Photo: Top of a mountain hike somewhere outside of San Diego after driving from a fog filled beach side in the quest for sunshine.
You have worked on creating a positive mindset. You thought of a goal and worked on believing in yourself that you can achieve the set goal. Now what? Rarely will a thought lead to an action without a plan set in place. You can try utilizing a plan that others have set in motion which led them to success and in certain scenarios this can work quite well. For example, in network marketing you have to, you guessed it, network. You have to put yourself out there to talk to people and more importantly follow up. Another example is following a race training plan to prepare for an upcoming race goal. Which can be especially useful if you are just starting out and not sure where to begin. Or back to our weight loss example, following a type of diet and exercise plan. However, even with all of these designed-by-others plans, you make have to tweak them to suit your individual needs. Perhaps you communicate effectively in a different way than others in the business or sales world. While racing I quickly realized that I needed to adjust race training plans to my time and needs to prevent burnout and injury allowing more of a cushion and a little less structure while listening to my body. Finding what works for you takes patience pertaining to weight loss or any other physical goal area. I am constantly learning about nutrition and making adjustments as new research emerges. Adjustments are also necessary as my lifestyle, activity and intensity levels of exercise change and my body shifts as I get older. I look at it as a fun science experiment on myself. Thanks grandma for passing on a small bit of that love of curiosity and science! I have been a junk food junkie, Sugar addict, Vegetarian, Vegan (for a few weeks), gluten free, dairy free (still am because I noticed an intolerance), Pescatarian, meat on the side, and as of the latest experiment about 3 months into Ketogenic-ish coupled with mindful/intuitive eating alkaline, gluten and dairy free diet. If I ever start to feel awful and think it may be my eating, I adjust. In this case, the adjustment came after a lot of research into current and long term health benefits and my theory as to how I could further alleviate lingering Lyme Disease symptoms. In addition moving toward breaking that nasty sugar addiction once and for all. And I am very excited to say that coupled with a new supplement I found I am finally on my way progressing nicely! Feel free to reach out to me and I will hook you up :)
As you can see by my personal eating plan changes, you my have some trial and error or need to adjust over time. What works for one person may not work for another because we are all beautifully very different. You may very well find that you have to blaze an entirely new path making it completely individualized. If you hate your workouts give something new a try. Yes, I slog through gym time for maintenance once or twice a week but, I spend most of my time in activities I love that bring me joy. During my racing days I was happy to spend up to 20 hours a week training for my sports and pushing myself to my max. It is all about being flexible until you find what works for you. Try setting up a detailed plan based around your schedule including your work, family, and other obligations. Put it on your calendar like you would an appointment. Commit to following that plan for at least 3 weeks. If you find it is not working for you, ask yourself what changes need to be made so that you can create a habit that you can stick with. You may find small simple steps as solutions to the big picture goal. And most of all make sure you are doing it for you, not to meet someone else's expectations. No one will be happy in the end if you reach your goal bitter.
Putting it all together
Start with a little self love and get rid of anything that no longer serves you purpose to make room for positivity.
Set a goal in one or all areas of your life. Tune in to yourself so make sure that you believe in your abilities to achieve those goals.
Make a game plan with complete details of actions to take you on your journey toward greatness.
Follow through and dedicate the time and energy needed to stick to that plan.
If obstacles should arise, evaluate your current plan of action to see if it makes more sense to power through and tough it out, make small adjustments, or an come up with an entirely new plan. Consistency is always the key to success.
Even if progress is small, it is progress so celebrate the small victories. Find ways to reward yourself that do not involve derailing your success.
I hope these basic steps help as you move forward on your quest to discover your best self. If you are still feeling stuck and not sure how to get from where you are now to where your goal is for yourself reach out to find out how I can help through life coaching. leave a comment on this page, connect with me facebook or instagram, or shoot me an email.