Goal setting is a topic that is touted by many personal development gurus as the lynchpin of success. If we don't know what we want and where we are trying to go, then why should we expect good things to happen for us?
The two most popular ways of setting goals nowadays are SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timed), and outcome goals (I want to lift X kg on the bench press or I want to weigh 10lbs less in 12 weeks). These are great and work for some people, usually those who have high levels of motivation and make sacrifices in their normal routine to make them happen.
However, from my experience working with my clients,this percentage of people is very low. Outcome-based goals and SMART goals tell you the end result that you want but don't tell you how to get from A to B. For example, they don't take into consideration any of the many complex things we have to manage in our lives. A few of these being, family, kids, ageing parents, employees, business and the idiosyncrasies of our day to day life.
Here are 3 alternatives you can use to help you play the long game and significantly increase your chances of success. when achieving goals.
Behaviour goals (specify the action that must take place to achieve your goals)
Three years ago, I used to train 4-6 times a week. I had a couple of colleagues to train with, and when we were up for it, we would train hard 6 times a week. It was gruelling, challenging and a lot of fun. I enjoyed the camaraderie and banter. The issue was that the whole process of pre-workout, training and post workout could take up to 3 hours of the day. This was way too much time! I was also completely wiped out for the rest of the day. I could only manage this for say 3 weeks, then I would need 2 weeks of "rest" as my motivation was much lower. There was no consistency.
Considering I was trying to teach my clients about consistency but was not practising this well myself, this made me a bit of a hypocrite.
After receiving some mentoring from a very successful coach in LA, I was impressed at how he set his training goals.
He focused on the process/ behaviour required to fulfil a goal. This completely revolutionised the way I approached my training goal this year.
I focused on training 144 times in 2015/16. That's 3x a week for 48 weeks of a year, allowing me a buffer of 4 weeks for holiday, hangover, jet lag, illness or just not feeling it. From November 2015 to the end of November 2016 I have managed 166 sessions. These included my own training, training alongside coaches, getting coached at my gym (yes I have a coach), and a couple of fitness related socials. I late cancelled twice all year.
I cannot tell you how powerful this has been for me both personally and professionally. Personally, this is the most consistent I have been with fitness related activities ever, and it has been a huge boost to my confidence that I can see something through to the end.
Professionally it has made me an infinitely better coach. I can now relate more strongly to my clients. I "get it" when they are low on energy, don't feel like it, or are exhausted from stress. I know when to back off and when to push harder. I can also sell the benefits of training consistently 3x a week more easily to my clients as I have lived it myself.
I initially felt like 3x a week might not be enough. Some weeks it felt like too little and some weeks it felt like too much. In the grand scheme of things, it was the perfect number.
By focusing on the behaviour of training 3x a week come rain or shine, I was able to build consistency into my routine which has overflowed into other parts of my life, which has been a pleasant surprise.
I am very blessed to work with some of the world's most successful business people. One thing they all have in common is consistency and the ability to "lock in" habits.
So when setting a goal, think about what behaviour is needed. Start small, start easy and make sure you are ready willing and able to attack it. You should feel like "yes I can easily do that!" when you decide on a behaviour. You can make it harder later, if necessary. One more tip, choose just one thing at a time.
Approach goals- involve doing something you want to/ can do more of to move closer to your goals
Approach goals are very interesting as we naturally move towards I should "avoid" this and avoid that especially when it comes to food. "I should avoid, carbs, sugar or alcohol" etc. This requires willpower (a finite resource), and this can cause us to beat ourselves up if we keep making mistakes.
For example, if we have a weight loss goal, rather than telling ourselves not to eat something, or avoid a certain type of food, we can "do more" of something. This could be eating 1 extra fist size portion of veg with each meal or drinking 1 extra glass of water.
I had one really interesting coaching opportunity recently where a very good client of mine was talking about the need to reduce his wine consumption in the evening. This was something that came up quite regularly. "I really need to reduce or stop the wine in the evening". Once we chatted for a little bit about this, we both decided it as ok to keep the wine habit. Why? Well, it served a purpose. And In this case, it allowed him to switch off and unwind after work. It was also a beautiful opportunity for him to spend some time talking with his wife whilst they prepared dinner together.
In the end, we decided on doing more of the things he was already succeeding at rather than restricting and avoiding. We were both happy with the decision and we will tackle the next habit together when we need to.
Mastery goals- focus on learning an intrinsic mastery of a process
Mastery goals are similar to behaviour goals in the way that we practice a habit/ behaviour regularly. the difference being that we are focusing on a skill/ behaviour that we can move closer to master that will grant us our goals as we progress. The mastery process continues and the goals change as we achieve them.
One of my deep motivations for why I coach is to make the world a better place, by influencing the game changer's of our society in a positive way. As cheesy as it sounds I truly believe that if I can make their day that little bit more positive/ better, then they can spread that feeling through their work and influence. (And these people influence thousands every day!).
This means, there is a continual journey of improvement for me each day for the next 20/30 or 40 years for as long as I coach. I have a deliberate practice each week that improves my craft whether it be reading, listening or applying what I learn each day. Without that mindset and type of goal, I could easily drift, get bored and question why I am doing this at all.
For the readers, this might be learning to master your time, or learning to cook healthy (and tasty) food and learning how to de-stress yourself.
Whichever type of goal you set for yourself, choose one and see how long you can stick to it.
I would also recommend checking in with yourself every week or two and ask "How is that working for me?" and then following that "Show me". This will let you know if you are on the right track or not.
Here are some examples you can experiment with
Exercise- How many times will you train in 2017 that you can stick to? 96 (2x a week)? 144 (3x a week?) 192 (4x a week)?
Nutrition- How many fist-sized portions of veg will you eat with each meal? 1, 2 or even 3? How many times a week will you cook for yourself?
Stress- How many hours of sleep will you average each night that slightly better than your current number? 5 hours, 6 hours or 8 hours? How many massages will you treat yourself to a month? How many times a week will you use an app such as headspace to help you take 10 minutes to breathe and meditate?
Yours in health
Patrick Fallis
PS I would like to credit the idea for this blog to Precision Nutrition as it was one of my lessons in their Level 2 certification program. I would also like to thank Alwyn Cosgrove for his excellent coaching and inspiration for my training goal in 2015.
Founder of Leaner
www.leaner-uk.com