How To Use Daily Habits To Reach Your Goals
Have you ever sat down and set a goal?
No matter what that might look like there is a process to breaking that goal down into smaller pieces, eventually involving very specific actions. Research shows that one action at a time is actually best. In the Precision Nutrition Master Coach Coursework we learned how to take big goals and break them into daily actions. In order to reach our goals we need to dedicate intentional action to achieving them. They don't just happen on their own. GSPA - Goals, Skills, Practices and Actions
This idea goes from broad to specific. We start with a goal like “not feel so rushed all the time” and give some thought to what skills like “planning ahead” are required to reach that goal. Then, we break the skill down into practices like “make time and plan ahead” or “plan your meals”. Once we’ve gotten it down to the practice level we determine what very clear and precise actions we can commit to taking. For example, if “make time and plan ahead” were the chosen practice, I might decide to "write down my calendar for the next day before going to bed each night". The idea being that as you get more clear on tomorrow’s calendar the night before, you’ve got a win before you even wake up and more time to decide how you’re going to “fit it all in”.
If you're interested in exploring how Relentless Courage might be able to help you identify your most meaningful goals and break them into healthy habits for life, schedule your 20 minute discovery call with Jon.
Are you interested in coaching?If so, schedule a 20 minute discovery call here to see if coaching with Relentless Courage is a good fit and get answers to any questions you might have. Click to Schedule!
0 Comments
5 Ways to Avoid Overeating During the Holidays
Whether you gather with family or friends during the holidays, food will likely be at the center of it all. Today, I’m sharing with you 5 ways to avoid overeating over the holiday season.
Give yourself some grace. The holidays are supposed to be a time of love and joy. Don’t sabotage the season by beating yourself up over your eating choices. Have a plan heading into each food encounter, execute as well as you can, evaluate and repeat. If you’d like a coach to help establish a goal and dial in your process, sign up for a 20 minute discovery call with Jon. Are you interested in coaching?If so, schedule a 20 minute discovery call here to see if coaching with Relentless Courage is a good fit and get answers to any questions you might have. Click to Schedule!
How does the average person’s weight change over time? New research from Brigham Young University provides fascinating insights.
In a study of 13,800 Americans, the scientists report that over 50 percent of participants gained at least 5 percent in body weight during the previous 10 years. (Thirty-five percent gained 10 percent or more, and 16 percent gained 20 percent or more.) You might be thinking, ‘That’s not so fascinating.” And you’d be correct: What’s fascinating is when people gained the weight. On average, participants gained the most weight from their 20s to their 30s, and then less in each subsequent decade thereafter.
Do the math, and for the average American, that comes out to a total weight gain of 46.7 pounds (21.2 kg) over the course of adulthood. Why do people gain more weight when they’re younger? The researchers say it’s likely because your metabolism increases when you gain weight. (Larger bodies require more energy to operate than smaller bodies.) As a result, you’d have to increase your food intake (and/or decrease your activity levels) in every subsequent decade to continue gaining weight at the same rate. (Over time, people tend to “settle in” and habitually consume the same amount.) Are you interested in coaching?If so, schedule a 20 minute discovery session here to see if coaching with Relentless Courage is a good fit and get answers to any questions you might have. Click to Schedule!
PMID: 35574515
Tucker LA, Parker K. 10-Year Weight Gain in 13,802 US Adults: The Role of Age, Sex, and Race. J Obes. 2022 May 6;2022:7652408. Image file name: WeightGain.png
You know that saying, “Every step counts”?
It’s actually spot on. In a recent study published in Sports Medicine, researchers found that, for more than 28,000 adults of all ages, every 1,000 daily step increase was associated with a 12 percent lower risk of death from all causes. These findings held true even after accounting for BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking status, pre-existing health conditions, and step intensity. According to the scientists, the benefits began at 2,500 steps and continued up to 17,000 steps. The take-home message: While we’re often told to shoot for 10,000 daily steps, just consistently moving more than you are now can make a meaningful difference over the long run. And after all: If you’re currently taking 3,000 steps, achieving the 10,000 steps “standard” might sound so unrealistic you don’t even bother to try. But could you add 1,000 to start? As this research shows, it’s enough to provide a benefit, and you can build from there. Besides, that’s how lasting change happens: a little at a time. Are you interested in coaching?If so, schedule a 20 minute discovery session here to see if it might be a good fit and answer any questions you might have. Click to Schedule!
