Start with Vision

Fred's Vacation

One day Fred, a hard working retail manager, decided he needed a vacation. He put in for his vacation time. Finally, the time came for Fred to take his vacation. So he packed up his 1970 Brown Gremlin and headed off on his relaxing "vaca."

First he headed west down Pleasant Boulevard and took a right onto Main Street. Finally, he was off. He could feel his shoulders relax, his heart beat slowed. He was free!

Once Fred had driven about 5 miles down Main Street, he hopped on the interstate and started heading south. He wasn't sure exactly where he wanted to go. Fred just knew that the sunny southern-tier sounded spectacular!

After about two weeks of driving around from hotel to hotel, Fred found himself back at home. He never reached a destination. He never made it to the sunny southern-tier. In fact, Fred only crossed the state line before getting frustrated and turning around.

Start with Vision

I realize that this story is pretty far-fetched, but isn't this what we seem to do with our goals? Especially, our health and fitness goals!

We decide, "I want to lose weight," or "I'm going to get stronger." So, we get a gym membership, we get rid of all the junk food, and we jump into action. The problem is, we never set our destination. We never set a SMART goal, and we never developed a clear vision of where we were heading.

Soon enough, because we didn't have a defined target, we get side-tracked and go from fad to fad - from hotel to hotel like Fred. All of this just to get frustrated, stressed out, and end up right where we started!

What to do!

Set a SMART goal:

1.) Specific - the more specific, the clearer the vision/target
2.) Measurable - how do you know you've reached you goal if you don't set a measurable mark?
3.) Attainable - if you weigh 150 pounds, is losing 100 pounds a good/realistic goal?
4.) Realistic - are you willing to put in the work needed to reach your goal?
5.) Time Bound - how will you reach your goal without accountability and a set time? Remember, the work expands to fill the deadline. In other words, whatever time frame you set, that's how long it will take, be it 1 year or 10 years.

Let's compare two goals:

Scenario 1 - Jane wants to lose weight in whatever amount of time it takes.

Is it specific? No

Measurable? I guess, but Jane has technically achieved her goal if she only loses one ounce.

Attainable? Yes

Realistic? Yes

Time bound? No

Scenario 2 - Jane, who weighs 179 pounds, wants to drop 30 pounds by her 40th birthday on January 8th, which is six months away.

Specific? Yes

Measurable? To a "T"

Attainable? Absolutely! Since Jane is 5'6" tall, she would come back to a healthy BMI (body mass index) once she drops the 30 pounds.

Realistic? Absolutely. She'll drop a little over 1 pound per week which is very doable with some simple habit changes and progressive exercise.

Time bound? Yes. She has a set day to achieve her goal of 30 pounds down. Not to mention, she chose a milestone birthday which gives her a stronger reason to lose the excess fat!

Once you have your SMART goal. It's time to make it a concrete vision! So solid you can feel it! So strong you seek every healthy way possible to achieve it! So real, you can feel the clothes fitting loser and loser!... or tighter and tighter for those of you who want to gain muscle.

It's time to visualize! Think about your goal and what it will feel like when you have reached it. Think about the sense of accomplishment you'll feel. You can even get a picture that represents your goal and keep it somewhere you will see it multiple times per day. The fridge, your mirror, and even your pocket are all great places!

So why do all this? Well, when you get a clear vision of where you want to go, your brain now has something to latch onto and work toward. Without a clear vision, how are you ever going to know where you're going or when you've achieved your goal? Not to mention the confusion that leads to frustration and stress due to a lack of a clear, defined vision.

Summary

Whatever your goals and vision are, that's between you and God. I can't tell you what you want or what God wants for you. You have to spend time with Him. Read, pray, and ponder where you want to go. Once you've decided, build that vision and next time we'll dive into why you want to reach those goals. Stay tuned.

Love God, love people.

-Chris