2605: You Can Smash Your Goals with These 10 Principles by Lea Genders of Lea Genders Fitness on Healthy Habits

[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations.

[00:00:15] And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep. So, press play on Good Sleep Tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app

[00:00:34] and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Health Daily, episode 2605. You can smash your goals with these 10 principles by Leah Genders of leagendersfitness.com. And I'm your host and narrator, Dr. Neal. Hey there, happy Saturday and welcome back to another

[00:00:53] weekend edition of Optimal Health Daily. This is where I read to you from some of the best health and fitness blogs on the web and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:02] Now with that, let's get right to the post as we optimize your life. You can smash your goals with these 10 principles by Leah Genders of leagendersfitness.com. When we have big goals, whether they are weight loss goals, business goals, performance goals or career goals,

[00:01:24] I notice that there's a pattern that applies to achieve them all. It's no secret that I struggled with my weight for years and years, up and down and down and up. It was a real conflict in my life until I cracked the code of a balanced and sustainable

[00:01:39] healthy lifestyle. Once it clicked for me, I was able to sustain my weight loss easily. I realized that when we aren't achieving our goals, there's either a gap in knowledge or a gap in behavior. There's something you don't know yet or something you're not doing or both.

[00:01:56] I was listening to a podcast about succeeding in the fitness business because right now, a successful coaching and personal training business is my goal. I noticed a parallel line between achieving business goals and fitness goals and realized these principles that were

[00:02:11] discussed in the context of business apply to most anything we try to accomplish, including weight loss and fitness performance goals. Some people have been successful in business and can apply these same concepts to their health and fitness goals. I've been successful in

[00:02:26] fitness and realize I can take the same principles that worked for me in the past and apply them in my business. 10 Truths of Goal Achievement 1. Progress won't be linear. There will be ups and downs along the way. Expect them.

[00:02:43] Be ready for them. Some people get devastated by dips in progress or a plateau in weight loss and quit before they see results when it's all part of the process. Know that it's coming, and you won't be surprised by it. Keep moving forward.

[00:02:58] 2. There is no shortcut to success. It seems everyone is selling the magic pill. It's a moneymaker because we all want it, the shortcut to success. That ad on Facebook or email marketing campaign that's selling you the result you want? Always keep in mind that

[00:03:14] the only magic pill is your will. If you waste time chasing the shortcuts, it takes you further from your goals. No matter what you are trying to achieve, you have to put in the work. 3. It will be hard. If it was easy, it wouldn't be meaningful.

[00:03:30] Nothing worth achieving comes easy. It's the struggle that makes it much more meaningful once accomplished. If you expect it to be easy or without failures, you'll be disappointed or overwhelmed. Use the tough experiences to build mental strength and resiliency. Overcoming the hardship is part of the process.

[00:03:49] 4. Trust your ability to figure things out along the way. We can never know everything. It's advisable to do your research and be prepared, but you will never truly learn until you start to take action. We sometimes are paralyzed by information. Read another blog post. Take another course.

[00:04:07] Buy another book. Listen to another podcast. You can never consume all the information available. Sometimes a better strategy begins with the first small action to see where that leads you. Trust in your ability to figure things out along the way. You are a smart, capable human who can

[00:04:24] do hard things. Look at the hard things you've figured out in your life so far. 5. Seek support of your community. Pay attention to who claps when you win. Surround yourself with people who can support you in your goals whether it's for advice,

[00:04:39] help or moral support. Pay attention to who claps when you win and more importantly, who doesn't. It's easier than ever to find people on the same path as you. Look for people ahead of

[00:04:50] you for guidance, people in the same place as you for support, and people behind you that you can help. No struggle is unique. Together we can achieve anything. If you need assistance, ask. A mentor, support group or coach can help. 6. Celebrate small wins.

[00:05:09] When we have big goals, the finish line is far away and spoiler alert, there is no finish line. So, we need to remember to celebrate the small wins along the way. Set small attainable goals on your journey to success. We can't control the outcome of most

[00:05:24] situations but we can control our actions and the process we follow. Did you work out 4 days this week and eat protein at every meal? That's a win. 7. Think and act like the person you want

[00:05:37] to become. When faced with a choice, try to think and act like the person you want to become. In a weight loss scenario, one might pass on the dessert or not skip a workout because that's what

[00:05:50] their inner buff self would do. In business, it might be to pick up the phone to make a connection with a local business owner. Think bigger than your current state. Ask, what would future me do?

[00:06:03] 8. Your environment matters. Set yourself up for success by setting up your environment for success. Make it easy to make the right choice and inconvenient to make bad decisions. Surround yourself with the people, places and activities that bring out your best self on your way to

[00:06:20] achieving your goals. 9. Get comfortable with sucking and being uncomfortable. We aren't born perfect. Not even me. Shocking, I know. When we make changes in our lives, try new experiences, meet new people, learn new skills. Sometimes, usually, we suck at it. It's normal. Everyone

[00:06:39] sucks in the beginning. Keep going when it's uncomfortable. That's a good sign that you're on the right track. 10. Habits matter more than motivation. Start to build habits around the behaviors you want to model. Motivation wanes, inspiration fades and willpower is fleeting.

[00:06:58] Habits are ingrained. It takes time to develop the habits but it's time well invested. Habits are the secret weapon to goal achievement. When you don't have motivation, inspiration or willpower, habits take over. If you are intentional about your habits, success comes naturally. What daily actions

[00:07:17] do you need to take to reach your big goals? You just listened to the post titled, You can smash your goals with these 10 principles by Leah Genders of leagendersfitness.com and I'll

[00:07:33] be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. I want to go back to Leah's 8th principle. Your environment matters. I'm a big fan of this principle. It often takes very

[00:07:45] little time or effort up front but can make a big difference when it comes to our behavior. That's why I'm such a fan. For example, I've talked about how if we want to consume less

[00:07:56] processed foods, simply move them out of sight. Then in their place, swap the more nutritious foods that you want to eat more often. And this isn't just my opinion. Multiple research studies

[00:08:07] have found that this trick works. In fact, I'll share with you results of a fascinating study that was conducted at a Southern California school. Researchers wanted to encourage elementary school students' consumption of white milk as opposed to chocolate milk, for example. To do that, they made

[00:08:24] simple changes within the cafeteria. They increased the number of cartons of plain milk on display and then moved those plain milk cartons near the front of the cafeteria line. Just by doing those two simple things, white milk selection increased from 14% to 30% of total milk selected.

[00:08:45] Fascinating! But we could argue that, well, kids generally like milk so it probably wouldn't take much for them to buy more of it. Would these small changes work for something that's usually a tougher

[00:08:57] cell like veggies? Well, sure enough, they found that when they placed salad in a clear container as opposed to a more opaque container, they took it. The researchers also added more fruits and

[00:09:09] vegetables at the cash station or the impulse buy station. That's what we would call it in grocery stores. And again, these small changes increased how often vegetables were purchased by these students. Okay, now we could argue that the students may have bought these vegetables but they probably

[00:09:26] didn't eat them because that's a whole different behavior. Well, the researchers looked at that too and they found that not only did the students buy more vegetables when they were placed in clear containers and placed near the cash station, but they actually ate them too. The researchers found

[00:09:42] that the students' consumption of vegetables increased, are you ready? By 76%. So, all of this to say that small changes to the environment may change behavior. All right, that'll do it for today. I hope

[00:09:57] you have a great rest of your day. Thank you so much for tuning in and be sure to come back for more OHD tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.