Is this a familiar scenario for you? We are now 4 + months into the year and the whirlwind of life continues to swirl. There never seems to be enough time in the day to actually make progress on reaching your health goals, whether it be looking thinner and more attractive, feeling fitter stronger and more flexible, or simply having the peace of mind that you are making decisions and establishing habits that will allow you to feel young, fresh, and alive as you continue to get older. Many of us report the opposite. With the passing of each year- our problems seem bigger, we are more stressed, more tired, and overall less healthy.

How do we reverse this trend?

I want to reveal what I find is the #1 barrier that prevents people from regaining their health and reaching their goals.

We all have the best intentions- but the whirlwind of life sucks us in and our focus turns to “how do I survive this whirlwind?” or “I just need to keep my head above water.” And we get consumed with the daily grind: Gotta clean the house, meal plan, get the kids to their music or sport practice, church, cooking, pay bills, work harder and longer to offset growing expenses. Is this how you think about your week? Because this is how my life seems to go. We try to eat healthy, get a little exercise, have devotions or meditation, etc… And all these things are really important to us, but somehow- they seem to get lost in the whirlwind of life.

Then I was reminded of a quote a friend told me

How do you define the metric of success?

Think about that for a minute? How do you define success? What was a recent goal you had- big or small. Many people make goals such as. “I want to lose XX amount of weight”, or “I want to stop eating junk food”, or “I want to exercise regularly”, or “go to bed earlier so I’m more rested.” Then we draw a line in the sand because we got excited or inspired. That excitement carries us for a period of time until “life” starts catching up with us. And we “give-in” just a little. We miss a day but tell ourselves that it’s just once. Our excitement isn’t as strong as when we started- we loss some of our focus, then doubt and discouragement creeps in, and sooner or later we abandon ship. Does this sound familiar to you?

How should we define success?

Success = Progress.

Let me say that again: Success = Progress.

It may seem subtle but the effect can be remarkable. Success defined as progress. Why should we redefine success? If our definition of success is “perfection”- well how many perfect people do you know?

And when success= progress- well then- it’s a whole lot easier to be successful and to avoid the discouragement and the self-doubt when we don’t hit that bulls-eye.

Widen your target- enjoy the satisfaction that your making progress and having success. Celebrate this- and now you’re on the road to establishing a healthy habit and achieving your goals.

So, take a minute write now and think about a goal for yourself- what do you want? Maybe to lose some weight, or to start saving some money, or to deepen a relationship with a friend? Think about what it is for you. Don’t pick 5- start with one.

Now write what you want or your goal. Are you thinking about something that is daunting, that’s fine- in fact- it’s good to have a big goal. A big goal is the bulls-eye. So now zoom back and widen the target. Set yourself up for success here and start throwing some darts. Throw the darts in the right direction and congratulations- you are having success my friend!

Want to see how this works practically? Let’s say you have a goal of wanting to eat healthier. Great! Now we have to know where you are currently at. What’s your baseline? How many healthy meals do you eat in a week? Free from excess refined sugar, or processed food? Let’s say none of your meals are purely healthy. So why not start with 1 dinner/ week of healthy food. Just plan specifically for this one meal, not the whole week. Baby steps, right. Complete this and you are making progress= success. Once you got this down regularly, then what is the next step, try adding a “healthy” lunch on the same day. Then add a “healthy” breakfast. Within a short time, you will have 1 healthy eating day a week, but more importantly- you are on the road to establishing a healthy habit.

Let us know what your goal is- or tell someone else about it. Put a post on Facebook about your goal and get started!