Every year I break down my goals into 4 quarters.
Q1 is January 1st - March 31st
Q2 is April 1st - June 30th, so on and so forth.
Each quarter of the year I pick an area of my life to "spike" in.
"Spike" - to spend more time, energy, and attention in an area of my life than I would otherwise do
For Q1 of 2023 I have decided to spike in the health area of my life.
I chose health because I was feeling a sense of frustration in that area of my life.
I've been feeling like I'm leaving some potential on the table. I've been feeling like I'm capable of so much more with my fitness level. I don't want to let my 20's go by without really seeing what I'm capable of.
I think frustration is a great thing.
I think frustration is your soul informing you to pay attention. It's your soul informing you to make a change in that area of your life.
And then it's up to you to identify the appropriate change and make it!
So that's what I'm doing.
I've set a very specific fitness goal for myself that has 3 parts:
1. Increase my 1-rep max for Barbell Back Squat
2. Increase my 1-rep max for Barbell Bench Press
3. Decrease my 5k run time
How did I come up with that?
I've always wanted to be well rounded when it comes to my fitness. I've never cared about being the best of the best at any one particular thing. But I've wanted my body to be highly capable of doing all of it.
These three tests are a great mix of lower body strength, upper body strength, cardiovascular endurance, and speed.
I wanted to come up with something that pushed me to improve in all of those areas.
My plan is to get a baseline result for all three tests and then to train for 3 months to see how much I can improve.
One thing that I did for this goal - that is super critical for any goal you have - is I sought out help from someone who is more intelligent than myself.
The way I did this is I hired a coach.
You don't need to hire a coach for every goal that you have - although that is a phenomenal way to receive expert help and accountability - but I do recommend seeking out higher intelligence.
That could be from a coach, from a podcaster, books, articles, YouTube videos, etc. There is no shortage of information out there that can assist you in the goal achievement process.
Alongside hiring a coach, I put myself through the same 5-step process that we bring our own clients through - as I do with every goal I have.
The process is as follow:
1. Build your BYG - 2-4 sentences describing your why
2. Set your Success Indicator - state your starting line, your finish line, and your deadline
3. Identify your Progress Indicators - 2-3 weekly behaviors that will progress you closer to your Success Indicator
4. Plan your PILS - micro habits that set you up for success on a weekly basis
5. Set up your Scoreboard - create an engaging way to track your progress
That last one is critical - Set up your Scoreboard. If you do not have a scoreboard for your goal, do not expect success.
If you do not have a scoreboard for your goal, expect yourself to forget about it.
If you do not have a scoreboard for your goal, expect your motivation to be low...
Expect your execution to be worse, and...
Expect your end result to be less.
Boost your own motivation, execution, and results by creating a fun, meaningful, and engaging scoreboard. (Mine is posted below)
Lastly, I like to communicate my goals to others.
This is not for everyone.
But what I will say is that when I communicate my goals to others a few things happen:
1. I get help and support from unexpected places and people
2. I have an increased sense of accountability from other people asking me how it's going
3. It creates an increased sense of importance - an increased sense that the goal really matters
The 3 takeaways from this that you can apply to your own goal:
1. Seek out higher intelligence and knowledge
2. Follow our framework from above
3. Communicate your goals to others (this could be 1 person or 100 people)
If you can do these things, you'll undoubtedly see great progress with your goals.
To being the best you've ever been and the worst you'll ever be,
