I have been called a dreamer. I have a million ideas running through my head at once and like to talk about them with Allison (my wife), my sister, or my mom. Most of the time, they’re just ideas…something that I think would be cool, but not necessarily something that I’m willing to put the effort in to pursue.
Early on in our relationship, apparently Allison thought that everything I said was a plan for our future. The ideas were lofty, far reaching, and scattered all over the place. She has admitted to me that it stressed her out at first. (Sorry about that, love!) But now she knows me better and I’ve become a little better, I think, at letting her know when I’m going to act on some of these ideas or dreams.
This got me to thinking…a lot of people have big hopes, dreams, desires, goals. Call it what you will. But while many of us have these goals, it is the actions we take that will actually get us there.
For example, you can say, “I want to lose weight,” but if it’s a vague goal without an action plan in place, it’s probably not going to get done. You have to figure out the specifics first. Why do you want to lose the weight? Is it to improve your healthspan, so you can go up a flight of stairs without being out of breath, to have more energy to play with your kids, or just to impress a guy/girl you like?
After you determine your why, next you need to decide how much weight you want to lose and by what date. This gives you a sense of urgency so you don’t procrastinate. After all, if you say you want to lose ten pounds in six weeks versus ten pounds in six years, you’re more likely to stay motivated with the former.
Lastly, you need to figure out which activities will get you to your goal and measure those on a daily basis. This is crucial and so many people don’t start out with measurables that will actually help them get to where they want to be. Or they start out with measurables and don’t actually keep track/measure them! You have to put in the work to get what you want, and the best way to find out if you’re winning or losing is by looking to see if you are accomplishing the measurables that you set. Again, from our losing ten pounds in six weeks example, maybe your measurables are “I’m going to eat 3-5 servings of vegetables per day, limit my added sugar intake to less than 5g per day, workout 5x/week for at least one hour per session, etc.”
When you manage your activities (by doing them and keeping track of what you did/didn’t do), you are more likely to hit your goals. Focus on that and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.
By the way, today is our 3-year anniversary! Thanks to you, Allison, for staying by my side through everything and being my number one supporter! I love you and can’t wait to see what we can achieve next!
