3029: 10 Tips to Achieve Any Goal by Stephen Guise of Mini Habits on Embracing Adversity and Daily Progress

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[00:00:58] This is Optimal Health Daily. 10 Tips to Achieve Any Goal. By Stephen Guys of MiniHabits.com. And I'm Dr. Neil, your very own personal narrator. Happy Saturday and welcome back to another 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. Kind of like an ongoing audiobook. And always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:24] Now, let's keep this intro nice and short. So, let's get right to the post as we optimize your life. 10 Tips to Achieve Any Goal. By Stephen Guys of MiniHabits.com. Are you ready to achieve your goal? Well then let's get started. That's actually tip number one. Number one. Start.

[00:01:49] Start. Even if you think the first effort is going to go poorly, you will improve in time through experience. But you won't get any experience if you don't start. The worst thing you can do is try to perfect yourself before attempting. Getting everything right is not as important as making progress. Number two. Move forward frequently at all costs. When you pause, you'll think about why you've paused.

[00:02:15] You might question your desire to complete the goal because when you're doing something important, pausing without reason is madness. But if you dedicate yourself to daily progress, you'll maintain or build your momentum until you've finished the goal. Number three. Be hungry to see your goal accomplished. Apathy is a ruthless goal killer. Prevent apathy by frequently reminding yourself why you're pursuing this goal.

[00:02:41] Focus on the benefits but remind yourself that you'll never see those benefits without action. Number four. Do not over or underthink your goals. Overthinking goals is when you think about the different ways you could take action instead of just taking action. Underthinking is when you do meaningless work or make progress in a direction that doesn't matter. Aim for a balanced approach of preparation and action.

[00:03:07] Choose a basic plan you think might work and execute. Number five. Don't overemphasize the high or low moments of your goal pursuit. When you're feeling euphoric, you might be better off calm while steadily chipping away at your target. When you feel there is no hope left, there most certainly is. A balanced emotional state always leads to better progress. Though if you must choose between the two, I'd go with euphoria.

[00:03:36] Number six. Make sure you have the right goal. If you've chosen the wrong goal, you'll have great difficulty completing it. It's hard enough to accomplish goals you care deeply about. So, a half-dedicated stance won't work. Take the time to think through your life plans and desired direction to figure out what the best goal is for you right now. Number seven. Be mentally prepared for setbacks and adversity. They will happen and they're good for you.

[00:04:05] Pursuing a goal is one of the best ways to learn persistence, which is an invaluable life trait. Overcoming adversity is one of the most satisfying feelings you'll ever experience. The only thing you need to do to be prepared for adversity is to expect it. If you anticipate problems, they won't surprise you into regression. Number eight. Anticipate the consequences of success. If you build a successful company, it could mean you'll have to work long hours

[00:04:34] and hire and manage employees to scale your business with demand. Every positive change includes downsides. Winning the lottery means your family and friends might start seeing you as their shot at financial freedom. New friends might want your wealth more than your friendship. Yikes. Plan ahead for the new challenges that may come with success, and you'll be better equipped to handle them. Number nine. Temper your expectations. People tend to glorify the idea of success.

[00:05:03] If I could only get one million dollars, if I could just become famous. Reality can't compare to a romanticized image. Life won't be perfect if you accomplish your goal or your wildest dreams, but it can certainly get a lot better. Look at success with honest eyes, not romantic ones. Start with number eight, knowing the consequences of success, and finish with an understanding that happiness is contentment. And number ten. Follow your heart and intuition.

[00:05:32] We are constantly being yapped at by advice, stories, media, opinions, society, and expectations. It can be difficult to hear your own voice in the midst of the chaos. Learn to identify and trust in what you want by imagining your life without doubt, expectations, and boundaries. The things you do in a world without barriers are the things you should pursue despite the barriers. It's simple to do, but it's rarely done in our world of infinite distractions.

[00:06:01] Be one of the ones who does it. Bonus. Number eleven. Don't obsess too much with finding tricks and secrets. Getting yourself going in the right direction involves a lot of trial and error. It does involve some technique though, and mindset matters. Even after hearing the ultimate secret to getting beach abs, guess what? Your abs still won't be great unless you take action, which is why the number one tip for goals is to start.

[00:06:29] After you start, you can figure out what works and what doesn't. And if you fail, start over. There's no limit on failure that I know of. Go ahead. Fail a thousand times and succeed once. It still counts. You just listened to the post titled, 10 Tips to Achieve Any Goal, by Stephen Guise of MiniHabits.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Oikos presents 15 Seconds of Strength. Here we go.

[00:06:59] Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him. Oh, that's tough, Jim. Looks like a five-trip load at least. He grabs the first bag, the second. Bob, it looks like he's trying to do it all one trip. He shimmies the door open, steps over the dog. Oh, and he stumbles. Oh, right into the kitchen without missing a beat. Jim, now that's a man who eats his protein-packed Oikos. With 15 grams of complete protein in each cup, Oikos Triple Zero can help build strength for every day. Oikos, stronger makes everything better. Delicious, meat nutritious.

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[00:08:25] Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. In another recent commentary, I shared a story my neighbor shared with me about how he was able to lose 25 pounds and get to his goal weight. He didn't use any magical new medication or miracle food or miracle workout routine. All he did was follow many of the same tips that today's author Stephen shared.

[00:08:53] My neighbor didn't overthink his goals. He just took action. He tried to be better each day and steadily chipped away at his goal. So here's what he did. I mean, first he was already active, so that was something he had going for him already. He walked his dog for three to six miles every day. But even with that activity level, he still gained 25 pounds. So what he did was he looked at his diet. He quickly realized that he added three teaspoons of sugar to each cup of coffee he drank during the day.

[00:09:22] So his first goal? Stop adding sugar to each cup of coffee. He slowly reduced the amount of sugar added to each cup, going from three down to two, down to one, then zero. Now he realized, maybe this won't make a difference, but when he started to do the math, he realized he was getting an extra 48 calories each time he had a cup of coffee. That's because each teaspoon of sugar has about 16 calories. He then did the math and said,

[00:09:51] well, I drink two cups a day, which meant I'm getting an extra 96 calories per day just from added sugar. So when he went from three teaspoons to zero in his coffee, he was saving himself almost 100 calories a day. And that means about 700 calories a week just by making one small change. Then, once he felt comfortable with that habit, in the spirit of continuous improvement, he decided to next watch his portions.

[00:10:19] He ate all of the same foods he loved, but just a little less of them each time. And that was it. He kept up his activity, stopped adding sugar to his coffee, and watched his food portions. Those were his secrets to getting to his goal weight. See? Again, reaching our goals doesn't have to be complicated. Just focus on being a little better each day and stick to the basics. All right, that'll do it for the Saturday episode. Thank you so much for being here.

[00:10:48] Thank you for listening every day. I hope you have a great rest of your day. And of course, I'll be back here tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits. Let's see.