Dreams + Goals = Action

Goal Setting

The phone you’re reading this on started off as an idea.  In sum someone had a vision, wrote down a design, did the work, made it happen. Likewise, the shirt on your back- someone had an idea for a better shirt, wrote down their design, made it happen, now you look fabulous. There’s something about having a dream, a thought, an idea, then writing it down, breaking it into small goals, and making it happen.  Well, actually, there are two somethings.  Encoding and the Generation Effect.

Encoding is the biological process by which the things we perceive travel to our brain’s hippocampus where they’re analyzed. Then decisions are made about what gets stored in our long-term memory and, in turn, what gets discarded. Writing, evidently, improves that encoding process. In other words, when you write it down it has a much greater chance of being remembered.

 Next up: the “generation effect”, which basically says individuals demonstrate better memory for material they’ve generated themselves than for material they’ve merely read. It’s a nice edge to have and, when you write down your goal, you get to access the “generation effect” twice: firstly, when you generate the goal (create a picture in your mind). Secondly, when you write it down because you’re essentially reprocessing or regenerating that image.

Let’s take it to the gym.  

What dreams am I hearing?

• Lose 5lbs.
• Fit into clothes.
• Get stronger.
• Tighten and tone.

I hear them over and over and over.

and over.

Let’s go with lose 5 lbs.  Lose 5 and you’ll also tighten and tone; as a result your clothes will fit better.  

That’s basically three birds with one stone.  Moreover, you’re probably doing some strength work and getting stronger here too.

4 birds.

5 lbs is the dream.  Without goals to achieve that dream you’re ‘fueling disappointment.’  Let’s make some SMART goals.  Here’s what I mean by SMART.  

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time bound.

Five lbs of fat loss will take 5 weeks.  That’s a daily  500 calorie deficit for 35 days.  Looks SMART to me.  

We need to be more specific

How then do we drop that 500 calories?  Let’s write down 3 specific goals to get there.  Why write them down?  Did I mention you’re 40% more likely to achieve a goal you write it down.  
Get out your pen and pad or open up the notes app on your phone instead.
There are hundred of goals you can write.  I’ll give you five I’d start with.

1. Throw out all the crappy food in your fridge/pantry.
2. Create a daily 500 calorie deficit (diet and exercise).
3. Walk 10,000 steps today.
4. Do a 20 minute strength workout or 20 minute yoga flow.
5. Hire a trainer (should be #1 but I’m biased)

You’re on your way.

Prune the list.  If you accomplish a goal that you only have to do once (like #1 at the very top) you can cross it off or move it to the bottom of the list.   Add another goal.  

Assess how effective the goals are.  If you find that a goal you’re consistently checking isn’t moving the needle in your favor strike it from the list.

Revisit and rewrite your list every day.  Add new goals.  See what sticks.  Strike what doesn’t. 

Don’t worry about setting the right goals

Just keep writing, acting, pruning, failing, learning, repeating until you step on the scale and see what you want.

And then stop.

Just kidding…

New goal.  New List.  New challenge.  New you.

Thoughts become things.  What you repeatedly think will repeatedly show up.  Think big, dream big, get SMART and get moving!  Today is the youngest day of your life.

You ever hear the one about the guy who changes his computer password to reflect his goals. He wanted to quit smoking so his password became idontwantcigarettes84*.  He has quit smoking, ran a marathon, got a better job, met his dream girl, took his dream vacation Yada yada yada with this method.