want to dramatically improve your marriage?  Just turn off the TV and show up in the bedroom a little early every night.  Want to succeed in just about anything?  Figure out where you need to be and what you need to do – and then just show up day after day.  Bit by bit, step by step you’ll get what you’re looking for.

But you’ve got to be consistent.  You’ve got to stick with it until you reach what you’re working towards.  That’s critical.  It’s also my biggest problem.

I’ve been in great shape so many times in my life it isn’t funny.  If I don’t consistently keep up my exercise routines, my body quickly slides back into “couch potato” mode and actually starts craving ice cream, soda, and chips.  Before I know it, my pants don’t fit anymore.

Exercise is not something you do once and then you’re good for the rest of your life.  Exercise is like brushing your teeth.  You have to do it consistently for the rest of your life.

Same usually goes for everything else.  You don’t just get your degree and then stop learning.  You don’t build a great relationship with someone and then just kick back.  Why not?  Because it all falls apart if you don’t constantly keep working, improving, strengthening, expanding.

So make a commitment to your health goals.  Promise yourself that you’re going to do whatever it takes to get yourself in the shape you want to be in.  Figure out exactly how you want to get there, whether it’s by doing Yoga or Cardio or whatever.  And then just show up.  Like Tony says, if your exercise routine is on DVD, just keep hitting “play.”  Then tomorrow, hit “play” again, then the next day, and so on.

Just keep showing up.  Keep that phrase in your mind and it will help keep you on track.

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S. Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.” This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – for a limited time.  Just click on the title to be taken to the download page.  Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: exercise, cardio, endurance, p90x, tony horton,  consistency, goals, health, weight loss, diet, strength, success

You might be interested in the following items from Amazon.com:

P90X: Tony Horton’s 90-Day Extreme Home Fitness Workout DVD Program

• Get lean, bulk up, or grow stronger, with an endless variety of mix-and-match routines to keep you motivated
• Muscle Confusion technique accelerates the results process by constantly introducing new moves and routines so your body never plateaus
• Collection of 12 highly diverse and intense DVD workouts
• Also includes comprehensive three-phase nutrition plan, specially designed supplement options
• Personal trainer Tony Horton will keep you engaged every step of the way

Tired of ineffective workouts that sound great but produce less-than-optimal results? Turn to the P90X Extreme Home Fitness system, a bundle of 12 sweat-inducing, muscle-pumping workouts designed to transform your body from regular to ripped in just 90 days. Hosted by personal trainer Tony Horton, the series of DVDs will help you get lean, bulk up, or grow stronger, with an endless variety of mix-and-match routines to keep you motivated. The secret behind the P90X system is an advanced training technique called “muscle confusion,” which accelerates the fitness process by constantly introducing new moves and routines so that your body never plateaus and you never get bored. The more you confuse the muscle, the harder your body has to work to keep up. And the more variety you put into your workout, the better and faster your results will be. By breaking old routines and opening new doors, secondary and tertiary muscles are constantly being activated and developed.

In addition to the 12 DVD workouts, the P90X comes with a comprehensive three-phase nutrition plan, specially designed supplement options, a detailed fitness guide packed with valuable information on how to get the most from your program, a How to Bring It DVD that provides a quick overview of the system, a calendar to track your progress, online peer support, and much more.

The DVD Workouts
Each of the 12 highly diverse and intense DVD workouts focuses on either a specific set of muscle groups or a unique training technique.

