Doing This One Thing Gets You A Golden Ticket

“It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement.”

— Isocrates

How long will you put off what you are capable of doing just to continue what you are comfortable doing? Author James Clear posed that question in a recent newsletter. I felt like Dorothy entering the Emerald City, and the booming voice of Oz the Great and Powerful had just asked me what business I had in being here. There's a life I dream of that is quite different from the one I'm living. You too? Where does your yellow brick road lead?

When our brains don’t know what to do, we do everything we can to take care of ourselves by procrastinating. If you find me on my hands and knees scrubbing the floorboards of the bathroom, colour coordinating my bookshelf, or reading articles on what everyone else thinks I should be doing, there's a damn good chance that I'm avoiding work.

Procrastination is like the terrifying flying monkeys that haunt Dorothy on her journey. They swoop from above and dive down to scoop you up and drop you in a place that feels unfamiliar. You lose your bearings and get thrown off course. I was supposed to write a blog post today, so why am I in the garage sweeping a concrete floor?

Does the gap between where you are and where you want to be feel like you're strung up in a medieval torture device? The agonizing pain of an inch-by-inch stretch is becoming impossible to ignore.

In nearly every case, what keeps you from doing what you want to do is that your brain doesn't buy your plan. And in order for your brain to buy into your plan, it needs to believe it's possible. And to a certain degree, a lot has to do with the level of risk that's perceived from what you want to do. The plan your brain is willing to accept for a skydiving lesson will be far more detailed than it's willing to accept for your first attempt at baking a strawberry strudel.

Experience is what the brain uses as evidence behind the belief of whether you can do something or not.

Setting a plan you can stick to helps you eliminate all the reasons that keep you from living the life you want.

And here's the crazy part. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal-setting with 267 participants. She found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down. Doing this one thing is like getting a golden ticket to do whatever you want.

James Cash Penney of the famed department store J.C. Penney put it like this: give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a person who makes history, but give me a person without a goal and I'll give you a stock clerk. You are what you choose to pursue.

Thankfully, designing a plan you can stick to isn't nearly as hard as you think it is. The legendary author Zig Ziglar broke it down into six steps. Before I share the steps, it's important to note that I recommend reading how to overcome the beliefs that sabotage success. It'll help you get clear on defining success, as well as helping choose goals that push you out of your comfort zone by giving you the ability to think long term.

1. Write it down (what is your goal?)

   • I want to be in the best shape of my life.
     

2. Put a date on it (when do you want to do it by?)

   • 12 months from today.
     

3. List the obstacles you'll have to overcome.

   • Find a gym, find time to go to gym, decide if I want to work out solo or do classes, the uncomfortableness of starting something new, exercise is boring, I'm self-conscious of how I look, I'm too tired to exercise after work, I'm too lazy to exercise, I've tried to exercise in the past and failed, etc.
     

4. Identify the people, groups, or organizations you have to work with.

   • I've chosen to attend Shift Fitness classes. I'm using the app MealLime for my meal prep.
     

5. Spell out a plan of action, using the timeline of #2.

   • The following activities and times will be scheduled ahead of everything else I put in my calendar.

   • Every Sunday at 10:00am I'll spend 20 minutes meal planning for the week ahead using MealLime.

   • I will then go out and buy the groceries I need for the week ahead.

   • Every Sunday I will sign up for classes at Shift Fitness. I will attend every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning at 6:30am.
     

6. What are all the benefits of me achieving this goal? Why am I doing it?

   • I will have more energy to spend on things that are important to me like being with friends, time with Lindsey, and working on my business. 

   • I'll have more clarity and better mental health because I've made my health and wellness a priority. I'm doing this because I want to live to an old age, be around for kids, and be able to explore and have fun without worrying that I won't be in shape or don't have the energy to keep up. 

   • I want to be the person I know I'm capable of becoming.

It's important to note that the goal I shared is open-ended. If I want to be in the best shape of my life, it's not something achieved in a set period of time. It's a new way of living. The idea is that you aren't striving for greatness; you're taking steps towards the person you're capable of becoming. But, without a clearly stated time frame, it doesn't have the sense of urgency you need for taking action. Hence the Nike motto, "Yesterday you said tomorrow."

I know you're busy. I can see flying monkeys circling you as we speak. Before they get a chance to chase you off, it's important that I'm honest about what will happen if you don't make a plan. Zilch, zip, nada, sweet-fuck-all. Want to write a book, start a side hustle, get a promotion, be in better shape, have a more fulfilling relationship, learn a language, feel more energetic, or retire at some point in your life? Absolutely nothing in your life will change without a plan.

If you're unwilling to leave your dreams to chance, make a plan.

Don't put it off until tomorrow. Grab a pen and paper and spend five minutes writing down a goal you've been sitting on and go through the steps. The comfort in sticking with what you know is kryptonite to growth. Let the words of Superman aka Christopher Reeve serve as a call to action, “So many of our dreams at first seem impossible. Then they seem improbable. And then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”

Hasan Minhaj turned down the opportunity to attend UCLA and has regretted it ever since. Now he always goes all in.

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