me of year again. 2012 is just around the corner, which means it is time to set your resolutions. This is such a cool time of year. Everyone is super motivated, has a goal, and works hard to get there.The problem is, how often does someone stick to their resolutions? I have been guilty of this many times in the past. You have great intentions, but you just can't stick to something for 12 months. In 2011 I set a goal for myself in January and I am proud to say that I have stuck with it 100%. In fact I accomplished more than I originally set.
My objective for my goal was to be a better trainer and a better business person. Now this goal is easy to say but tougher to go out and do. Instead of making that my actual goal I picked one thing that would help me improve in each. If I did this one thing I would have to get better. My goal was to read 1 book every month for a year. And not just read the book but apply what I learned. I picked books that were about fitness/nutrition or books about business(marketing, sales....). Here are the books that I made it through. You will see there are more then 12 too. It became such an obsession of mine that I didn't want to stop at just one a month.
1. Ultimate Back Fitness And Performance- Discusses the proper exercises to perform when dealing with low back issues and common reason for back pain.
2. Functional Training For Sport- Explains how to program workouts for athletes with functional exercises and how to progress and assess.
3. Advances in Functional Training- Similar to the previous book with a few new techniques thrown in there.
4. Athletic Body In Balance- Great book that showed how to assess movement patterns and create corrective exercises to improve performance.
5. Born To Run- Highly recommend this book even if you are not into running. Tells the story of the Greatest Race No One has ever heard of and why the human body was literally designed to run.
6. Think and Grow Rich- This book was written in the 30's but still holds true today. Discuss the proper way to goal set and follow through with your goals.
7. How To Win Friends and Influence People- Another book from the 30's that explains how to deal with people to persuade them to see your side and how to get others to want to be around you.
8. Anatomy Trains- An anatomy type book that shows how the body is made up of interconnected highways not isolated muscles like most people train them.
9. The New Rules Of Lifting- another recommended book for those into working out. Show the basic movements that should be trained and how you can eliminate unnecessary exercises.
10. Delivery Happiness- Recommended for anyone who works in customer service. This is the story of the CEO of Zappos.com and how he developed their company to be famous for amazing customer service and great corporate culture.
11. Total Body Breakthroughs- A compilation of a number of different fitness professionals explaining various issues in the fitness world.
12. In Defense of Food- Another high recommendation. A simple premise. Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not Too Much.
13. Sway- A great book that looks into why people make irrational decisions.
14. Predictably Irrationally- Similar to Sway, but more in depth into the psychology of decision making and how you can use it to influence decisions.
15. Baby Wise- Had to through one baby book in there.
16. Ultimate Fat Loss Programming and Coaching System- The name here pretty much says it all.
17. Bigger, Faster, Stronger- A guide to designing a systematic program for young athletes.
So I ended up reading 5 more books then originally intended. I honestly really impressed my self with this goal. It may seem like I have a ton a free time to just sit and read, but if you know me at all you know this is not the case. I had to really figure out a way to commit this much time to reading, and by the end I really started to enjoy it. (Plus flying around the country all year helps).
So I thought about why was I so successful with this goal. I came up with a few tips that will help you create a good goal and stick with it for the whole year.
1. Pick an ACTION goal not a results goal.
For example, I mentioned I could have made my goal to be a better trainer. This is such an abstract goal that I would have never really known where to start. This is the same as saying I'm going to lose 15lbs. While it is ok if there is a certain amount of weight you want to lose, you need to make your goal and action to hit that number. Instead commit to following a cleaner diet program or perform strength training 3 days per week.
2. Tell EVERYONE what your goal is.
It is amazing how much more motivated you will be come when others know you are working towards a goal. You would be surprised how much people will check on you. We love seeing others be successful because it is contagious. Tell your family, friends, and coworkers what you intend to do. They may even join you.
3. Invest in your goal or have something to lose.
When there is nothing to lose if you do not success it really isn't a big deal if you don't make it. Make yourself commit to something. You might have to invest some money to stick with it. Paying a trainer is great motivation to show up for a workout. If you don't want to invest money then make some consequence for not completing it.
4. Reward yourself for completing the goal.
On the opposite end of having something to lose, you might be even more motivated by a reward. Promise your self something you really want if you hit your goal. This could be a vacation to show of the new bod or maybe a new toy like an iPad to play with if you make it.
5. Give yourself timelines.
A year is a very long time to stick with even a small goal like flossing your teeth. Instead of going for a whole year, try and break it down to smaller timelines. Instead of me saying I will read 12 books this year I said 1 book a month. This was a very reasonable goal and I new exactly when it ended.
6. One goal at a time.
Ambition can be a great trait, but be careful when setting new goals. It is hard enough to stick with one. You can have multiple goals for the year but it is best to work on them at different times. You could break the year up into quarters and pick a new goal for each quarter instead of 4 goals for the year. Once you make it the entire year, it has become a new habit. I plan on continuing my reading of one book a month, but plan on adding a new goal for 2012. I'm actually still working on it now, so I will get back to you on what my new goal will be.
Well that is it. Follow this 6 simple steps and you will be well on your way to reach your new goal. Feel free to comment below or write to me on Facebook to share your goal with me and others to see.
You Stay Healthy San Diego,
Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator
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