• Workout One: Chest & Back. This superset chest-and-back-blasting workout emphasizes two classic upper-body exercises–push-ups and pull-ups–to build strength and develop shape. The combination of these two push and pull movements will help you burn loads of calories while simultaneously attacking, strengthening, and developing multiple muscle groups.
• Workout Two: Plyometrics. Get ready to go airborne. Offering more 30 explosive jumping moves, this intense cardio routine will keep you in the air most of the time. Plyometrics, also known as jump training, has been proven to dramatically improve athletic performance. If your sport involves a ring, rink, field, court, or track, this training will give you the edge. Just be prepared to “bring it” for a full hour when you leap into this workout, because there is no letting up.
• Workout Three: Shoulders & Arms. Nothing rounds out the perfect physique like a pair of well-defined arms and shoulders, and with its potent combination of pressing, curling, and fly movements, this routine will leave you feeling stronger and looking sexier. Whether you want to build muscle mass or just slim and tighten what you’ve already got, these targeted shoulder and arm exercises will give you the results you want.
• Workout Four: Yoga X. Yoga is a vital part of any fitness regimen, and is an absolute must for an extreme program like P90X. This routine combines strength, balance, coordination, flexibility, and breath work to enhance your physique and calm your mind. Yoga X will leave you feeling energized, invigorated, and maybe even a little enlightened.
• Workout Five: Legs & Back. Get ready to squat, lunge, and pull for a total-body workout like no other. While the main focus of this workout lies in strengthening and developing the leg muscles (quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves), there are also a handful of great pull-up exercises to give your legs a quick breather while you work the upper body.
• Workout Six: Kenpo X. Kenpo X was created to give P90X users a high-intensity cardiovascular workout packed with lots of punching and kicking combinations to improve balance, endurance, flexibility, and coordination. During this workout you’ll learn some of the most effective ways to defend yourself, while at the same time getting your body in peak condition.
• Workout Seven: X Stretch. Stretching is the one thing that will help you achieve a higher level of athleticism over a longer period of time. The X Stretch routine is an integral part of the program, as it helps prevent injuries and avoid plateaus. The extensive full-body stretches that make up this routine use disciplines from Kenpo karate, hatha yoga, and various sports to ensure that your body is fully prepared to meet all P90X challenges head-on.
• Workout Eight: Core Synergistics. Each and every exercise in the Core Synergistics workout recruits multiple muscle groups to build and support the core (lumbar spine and trunk muscles), while at the same time conditioning your body from head to toe. Loaded with a variety of fun, unique, and challenging exercises, this routine will get you moving in all directions to maximize your P90X results.
• Workout Nine: Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps. Packed with an array of moves that target both large and small muscles, this workout will do wonders for your upper body. In just one full sequence you’ll get a healthy dose of presses, flys, and extensions to push you to the brink. The results will be a stronger, leaner, and highly defined upper torso that will leave you looking awesome, with or without a shirt.
• Workout 10: Back & Biceps. With a host of curls and pull-ups, this routine will make it fun to flex those powerful biceps. But don’t worry, ladies–by using lighter weight, you can focus on toning and tightening these showcase arm muscles without adding the size that most guys covet. Additionally, this workout also provides some great back definition that everyone can appreciate. Regardless of your goals, you will achieve them in dramatic fashion if you dig in and max out your reps.
• Workout 11: Cardio X. This low-impact cardio routine can be used in a variety of ways to meet your P90X goals. Use it in addition to your standard P90X workload when you want to burn some extra calories, or as a substitute if your body needs a break from the program’s high-impact workouts. Whatever your reason for using Cardio X, you’ll find it a fun, full-throttle, fat-burning workout that will leave you feeling lean and mean.
• Workout 12: Ab Ripper X. The combination and sequence of movements in this unique workout taps into not only abdominal strength, but true core strength as well. Master these 11 highly effective exercises and you will achieve vital abdominal muscle strength to benefit your overall health and physical performance. You’ll also develop that highly coveted six-pack as you take Ab Ripper X to full throttle. It’s extreme work that’s better than any machine in any club.

P90X Fitness Guide
This is your road map and your plan of attack for using P90X. Learn guidelines for getting started and essential tips for how to make the most of the program. The fitness guide provides you tips to reduce your chance of injury; a fit test; recommended supplements and equipment; detailed instructions for stretching, warming up, and performing exercises; and guidelines to help you select which P90X phase to complete, whether Classic, Doubles, or Lean.