PMID: 34417979 Jayedi A, Gohari A, Shab-Bidar S. Daily Step Count and All-Cause Mortality: A Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies. Sports Med. 2022 Jan;52(1):89–99.
Set boundaries - This one can be tough especially if you have an open door policy. You’re either getting nothing done and griping about it or you’re getting nothing done and calling it your job to be available to others. There have got to be boundaries no matter what the case is. I’m not just talking about leadership either. Sometimes we sign up for something and once the deal has been made additions to the contract begin to appear. Stand up for yourself and stick to the deal. Sometimes it shows up in our relationships too. Have the courage to say no to things that don’t align with who you are becoming. As an entrepreneur it can be tough to put the work away and let the distractions lie while I give my full attention to the here and now. One boundary I often set is that when I go into a family gathering or a night out with friends I’ll leave my phone in the car or at home. That boundary I’ve set with myself helps facilitate a more present experience at the event. I’m not really missing anything anyway. Set boundaries.
Helping people just like you form keystone habits around stress, sleep, food, movement and change using organization, insight and accountability.
Believe in people - This sounds like a great idea and I think it actually is. I’m guessing most of you would probably agree. Believing in people, to me, means genuinely cheering for and being excited for other people’s success. When it’s truly all about them, that to me is what it means to believe in people. Believe in people.
I help business executives integrate healthy individual and organizational habits into daily rhythms using organization, insight and accountability. Visit Executive Fitness at relentlesscourage.co and contact me from there if you are interested in learning more.
Define success - You may have heard that success can be whatever you want it to be. I agree but I also feel like it’s important for us to create our own definition of success then. We should write it down. We should keep reevaluating if the definition we came up with is still the one we choose to live by or if we can move our definition of success toward our happiness or more money or whatever it is. I feel like success can be a way of being. It doesn’t always need to be a number or even measurable. Success for me is keeping the pressure on growth and trying to get better in some way every single day. I hope those who know me are inspired to keep growing themselves and stay away from the bay of indifference. It can be tough, at least for me. There are days when comfort and rest make it really difficult to grow. One thing I’ve learned is that pressure on success to me can be one page out of a book, creating one image for my social marketing, having one meaningful conversation with one of my kids, encouraging my wife or anything else that adds to the conversation I’m having with myself. Success to me means personally growing every single day. It has to. It’s either that or shrinking and I’ve already spent too much of my time going that way. Define success.
I help business executives turn healthy habits into daily rhythms using organization, insight and accountability. Visit Executive Fitness at relentlesscourage.co and contact me from there if you are interested in learning more.
Start that thing - To start something doesn’t always mean giving something up. Maybe you have the space in your time or energy to add something you’ve been wanting to start. It could be a hobby or a business or anything in between. I recently heard from one of my mentors from afar that the next right thing you should be doing is the next thing. I’ve made it a habit of starting new things and getting lost in new things. Many of us, I think, wish we could do things when there is nothing holding us back to actually doing them. The only way anything happens is by doing something and we’ll never be good at something we want to be good at if we don’t first have the courage to start it. Nobody cares except you. Take the step and start that thing.
I help business executives turn healthy habits into daily rhythms using organization, insight and accountability. Visit Executive Fitness at relentlesscourage.co and contact me from there if you are interested in learning more.
Help someone - I get in the trap of thinking this needs to be something really big every time. It doesn’t. We all appreciate the viral video of someone taking the time to help the vulnerable person cross the street or the stranger buying someone’s groceries because they sense it would make a big difference. It probably does and these are the types of things I’m talking about. Maybe it’s taking the time to make an introduction that could change lives. It could even be a simple compliment in passing on the street or holding the door open for the next person in line. There are opportunities everywhere. I’m not talking about the kind of helping where we shout from the rooftops. I’m talking about the kind of helping that we do because we see a need that we can fill and we have the courage to fill it. Help someone.
I help business executives turn healthy habits into daily rhythms using organization, insight and accountability. Visit Executive Fitness at relentlesscourage.co and contact me from there if you are interested in learning more. |
Archives
April 2024
|