80% of all New Year Resolutions END in the month of February.
Yep, you see all those “New Year New Me” guys who flock to the gym in January, only to give up their membership soon after? They outnumber you 4 to 1.
If you had managed to achieve even ONE fitness goal that year, that’s already remarkable. You can apply this to all your goals, not just fitness and Calisthenics.
As the New Year begins, we are raring to write down all our ambitious goals and dreams that we want to achieve in our lives in ONE YEAR. Then we get overwhelmed when we do not even know where to begin and the goal seems too far. The fact is that most people overestimate what they can do in a year but underestimate what they can achieve in 5 years.
How to you hit all of your fitness goals?
However, if we stick to only 3 major goals this year, and set micro-goals along the way, we are more likely to achieve them. We can also break down the gargantuan task into smaller, more actionable steps, we trick our brains into doing these things instead of procrastinating in the same spot for months.
These 3 things will help you to finish what you set out to do:
- Focus on fewer goals
- Make your goal checkpoints as easy as possible
- Think long term (possibly more than a year)
Focus on fewer goals
When I started Calisthenics, I only had ONE goal in mind: The Planche.
With this laser focus and consistent output, I had accomplished the impossible move in the year itself. If I had overestimated myself by loading on other Calisthenics skills such as the Front Lever or One-Arm Handstand, I would never have been able to perform the Planche nor see such significant results. Hence, focusing on fewer but more concrete goals makes it more likely for you to accomplish them.
Make your goal checkpoints as easy as possible
When you become focused with fewer things and set the bar lower, small wins become inevitable. You start to see yourself improving and you will WANT to keep going! From then on, the fire in you is self-sustaining: Improving motivates you to work and working helps you improve. Its a virtuous cycle. As I progressed through stages of the Planche, these wins gave me the confidence to keep going as well until I reached my goal.
Think long term
Many great things in life take time, lots of it. If we expect too much from ourselves, we run the risk of burning out or giving up when we are already halfway there. Thinking long term is not the same as procrastinating or doing things unnecessarily slow. It is managing expectations and realizing that some things take more time to bear fruit, and that progress is not always linear.
As long as we are consistent and keep showing up, progress is sure to follow. Keeping track of your efforts is reviewing the results is also important along the way. This is why it is important to make smaller goal checkpoints, whilst keeping your eye on the few important targets.
Your goals are closer than you think
Finally, there WILL be times whereby you fall short of your own expectations despite putting in focused effort. Trust the process. Success is closer than you think. Don’t be a loser and never stop until you eventually get your next win.