The Nutrition Plan
Following the P90X nutrition plan is just as vital to your overall success as any of the extreme workouts in this program. Specifically designed to work in tandem with the P90X workout routines, this three-phase eating plan recommends the perfect combination of foods to satisfy your body’s energy needs every step of the way. P90X is not about quick fixes or miracle diets. It’s about selecting the healthy foods that you want to eat, and determining the portion amounts that will provide your body with the right amount of fuel to excel during exercise. The P90X nutrition plan offers three phases. Phase 1 is the Fat Shredder, a high-protein-based diet designed to help you strengthen your muscles while simultaneously and rapidly shedding fat from your body. Phase 2 is the Energy Booster, a balanced mix of carbohydrates and proteins with a lower amount of fat to achieve additional energy for performance. And Phase 3 is the Endurance Maximizer, an athletic diet of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and lower fat, with the emphasis on more carbohydrates. You’ll need this combination of foods as fuel to get the most out of your final few weeks and truly be in the best shape of your life.

Tools to Keep You Motivated

• P90X Calendar to set your workout goals, track your progress, and stay motivated.
• Free Online Support Tools for access to fitness experts, peer support, and motivation.

What’s in the Box?
12 DVD workouts, nutrition plan, fitness guide How to Bring It DVD, a calendar to track your progress

List Price: $ 150.00

Price: $ 139.80

P90X Plus: The Next Level for P90X Grads-5 New Extreme Workouts on 4 DVDs

• 5 Workouts on 4 DVDs: (1) Interval X Plus; (2) Kenpo Cardio Plus; (3) Upper Plus; (4) Total Body Plus; (5) Abs/Core Plus.
• P90X Plus workouts are for YOU, if you have achieved a respectable level of fitness and YOU HAVE COMPLETED P90X.
• Fitness Guide with fully customized workout schedules showing you how to incorporate your new P90X Plus workouts into your complete system.

If you love P90X® and you’re saying, “Give me more,” or, “I need a challenge”-then here it is, the P90X Plus Series. Tony amps up the Muscle Confusion with BRAND-NEW MOVES and never-before-seen workouts all set to hot music created exclusively for P90X Plus by Jason Scheff, lead singer of the band Chicago! The NEW P90X Plus will break through plateaus with intense new cardio, muscle chiseling, and ab/core-ripping moves to ramp up your results. Adding these new advanced workouts into your P90X rotation will literally TAKE YOUR WORKOUT TO THE NEXT LEVEL and create workout combinations beyond your imagination. Trust me, it doesn’t get better than this . . .If you love P90X and you’re looking for a new challenge, the P90X Plus Series is for you. Professional trainer Tony Horton amps up the Muscle Confusion with brand new moves and never-before-seen workouts–all set to hot music created exclusively for P90X. The P90X Plus will break through plateaus with intense new cardio, muscle chiseling, and ab/core-ripping moves to ramp up your results.

The P90X Plus Series is for you, if you have achieved a respectable level of fitness and you have completed P90X. It will enhance any athletic performance and is the perfect tool to quickly build on your fitness accomplishments while getting you ripped beyond belief.

Five Extreme Workouts on Four DVDs:

• Interval X Plus: A lot more effective than standard cardio, Interval X Plus propels your heart rate up and down with 3 speeds: recovery, medium, and full-out, creating the most dramatic change in the shortest period of time. (40 minutes)

• Kenpo Cardio Plus: This advanced-level Kenpo, with new moves, will shred the most stubborn layer of fat with an all-out self-defense workout that builds stamina, balance, and agility.



• Upper Plus: This monster upper-body workout will defy the plateau phenomenon by blasting all the muscles from the hips on up: chest, back, biceps, triceps, and shoulders, in a complete synergistic P90X way. After this one, you won’t be able to pick up a ping pong paddle for a couple hours. (45 minutes)

• Total Body Plus: By adding new synergistic moves, your muscles get pumped, then recuperate in stages until you’ve got nothing left. An unprecedented total-body phenomenon. (45 minutes)

• Abs/Core Plus: This advanced new ab/core workout adds 4 different positions (hanging, sitting, standing, and plank positions) to intensify your ab work and shred your midsection even faster. Is a ten-pack even possible? You’ll find out. (20 minutes)

Bonus Materials Include:

• Fitness Guide with fully customized workout schedules showing you how to incorporate your new P90X Plus workouts into your complete P90X training system

• Downloadable worksheets to record your reps and sets and track your progress.

• 24/7 online access to chats with Tony Horton and an amazing online community that will cheer you on.

• DVD extras–Tony’s Trainer Tracks with detailed professional tips on every move to help you achieve perfect form and even better results.

