Many people are working towards achieving goals they have set at this time of year — whether to lose weight, get fitter or run a marathon. (See http://bit.ly/setgreatgoals if you need help setting goals).
One of the reasons people don’t achieve their goals is due to confusing motivation with Self-Discipline. Motivation is defined as “the need or reason for doing something”. Self-Discipline is defined as “the ability to make yourself do something, even if it is difficult, so that you can achieve a goal”.
Being motivated to achieve a goal is great — it means you have the insight and the foresight to achieve something new or different. However, motivation without Self-Discipline results in goals and targets slipping.
1. Form daily habits
Getting into a daily routine will help you stick to your plans. Use a calendar to block out your day to make specific dedicated time for your goal and stick to this daily structure. Include time for yourself, work, friends and family, and your community. If you’re trying to lose weight by sticking to a meal plan, make sure to include the time needed to order and buy ingredients, and the time you need to prepare and cook.
Review your daily habits regularly and make changes as needed. Research shows it takes around 66 days for habits to become embedded. Consistency is key. Cheat days are a myth, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun working towards your goal. Set aside time in your day or week that is not related to your goal, to allow you to do something fun and enjoyable; however, it cannot be anything that diminishes your gains. For example, if you’ve been sticking to eating well balanced and nutritious meals all week, an ‘unhealthy’ take away, or desert shouldn’t make a difference as long as it is part of your planning.
2. Have an accountability partner
Find somebody, or a group, on the same journey as you — i.e. striving towards achieving a goal. The goal does not have to be the same, but the critical point is having somebody you can give value to, and from whom you can receive feedback. When setting out to achieve something new, we can be blind to various factors that may impede our development and Self-Discipline. There will be times where you are aware of what you need to change, and there will be times when you are not mindful that change is required. An accountability partner can help you identify areas that are in your blind spot.
3. Visualise your goal and experience it
A great book called Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel, talks about the bullseye being the target, and the goal being to get the arrow to hit the target. Likewise, if your goal is to spend more time with your family by not having to work evenings and weekends, you need to experience the goal by visualising it or living the goal now. This in turn will reinforce your Self-Discipline in working through the steps needed to achieve the goal. It’s also important to balance yourself physically, mindfully and spiritually. Striving to spend more time with your family is not just about having enough money not to have to work, but also being physically fit, able to manage stress, and spend time on your inner development.
4. Plan ahead
External factors will always challenge your daily habits. Planning for the best, worse, and most likely scenarios will allow you to stick to your routine and develop resilience. Horizon scanning will enable you to recognise situations that could be challenging to your Self-Discipline — such as taking a holiday. The most Self-Disciplined people will enjoy their holiday and deliberately place flexibility in their daily routine rather than stick to a fixed routine that will fail. When returning to a normal routine, it is then easier to adapt as they know the changes that need to be made, rather than starting from scratch.
5. Know your why
This is probably the essential method of instilling great Self-Discipline. Knowing why you want to achieve a particular goal will help you focus on the larger picture. Simply wanting to lose weight because you feel you will be healthier at a lower weight is less likely to be successful than knowing why you want to lose weight — for instance to minimise the risk of diabetes and it’s associated problems. You can go further by thinking about the impact of diabetes not only on yourself, but your family, and the wider population. Running merely to be able to achieve the goal of completing a marathon, is more difficult than completing a marathon that will also raise funds and awareness for a charity or cause close to your heart.
Dr Adnan Ali is a Doctor, Medical Leader, and Entrepreneur on a mission to reduce health inequalities by bringing together the best in medicine and business and developing new models of care that are proactive and not just reactive.
Discover the Truth About Your Own Health at ratemyhealth.scoreapp.com
