We all know that person. “2020 is going to be my year“. “I’ve been going to the gym 3 times a day.” That person that posts motivation quotes for all of the social media to see. We’ll call that person Dave. Everyone knows Dave. Guess what? Dave is going to burnout. Our friend Dave won’t accomplish the things he was boasting about.
Motivation makes you get out of bed, put on your running shoes and go for a run. But what happens when it is raining outside? You most likely don’t go for a run. That’s when the wheels fall off the wagon.
So how do you accomplish the goals you set in life? You need a proper cocktail of motivation, discipline, a positive mindset, a gameplan, and accountability.
Accomplish Your Goals Using Discipline
By definition, Discipline is to bring to a state of order and obedience by training and control.
Whenever you think of discipline, most immediately think of the military. Lots of yelling, screaming, and pushups. The drill instructors take full control of the way you communicate, eat, look, and sleep. On the outside, this seems harsh but it serves a good purpose. You are being broken down to be built up again. You are reprogrammed to function as a unit in a team to complete any goal standing in its way. This type of discipline needs to come from within.
To achieve any goal in life you need to take the necessary steps to achieve that goal. If you are not disciplined, you might as well not waste your time in attempting pursuing your goal. Your mind will always try to take the easy road, it comes down to your gut to stay the course and press on.
Set Your Intentions If You Want to Accomplish Anything
“Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.”
– Sun Tzu
The plan on how you are going to attack your goal is vital. Referencing the best selling book, “Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy The Odds” by former Navy SEAL and Ultra Athlete David Goggins, one of the best ways to achieve your goals is to attack them head-on. Write a list of smaller achievable goals you need to accomplish in order to conquer your final goal. Write these down on a piece of paper, and tape them to your bathroom mirror. Every time you look in the mirror, you will see these smaller goals and most likely will take the necessary actions throughout the day to accomplish them.
Have a Fighter’s Mindset
Fight or Flight. Every scenario in your life can boil down to that internal process. It’s a defense mechanism. I found inspiration from this motivational speech from former MMA icon Chael Sonnen.
In an everyday application, let’s say you are applying to a new marketing job that you aren’t sure you are capable of performing. You ask yourself the following questions:
Are you the best marketing specialist in the world? “Probably not.“
Are you the best marketing specialist you know? “Nah, Karen from college is killing at XYZ company.”
Are you the best marketing specialist in your room? “I am actually.”
Then dammit, act like it and go out there get your job!
If someone gives you an inch, you have to take a mile. With the wrong mindset, you will never think you have the ability to do anything. If you give yourself a little victory, you need to take that with you and run.
Believe in Yourself
“If you can believe in Santa Claus, you can believe in yourself for 5 minutes.”
Anonymous
The human brain is capable of generating thousands of reasons not to do something. That is also a form of defense mechanism. Your brain doesn’t like taking risks that can potentially do harm to you. If you fail, you’ll feel sorry for yourself. Develop a mindset that ignores that.
A great way to develop a healthy mindset of believing in oneself is by visualizing yourself doing the goal you’re trying to accomplish. NHL goaltenders may play one of the most stressful positions in sports. Often times before warmups, you can find starting goalies in a quiet place performing some form of meditation. They visualize themselves making saves.
You are creating a situation in your head and analyzing every situation that can possibly happen. When the day finally comes to perform your action, you already went through it a thousand times and are ready to address anything that may get in your way. You are already putting yourself in a better position to be successful.
Accomplishing Goals Means Holding Yourself Accountable
If you expect yourself to get strong and have big muscles by going to the gym only once you are wrong.
If you think about plants, growth is a slow and patient process. Sometimes, it takes months for plants to peak through the soil. The same goes for whatever you are going for. This is where accountability comes into play.
You aren’t going to see the benefits of whatever you do the first time you do them. If you keep yourself in check and convince yourself that what you are doing is bringing positivity in your life and you should continue doing what you’re doing, you are heading in a great direction. As soon as you begin to take days off, you are putting yourself in a better position for failure.
Now, it would be cliche for me to advise you to approach every task with the line “failure is not an option.” Failure is absolutely an option and is actually a conscious decision. If you hold yourself accountable, you won’t give in to failure.
Conclusion
Accomplishing whatever you seek in life is going to be extremely difficult. Anything in life worth having won’t come easy. You have to put yourself in a position to succeed. Motivation isn’t enough, it only gets you to the starting line. Discipline, a healthy mindset, and accountability will win the race for you.
Be sure to read more about some life hacks that may improve your life.