List Price: $ 55.00

Price: $ 69.79

Related posts:

1. Review of P90X Fitness Program
2. Top 10 Exercise Mistakes: Number 6
3. Let’s Get Serious

Then right after the first of the year, Teri and I took a great winter vacation to Jackson Hole, WY.  We had a blast playing in the snow.  No time for exercise – having too much fun.

Lastly, as we flew home from vacation, I started getting a tickle at the back of my throat.  You guessed it, I got home with a royal case of the flu.  Definitely no exercising now.

For the next 2 and a half weeks, I battled the flu.  Every time I started to feel better, I’d make plans to start exercising again and sure enough, I’d wake up the next day feeling like crap all over again.

Finally, I’d had enough.  I wasn’t feeling 100% but well enough to get out and take a brisk walk.  I figured that if I waited until I felt completely recovered, we’d be well into July.  It took effort but I got up off the couch and started moving.

You know what?  The more I moved, the easier it was to move some more.  Getting my cardio up to the point where I was breathing hard seemed to open up my chest and break up some of the congestion.

I felt I was finally able to start my New Year’s Resolution – yep, in February.  What is my resolution?  It’s to “get serious.”

What do I mean by that?  Easy.  2011 is the year to get serious.  It’s time to get serious about:

• Getting into shape
• Eating healthier foods
• Losing weight
• Getting fit

I also included some financial goals as well (“it’s time to get serious about getting my company back on the growth path”, etc).  The point is that you can “play at” getting into shape, you can “play at” trying to lose weight.  Or you can get serious and actually do it.

How many times have you told yourself, “I really need to start working out” and then immediately said, “tomorrow.”  See, that’s “playing at” getting into shape because we all know that “tomorrow never comes.”

How many times have you told yourself “I’m going to cut out junk food” immediately followed by the thought, “right after I finish this piece of cake?”  That’s “playing at” losing weight and I used to fall into the same trap.  I was always going to do something to improve my health or fitness tomorrow, or down the road, or right after this bowl of ice cream.

If  you’re serious about change, you don’t play those games. If you’re tired about being weak, or overweight, or broke, or whatever, then get serious about changing it.  Get serious about doing what it takes to get yourself from where you are now to where you really want to be.  And then get serious about staying there.

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S. Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.” This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – for a limited time.  Just click on the title to be taken to the download page.  Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: fitness, exercise, vacation, seriousness, determination, goals, diet, weight loss, nutrition

Related posts:

1. Big Fat Lies
2. The REAL Secret to Losing Weight
3. Why It’s So Hard to Lose Weight

I overheard two people talking the other day while I was waiting in line for something or another.  One person was telling their friend their plans for the upcoming weekend.  They described in complete detail where they were going, who they were going with, what they were going to do when they got there and how wonderful and perfect everything was going to be.  They ended by saying that they just couldn’t wait for the weekend to get here.

The second person said something that was pretty profound and that has really stuck with me…

The second person said that they tried not to look ahead to the weekend because all it did was make the days go by too fast, like time was flying past them.  As a result, they felt constantly stressed out from trying to “catch up” but never being able to.  “Sure, the weekends came quickly, but you never get the chance to accomplish everything to wanted to do during the week and before you know it, the entire week is gone.  The problem with focusing on tomorrow is that you lose today.”

My first thought was, “Wow.”  I don’t think you can say it any better.  The problem with focusing on tomorrow is that you lose today.

Let me give you an example of this principle in action.  I’m writing this the week before Thanksgiving so it’s relatively late in the year.  Christmas will be coming up soon, and then New Year’s.  You know the drill.  So let me ask you, when you get together with friends or family this time of year, what’s the one thing that almost always comes up?  Someone invariably says, “Boy, the year has sure gone by fast!”  and everyone around, including you, agrees.

Another example is when you’re looking at pictures of your kids (or grandkids).  One of the first things you notice is how much they’re grown.  What’s the very next thought that comes into your head?  Right – how fast time has flown by.

Why is that?  Why is it that time seems to fly by so quickly, especially when we get older?  I think the main reason is  because we’re always looking forward to the next “weekend.”  It may not be the actual weekend we’re looking forward to, it could be 5 pm, or next Wednesday, or Sunday evening, or any other date or event in the future.  When we do that, when we focus on what we’ll be doing and experiencing in the future, we sacrifice the present.

