We talk a lot about “resolutions” this time of year, and the positive changes we’re going to make. We have high hopes of success! High hopes, that is, until we land in mid-February with no progress, no motivation, and 22 months left on a 2-year gym membership contract.
Sound familiar?
Somewhere between January 1st and Valentine’s Day we seem to get bogged down, lose track, and give up.
It’s frustrating as heck, and none of us want to bomb out on our resolutions, so why does it keep happening?
The Real Problem
Let’s say you’ve resolved to lose 40 lbs this year. The problem that’s staring you down is that “lose 40 lbs” isn’t actionable. Losing 40 lbs is a goal, not an action. If you just sit there one night and say “I’m going to lose 40 lbs”, and that’s the extent to which you develop that desire, you’re setting yourself up to fail.
It’s like wishing over an empty cocktail glass, hoping for a martini. You’ll be thirsty until you grab some mixers and pour them in!
Fortunately for you, the resolution-success cocktail only has three ingredients, and it’s not that hard to make. Ready for the recipe? It’s equal parts of…..
Mixer #1 – Specificity
Losing weight requires specific actions. “I will lose 40 lbs this year” isn’t an action, but “I will exercise” is close. You can go out and exercise, once you’ve defined “exercise”.
“I will walk half a mile” is even better. Now you have a specific task. You could walk out your door right now and walk for half a mile….assuming you know how far half a mile is.
“I will walk to the green house on Sycamore Street and back again.” Bingo! You can do that right now. That’s an action. And if you walk out your door right now and do it, you’ll be closer to your goal.
Mixer #2 – Framework
On the way out the door though, you realize something. You’re wearing clogs with a 2″ heel. You need to change into….hmmm. You don’t own good walking shoes. You might have a pair of old sneakers, but you’ll have to go look.
While you’re at it, you never liked walking in the pants you’re wearing. They’re nice and dressy, so they’re good for sitting at your job all day, but not that great for walking. You’ll have to change your clothes.
Oh, and a friend told you to get a heart rate monitor for when you go walking, so you can measure your heart rate and track it day to day. Where do you get a heart rate monitor?
Then you start wondering what your heart rate is even supposed to be. Is high good? Is low good? What does it all mean? Maybe you need to stop at the library to get a book.
What you need is a framework. You need to figure out all of this stuff, and make a plan that will get you to your goal.
Mixer #3 – Forward Motion
You go to the library, and there are thirty books on exercise. A quick skim of them indicates that there are about ten different perspectives on it, many of them contradictory. We won’t even get into the diet books!
You discover that a heart rate monitor costs $80, and the walking shoes the guy at the sporting goods store suggests are about $70. This is getting expensive! You begin to think that maybe you shouldn’t start until after your next paycheck.
If you don’t develop some forward motion you’re going to frustrate yourself right back onto the couch with a pack of Oreos.
Shake It All Together
It can be frustrating trying to put it all together, but it doesn’t have to be. Specificity, a framework, and forward motion are all readily available – as long as you take them a little at a time.
“A little at a time” is what the Shift415 project is all about.
Shift415 encourages you to take time, in fifteen-minute daily blocks, to clarify actions, build a framework, and generate forward motion. Fifteen minutes can be found in most peoples’ schedules, and it’s all you need to start making progress.
Visit the archive from last October here to get a leg up, and leave a comment letting me know what topics you really want to see tackled this month!
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I'm Robert Wall, an Internet "jack-of-all-trades" on a journey to a life of minimalism, simplicity & frugality. Join me on the journey!
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You’re absolutely right. Specific, actionable goals are much more likely to be successful.
Several years ago I successfully lost 40 pounds as a result of a New Year’s resolution: I stopped drinking cola. I was seriously addicted, and stopping completely was a much more easily managed idea than cutting down. I learned to like unsweetened iced tea, something to which I am now addicted but with many fewer negative consequences.
Again, good job.
Gip
Gip @ So Much More Life recently posted..My 2012 Commitments To You, And What I Did On My Christmas Vacation
Out of curiosity, how long did it take to lose the weight once you cut out the cola?
Maybe in an upcoming year you can switch your addiction to iced green tea….I think that’s pretty much universally agreed to even be good for you.
Thanks for commenting Gip!
Thanks for the tips Robert. I am definitely guilty of focusing on the end point not the method. But the trick that works for me is like your 15 minutes at a time: take it in small steps. That why I usually only try to have one big and one small resolution each year and get into them gradually. For instance, 2010 was exercise, starting out with 5 minutes exercise twice a week, to not scare me off and form a habit, ending up at 40+ minutes three times a week.
However, our useful method looks like it can really help keep me more focused and productive.
That’s exactly the sort of change I’m talking about. Small in the beginning, with (hopefully) great results at the end.
Of course the “each year” is a completely arbitrary timeframe, but if it works for you then go for it!
Thanks for commenting!
Hi, late on the comment here…just found you. Great blog! I’ve been thinking recently about the idea of goals versus dreams or wishes. Often when we say we have a goal, what we really mean is that we have a dream or a desire for something (like a 40 pound weight loss, a different job, or whatever it may be). Goals are not goals until they become actions. We have lots of dreams, and dreams are great in that they can inspire and motivate us and give us a vision for the future, but they remain only dreams unless we put feet on them and take action. At that point they then become goals and eventually achievements, as long as we continue to act. Nice to read a similar point of view. Again, great blog!
Bingo! A goal is a dream with an action plan.
The really interesting question is, “why don’t we turn our dreams into goals, then into actions, more often?” I’m still doing some thinking on that one. Any thoughts?
I think mostly because it’s work, and we, as humans, are inherently lazy! Some dreams are hard work. For example, I want to hike the Inca Trail Machu Piccu (did I spell that correctly???). It will mean losing about 50 pounds, getting into the best shape I’ve ever been in, and earning enough money to meet all the expenses incurred in a trip like that. Work! Lots of it! The psychology of it is deciding whether or not the goal is worth the work. Or are we happier sighing contentedly and dreaming (all the while making up excuses)? Food for thought for sure!