The framework you can use to take action & crush your goals (as easy as possible)
Discover more from In Progress
The framework you can use to take action & crush your goals (as easy as possible)
The Goals to Action Framework
You look up and realize it’s been one month.
You’ve been so focused on other things, that you forgot that promise you made about starting to take better care of yourself.
In that time, you weren’t completely neglectful of course.
You read some articles, watched some videos, and learned a few things on nutrition & exercise.
You made that healthy dinner a few days back.
Oh yeah, you did go for that evening walk last week.
But it’s been a month, and you feel as though you have nothing to show for, well, the lack of deep focus for a better term.
I know it sucks.
It might be time you go on an information detox and get focused on taking purposeful action.
To make your next 30 days healthier than the last, I want to share my Goals to Action Framework.
I’ve never named it before but you put me on the spot, okay?
This is designed to help you move to focused action as fast as possible, and to keep you on that path for good.
No more 180 lifestyle overhauls.
Here’s the framework:
Define your goal
Figure out your limiting factor
Set an intentional practice
Commit to change
Celebrate small wins
Let’s expand on these now.
Define your goal
For now, let’s not over complicate this as there is so much out there on goal setting. I just want to give you the large brush strokes of the framework here.
Look up SMART goals and start there.
Be crystal clear on what you want, or at least get a general sense of what you’re trying to accomplish.
“I want to lose 10 pounds of fat in 6 months,” is a SMART goal.
“I want to lose weight,” is not.
Figure out your limiting factor
Based on where you are and where you want to be, what’s currently standing in your way as the largest obstacle?
Be specific.
Some places to look:
a lack of movement
poor sleep hygiene
not eating enough (insert food group/nutrient)
not dealing with stress in a healthy way
negative self-talk and a fixed mindset
It’s possible you have a few things that are holding you back. For now, the goal is to narrow it down to one thing to get hyper-focused.
Set an intentional practice
With your goal set, and your obstacle defined, what small action can you realistically do everyday - or damn near close to that - for the next two to four weeks?
This action should should be directly linked to addressing your limiting factor, moving you closer to your goals.
It must also be intentional.
This means you are showing up with mindfulness and focus.
If you believe a sedentary lifestyle is holding you back, come up with some specific actions to help with this:
Go for a 10 minute walk after dinner
Set a step goal each day
Join a friend when they go to the gym
Practice 15 minutes of yoga or stretching every morning
Whatever you do, just be sure it’s aligned with your goal, and addresses your defined limiting factor.
Commit to change
You have to actually want this goal, and you must be able to follow the process you’re laying out.
Ask yourself, “On a scale from 1-10, how committed am I to achieving my goal, and following this daily action?”
If it’s not at least a 9 out of ten, do some reflection. Figure out what needs to change to get you to that number. Maybe it’s making the daily action a bit easier. E.g., aiming for 8,000 steps each day, not 10,000.
Or, maybe it’s a change in perception around your goals. You might have to work on the story you’re telling yourself - the deeper purpose and meaning behind why you want to accomplish this goal.
Celebrate Small Wins
If there’s a surefire way that leads to giving up, it’s never reminding yourself of how far you’ve come and telling yourself you don’t deserve success.
Constantly looking ahead, attaching your self-worth to an always moving goal post, is guaranteed to cause you burnout.
How do you solve this?
Well, a simple way is to celebrate your wins, no matter how small they might be.
For one person, that might be “winning” the week and treating themself to a nice dinner.
For another, that could be winning the day and then watching a couple episodes of their favourite show.
Other alternatives might be a pat on the back or a Ric Flair, “Wooooo!”
I think the important thing here is to just acknowledge and savour your progress, even if it seems minimal. You deserve success, and you need to get good at spotting it early and embracing it along the way!
Summary
This framework is a general overview, designed to help you to start taking action today.
Once you get started, then you can worry about making adjustments. But you can only improve what’s real, not imagined. This is why getting your hands dirty, and doing something, is infinitely better than sitting around wishing and hoping.
You start, then you learn.
Remember:
Define your goal.
Figure out your limiting factor.
Set an intentional practice.
Commit to change.
Celebrate small wins.
Ready. Set. Go.