Turning Off the Autopilot

Ever go into “autopilot” while you’re driving?  You’re cruising down the highway, it’s a beautiful day, and you’re thinking about what you’re going to do once you get to wherever it is you’re going.  You can picture exactly how you’ll feel, what you’ll say, how you’ll act and how everyone else will react.  Then, when you arrive at your destination, you can’t remember a thing about the actual trip.  You can’t remember the traffic, the lights, the construction, nothing.  Ever happen to you?

Sure, we’ve all done it.  We’ve all spent time in the future dreaming, thinking, planning, and that’s OK.  However, we all need to understand that when we’re on “autopilot,” or focusing on the future, we’re missing out on what’s going on around us right now.

I highly recommend that you make a conscious effort to turn off the “autopilot” periodically.  Schedule an appointment with yourself in your day planner if you have to and when the scheduled time comes, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and visualize yourself reaching over to a big switch labeled “Autopilot” and flipping it to “OFF.”  Now open your eyes.

What do you see?  Look at some of the individual things around you.  No, no, don’t do a quick sweep and say, “OK, done.”  Pause and look at the things around you.  Let your eyes naturally come to rest on one individual thing.  Now, look deeper.  Notice details, texture, color, shape.  Take the time to look at something and really see it.  Then take a deep breath and go on to the next item around you.  Forget about everything else.  In fact, nothing else exists right now except you and the item you’re looking at.  Focus on nothing else.  Take another deep breath.

Now, expand your focus and take in the entire room or the entire landscape.  Notice how all of the individual items fit together to form the bigger picture.  Notice how clear and colorful everything is.

How does this make you feel?  Did you see things you never saw before?  Did it generate some new ideas or thoughts about things you should be working on, or which direction you should be moving in?

For some people, quickly changing from a micro-focus to a macro-focus can be disorienting.  Some people actually get dizzy.  But being able to “stay in the moment” while visualizing and planning the future is key to achieving your goals.

Watching Where you’re Going as well as Where you Step.

Learning how to balance the “todays” with the “tomorrows” is a key part of a successful life.  Yes, you need both long term and short term plans.  You need to know that you’re heading in the right general direction and that all your efforts and hard work will eventually get you to the specific destination you planned on ending up at.  So you do need to focus on “tomorrow.”

However, you also need to make sure you’re watching where you place your next step.  Otherwise, you might step right off a cliff destroying any chance of ever reaching your long term goals.  In other words, you also need to focus on “today.”

My grandmother, who still remembered the horse-and-buggy days used to tell me to “keep your shoulder to the wheel but look up every once in a while to make sure you’re not pushing the cart into the ditch.” I think she had it right.  “Keep your shoulder to the wheel” means to focus on the things you need to do today in order to keep your goals moving forward.  The rest of the saying pretty much speaks for itself.  Don’t get so caught up in your day-to-day activities that your life goes into the ditch.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Holidays!

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

Technorati Tags: goals, goal setting, planning, focus, visualize, health, emotion, balance, time management, future

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Did you know that an estimated 100 million Americans are expected to create New Year’s resolutions in 2009?  That’s one out of every 3 Americans!  Were you one of them?

Just what is a “resolution” anyway?  According to the dictionary, a “resolution” is a formal expression or a decision to do something or to act in a specific way.  For most of us, a New Year’s resolution is a declaration of what we want to accomplish in the new year.  It’s also an implied statement that we’re not happy with how things worked out in the previous year.

According to Business Wire, the Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for 2009 were:

1. Get out of debt or save money
2. Lose weight
3. Develop a healthy habit (like exercise or eating healthy)
4. Get organized
5. Spend more time with family and friends
6. Develop a new skill or talent
7. Work less, play more
8. Other / Miscellaneous
9. Break an unhealthy habit (like stop smoking or overeating)
10. Change employment

Where did your resolutions fit in?  Are your resolutions typical of what other Americans want?  I know mine are.  But here’s the critical question — what are you going to do to turn your New Year’s Resolution into a New Year’s Reality?

