Make 2022 your 'Take Action year!

Elite athletes know the difference between setting goals and reaching them is a discipline in the little things that matter.  If you want to be an elite athlete, you need to set goals for sports performance and personal development. But don’t get overwhelmed with too many goals or ones that are too big and actually demotivate you. You know you need to set goals for your big dreams, but what about the little things?  

How can they help you achieve those big dreams?  

The answer is that it’s all in the details.  You see, most people are so busy trying to hit their grand slam home run that they forget how important it is to focus on hitting singles and doubles. That’s because every single count matters! And if you want a long career or lifetime of achievement, then you have to pay attention to all the small stuff too.

If only young athletes knew this secret! It’s so simple, yet so many forget about it. They are too busy focusing on the future to care about the present. If champions came down from the mountain to give us insight into how they set goals, what would they say?

So how do champions stay focused? What do they pay attention to?

You see, I thought the secret was to set smart goals. The best performers know that this is only half the battle. Let me explain what they know about setting goals so you can hit your target much more consistently! 

They often set what I call 'goals from the heart' by listening to their ‘gut instinct”. This is an achievable goal that is a stretch rather than overwhelming. This is different from setting a goal that is expected or just sounds good. Sometimes consolidation is a better and more valid goal.

Here are five steps for how to make this happen:

1. Set a target goal from your heart
2. Set ONE main goal per training session
3. Identify small habits and actions that will help you achieve your goal and then do them consistently
4. Track the progress with a visual representation (blog post, tracking spreadsheet, own tracker app)
5. Reflect on each day and ask: what went well/ not so well; what did I learn; how can I improve?

It's true, and if you're not an elite athlete yet, understand that small habits done consistently are the foundation for your own success.

I've been coaching people on their goals and habits for more than thirty years and have seen first-hand how much easier it is to make progress with discipline in the little things.

There are seven bad “habits” (or lack of habits) that will hold back your long-term goals or even those short term ones you set this morning:

1. Setting vague goals;
2. Making excuses;
3. Putting off what needs to get done until tomorrow;
4. Waiting around for someone else to take the lead;
5. Not knowing what you need to do to achieve your goals;
6. Quitting after one or two failures; and, finally...
7. Thinking "failure" is the same as "I've tried it, it didn't work." 

As for setting vague goals…

What's the point of setting a goal without any details?

And as for making excuses…If we fail to make our goals specific enough, we have the wriggle room to make a million excuses without others or ourselves even knowing what we are actually accountable for, so we can pretend we are doing well.

Making a goal specific requires you to think through the various things that could get in your way and prepare yourself to do something about them. Then, instead of making excuses for why you didn't do what you said you were going to do, you can point out which of your objectives failed or were not completed.

If you've ever put off working on something important until the last minute, you know how it feels to get a sudden burst of energy and work harder than ever. Then, when the deadline is up, you're exhausted and start making excuses for why things didn't go well. 

Worse yet, what if you don't get that burst of energy? What then? You end up getting a low grade or losing a job, performing badly as an athlete, and you have no one to blame but yourself.

Waiting around for someone else to take the lead… This is often a case of not knowing what to do. Sometimes we don't even know the steps needed to accomplish something, so we wait for someone else to tell us how it's done. However, if you can see even a tiny next step, it's the only one you need to take. Literally, when confused or unsure just take one small step at a time.

Not knowing what you need… How many times have we started something, only to quit because we weren't sure how to accomplish that specific goal?  Keep in mind that if you don't know everything about how to accomplish your goals, the best thing is to do something anyway. You will make mistakes along the way, but at least you'll be moving forward until you figure out what's next.

Quitting after one or two failures… This goes hand-in-hand with number 8: thinking “failure” is the same as "I've tried it, it didn't work."

If you can understand how to make failure a part of your learning process by adjusting your approach, you'll be more likely to keep moving forward. Without doubt ask yourself these helpful questions: What went wrong? Why? What can be done differently? What can I do now that will take me closer to my goal?

How many times have you said something like: "I'm going to lose 10 pounds this year!" or "I'm going to learn a foreign language" and then quit after only a few days because you didn't see immediate results?

Well, guess what? If you really want something, you won't just give up when things get hard or complicated, will you?

If you would, maybe you should think about how badly you want success in your chosen sport or profession and ask yourself if what you're doing will get it. If the answer is no, then stop wasting time with excuses and make things happen!

In conclusion … It's been said that 97% of our beliefs are simply the result of life experiences… If this is true, then the only way to change our beliefs is to expose ourselves to experiences that can alter or expand them.

But until you actually do what it takes to work toward your own success, nothing will ever change. So let's stop making excuses and take responsibility for our progress! Instead of asking "Why me?" ask yourself "What needs to be done?"

It's never too late to take action and get the results you want. So, stop waiting around and go out and do it!

If you want to stop procrastinating, waiting around for someone else, or thinking failure is the same as trying and not succeeding--then take action. Stop making excuses and start taking responsibility for your own success! The first step towards a better future is just a few clicks away - we can help make 2022 your best year yet!

We are offering you a golden chance to take advantage of setting yourself up for a really positive year. 

We are offering you the "Mindset College Program" for the incredibly low price of $394 for the first 25 buyers only! https://mindsetcollege.co.uk/exclusive-offers 

Happy New Year 

David Sammel and the MC Team