Whether your goal is six pack abs, deadlifting triple bodyweight, or earning one million dollars (muahaha) the pathway to achievement is the same. You must begin with attainable and sustainable habits. Obviously, the goals listed above would be more on the extreme side for most, but why not shoot for big goals? You may surprise yourself.
The most surefire way to derail your chances of success is through rapid and sudden change. Think about the last time you decided to clean up your nutrition. Did you stop eating sugar cold turkey? Did you give up all alcohol? Did you eat raw vegetables until you turned green? Did you make all of those changes at once? If so, how long did that last?
For the majority, that type of change may only last thirty days, perhaps a little less or a little more. The only person(s) I would ever subscribe drastic change to would be an athlete with massive aspirations. They are one hundred percent invested and dedicated to achieving their goals regardless of what methods I subscribed to them.
When the sugar craving kicks in they will not eat it because it doesn’t serve the purpose of winning. When your sugar craving kicks in you may think, “it’s been 24 days and I feel great, let’s crush some candy”. Once you have taken that first bite it makes it so much easier to slip into old habits. Old habits die hard!
So what steps could you take to achieving the big scary goals?
Start with your daily habits.
If you truly want six pack abs, start by eating one large salad a day and cutting out crap food all but once or twice per week. If you feel like you deserve it indulge once or twice per week, you are human after all. DO NOT make crazy changes like doing 100 sit-ups a day, running 5 miles five times a week, and trying to live on chicken breast and broccoli. Barf…
If you want to deadlift triple bodyweight start by deadlifting once a week, train the musculature of your back once or twice per week, and stretch or foam roll once per day. DO NOT start maxing out 3 x per week or your body will morph into a metal rod.
If you truly want to save $1,000,000, I hope you caught my Dr. Evil reference. Kidding aside, start by saving $10 a day. I won’t give you the “do-nots”, you get it.
A habit, on average, takes two weeks to form. After the two week period you no longer have to think about it, it’s second nature. This is why I love the Precision Nutrition program. Every two weeks a new habit is introduced and then built upon. You end up accumulating an entire toolbox which enables you to be the master of your own success.
If you take anything away from this article I hope it’s this. Change takes time but it’s worth it, take small steps, and enjoy yourself along the way. Even the bumpy parts, that’s where we learn.
All the best,
Anchored Athletics Team