Saying you want to start exercising is one thing.  Getting out of bed and actually doing it is quite another  (I struggle with that every morning!).

There are a number of techniques you can use to help you turn your resolutions (or goals) into reality.  I’ve mentioned several in past posts.  But techniques are just that — techniques.  Before any kind of technique will work for you, you’ve got to really decide that your resolution is something you’re committed to achieving.  You’ve got to recognize that it’s going to take effort, time, dedication, and possibly money — and you’ve got to be willing to pay that price.

So take another look at your New Year’s Resolutions.  Make sure they’re really something you’re willing to work for.  If not, it’s OK to make changes.

Then once you’ve come up with a list you’re committed to, get to work turning your resolutions into reality.  Set a schedule.  Make a plan.  Get a buddy.  Do whatever you need to do to get started.  Take that first step, then the second, then the third, and continue on until it’s become a new habit, a new part of you.

I want you to make 2009 your year.  I want you to achieve all of your New Year’s Resolutions…and I want you to know that I’ll be there working on my resolutions right along side you!

Make it a great year!

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: new year, resolutiions, goals, weight loss, health, 2009, dedication, commitment

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So how do you break out of this cycle? How do you set goals that will increase your chances of success, instead of setting you up for failure? Well, let me share with you what I’ve found. It’s called the “3 P’s.”

The 3 P’s

Take out your journal (you do have one, don’t you?) and write down these three words: Purpose, Passion, and Performance. Behind these three words are the secret to achieving whatever goal you set. Here’s how they work and support each other.

Purpose

There are a lot of words that are used to describe purpose. Other authors might talk about setting a goal, picking a direction, creating a dream or vision. These all essentially mean the same thing and attempt to answer the same basic question: exactly why do you want to do (or have) this? What is your purpose in pursuing this? Is it better health? To look better in your clothes? To have more energy? What is your true purpose in achieving this?

Now here’s the key. Make sure you state your reason, your purpose, in the most specific and descriptive way you possibly can. Make sure you use positive terms that excite and encourage. Why? Because you want your purpose to create plenty of passion, the second of the 3 P’s.

Passion

Passion is the energy, the drive, that’s going to get you up early, keep you up late, and keep you going all day long. It’s what’s going to keep you moving when everything (and everyone) else is trying to stop you dead in your tracks. Need more energy, more drive? Easy. Go back and re-read your purpose. Remind yourself why you’re doing this. If you stated your purpose in descriptive enough terms, you’ll feel the passion, excitement, and determination beginning to build. Getting passion to build inside of you is like increasing the amount of steam in a boiler. After a while, the pressure builds to the point that it simply has to be put to work or else it will explode. Having ample reserves of passion will drive you to the next of the 3 P’s: performance.

Performance

Getting yourself so excited that you simply have to go out and do something about it creates physical action, or performance. This is the step where you are actually out there making your dream come true. You are accomplishing your purpose, your goal. Your performance is physical, something you can see, something you can measure, and because you can measure it, it’s easy to tell how close (or how far) you are from accomplishing your goal.

Now here’s the neat part. Once you see that you’ve made even a little bit of progress, your passion will flare up and you’ll be driven to even better performance. This cycle of passion driving performance which creates more passion continues to repeat itself until you’ve reached your goal. Isn’t that neat? What’s even better is that now that you know how this cycle works, you can control it, you can use it, you can put it to work in order to accomplish whatever you want to achieve.

Getting Your Performance Engine Started

It really is like an engine. Your passion creates energy and your performance translates that energy into work. After a very short while, that work turns into progress and when you see progress, you get excited and create more passion. That passion fuels the next cycle of performance and off you go headed towards accomplishing your purpose.

So how do you get your engine started? Clearly define your purpose and make sure it’s stated in a way that inspires, that motivates, that creates passion. Then use that passion to get moving in the direction you want to go. If your “engine” coughs and quits, go back and review your purpose and get inspired all over again. If it doesn’t inspire you then re-write it until it does. Only then will you create enough “fuel,” enough passion, to get your performance engine started.

So what are you waiting for? Get started right now!

Hiram

Technorati Tags: balanced health fitness health goals motivation goals passion

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