‘Stop Talking, Start Doing!’ by Loudy Wiggins published in Great Health Guide (April 2016). It is important to verbalise your goals, however it is also just as important to be able to achieve them too. In this article, Loudy discusses how to take that step.
Read other Mindset articles on Great Health Guide, a hub of expert-inspired resources empowering busy women to embody health beyond image … purpose beyond measure.
MINDSET: Stop Talking, Start Doing!
written by Loudy Wiggins
This is the third article in the series dealing with goals and achievement. Far too often people make goals, verbalize them and think that is the way of achieving them. You must be specific and have a game plan. Goals must be broken down to the nth degree.
Verbalizing your goals too much is also something to be avoided, because actions do speak louder than words. By all means talk about things but the focus should be on achieving your goals rather than just setting your goals.
If you speak to athletes, you will find that the best results were achieved when goals were set in their minds and left unspoken. The focus is not on the goal but on the hard work that needs to be done – the everyday process. Motivation is intrinsic and it is also a very personal thing. I know a lot of sport psychologists will not agree with this philosophy and encourage verbalizing, but for some people, if they verbalized goals, they may become complacent and not think about the necessary steps to achieving the goals. That is a very important point to remember.
More often than not, people think that they are doing the right thing, but in actual fact they are slipping in one area or another. For example, with weight loss, it’s an exact science and many clients say, ‘but I’ve been eating healthily’ when they don’t see results. I will then concentrate on the detail of the process and discover that the portion sizes are incorrect or that they are overindulging just before going to bed. Once we analyzed the issue, the results were obtained.
Want your own FREE COPY of Great Health Guide
& delivered to your inbox each month?
Look to your right…
If you feel that goal setting is not for you then there are other ways of building a clear picture of what you want in your mind. It involves writing a letter to the universe. It is a similar method of thinking that involves writing everything down and letting it go, but in essence it is still goal setting. It’s pretty much asking for what you want, but again, your visions need to be clear and concise so be careful what you ask for.
Another important step is to do your research. A client came to me proclaiming that she needed to lose 10kg, but this magic number in her mind was where she thought she would be happy. She was actually at a really good weight but we just needed to work on her body composition so we planned a change of goal.
Mindfulness and appreciation of your current situation is also a must. The end goal will NOT make you a happier person. Learn to have gratitude and count your blessings. In this process you need to also ask yourself the difficult questions. Are there too many distractions? Is someone sabotaging you? Are you sabotaging yourself?
For beginners, I suggest writing your goals down and devising a plan – then forget about them and go on autopilot. Otherwise you may end up thinking about the end goal too much and not on how to achieve it. At the end of the day as I’ve repeated over and over again and as clichéd as it all sounds, actions speak louder than words and it is most definitely about the journey not the destination.
In summary my guidelines for goal setting are:
-
Set realistic goals
-
Have an action plan
-
Write it down and let it go
-
Make informed decisions, research your chosen field
-
Actions ALWAYS speak louder than words
-
Be grateful with your current situation. If you are unhappy, then re-assess the situation
-
Don’t let others sabotage you so take responsibility for your actions
-
Love what you do and live in the moment.
-
And most importantly DREAM BIG. Anything is possible if you are willing to do the work to get there!!
