Behaviors and Goals

A few years back I attended a great seminar.  One of the presenters was Dan John.  His talked centered around making sure your behaviors match your goals.  This really stuck with me.  After my clients set their goals, I always wait a week and ask them; “are your behaviors matching your goals?”  If the answer is no, then it’s time to make a change.  We have two options here.  They can either change their behaviors, or change their goals.  In the end, they must match.  In other words, lets say I have a client that tells me she wants to lose 12 lbs. in the next two months.  But she isn’t willing to give up Friday night pizza night, is going to continue to have two nights every week that she goes out drinking alcohol with her girlfriends, and is only going to perform 1 day of cardio per week.  As you can see, her behaviors and goals do not match.  I’d then have this conversation with her; “if those are going to be your behaviors, what can we expect to see in terms of results?”  Lets say that we come to the conclusion that with her current training program, and clean eating most of the week, (except for pizza night and the drinking nights), and only one day

of cardio per week, she can achieve 2 lbs. of weight loss per month.  Even know the end result is not as impressive, we now have behaviors and goals that match.

If she determines that 2 lbs. per month is not going to make her happy, then it’s time to revisit the behaviors.  I may tell her; “in order to reach your goal of 12 lbs. lost in 2 months, you’ll need to get in 3 weight training sessions per week, 3 -4 cardio sessions per week, and you are only allowed 1 cheat meal all week long.”  If she commits to these behaviors, then the 12 lb. weight loss in 2 months is possible.  Once again, her behaviors and goals match.

So when you set your goals, make sure your behaviors match.  If you are not willing to commit to strict behaviors, make sure your goals are less aggressive.  If you are completely committed to greatly improving your health and physique, then go ahead and set your goals high.  Only you can determine what you really want, and what you are willing to give up.

Speaking of goals, I’m sure many of you recently made your new year’s resolution.  If you did not write them down and put them in a place that you see everyday, make sure you do so.  My wife and I printed out ours and taped them on the bathroom mirror in our bedroom.  But just writing down your goals isn’t enough.  Make sure you write down 3-4 behaviors that will get you to your goals.

Get those behaviors and goals to match, and go achieve the physique of your dreams!