2018 is here, skip the Resolutions and set GOALS!

As 2017 is coming to an end, and we are all focused on making 2018 "our best year yet" let me give you my way of reaching that and step number one is actually to skip your new years resolution. 

Why? Well different surveys show different results, but they all come down to a similar conclusion: less than 10% of people making New Years Resolutions actually make them happen..

Now don't get me wrong here, I think we should without a doubt use the surge of energy and motivation that we all feel in the beginning of a new year to set a path towards where we want to be! I just think that instead of making promises like "I'm gonna lose 10kg", or "I'm going to train every single day" etc, we should focus on the bigger picture: 

Who do you want to be?

Once you REALLY know, it's easy to commit every single part of your being to becoming that person.

Here's how we get started: Write down a description of the person who you want to be. I don't necessarily recommend that person to be weighed and measured in numbers so rather than "weighing less than 90kg", "Being top 10 in Africa in the Open", etc start the process by creating the description of the future you that you would love others to use when talking about you.

Here's mine (as an example, not as something for YOU to use), please realise I'm only sharing this to help, not to sound stuck up - this is in essence who I want to be:

Chris is helping 100's of people to live their healthiest and fittest possible life on a daily basis. He is using his brand (CCF) to reach a big population of human beings who wants to live life to the fullest, and by living that way himself he is the best dad he can possibly be to his son. By spending time with his little man and constantly showing him how to be a go getter he is setting him up for success in his future life.
Chris works hard, but is also a good family man, that spends time with his family and as much as he's successful in running his business he always makes sure to share that success with his employees and partners.

Now how do you become that person?

Now once you got the description of the future you, you can use that to dissect how to become that! As an example, here's how I dissect my description to be able to create a broad base of direction to reach my goals for 2018:

Help as many people as possible live their lives to the fullest:

• Make as many as possible experience the life changing effects of training at CCF.
• SHARE knowledge and INSPIRE people by showing them how amazing an active lifestyle can really be. 
• Look for opportunities to spread our ways of life to those not involved at CCF.

Be the best dad I can be for my son, and of course be a good family man in general:

• Keep on spending close to every morning with him.
• Have a full day OFF once a week to go on Maximus & Daddy Adventures.
• Be the fittest version of my self to be able to always show him the world, and eventually keep up with this young man when he decides to be active with whatever that might be.
• Set an example by working hard to ensure his future, but also to show him that hard works does pay off.

Be a good role model for everyone involved in CCF and a good employer:

• Live the brand.
• Create an environment that is inspiring, filled with passion, and FUN to work in.
• Be clear in what is expected from all of them, both as a team and individually.
• Always share the success by continue to develop our systems for rewarding our coaches and staff when the business is doing well.

These are only some of the things that ended up on my list, but for the sake of not making this post a book, I'll stop there for now. Here's the cool thing do, once I now have a bunch of items on my list I can start drawing "red threads" between areas that are connected and create my general goal plan for 2018!

Make a General Goal Plan for 2018!

So, if I look for similarities in my list above I can make it a short list of Actions for 2018:

• Work hard every day, get up at 5am and change the world with your work at CCF.
• Spend every Sunday (or Monday if weekend seminar) with the family, go on Adventures!
• Train hard close enough to every day to be a fit role model that can always be an active dad.
• Eat well all the time, because if you want to be the fittest & healthiest version of your self Nutrition sets the base..
• Always be a GOOD man, always do the RIGHT thing.

You see I know that if I can follow the 5 general goals above, which will now be written out and put in my home office, I will reach all my specific goals as well. If I want to snatch more, run faster and so on I simply have to follow the goal plan to train hard every day. If I want to succeed further with growing & improving CCF and make sure that the other people involved in our brand succeed as well - I simply have to keep on getting up at 5am every day and work on it. Don't worry that is not a NEW resolution by the way, I've been doing it for 6 months now and it's easier than I thought it would be because I wake up every day with passion.

Lastly, if I want to achieve all the goals I have I must simply always follow the last General Goal. By being a good man and doing the right thing, even when it's really hard and may seem wrong to others, I can hopefully help others do the same thing.

Now go set YOUR Goals.

The above is only an insight of how I reached my general goals to show you a process that is pretty cool, now you can hopefully use that to set your goals!

In short, define:

1. Who do you want to be?
2. How do you become that person?
3. Make a General Goal plan for 2018!

By the way, I still highly believe in setting specific goals as well - I have a pretty long list of things and numbers I want to hit in training, business, and life, for next year. But that's for a later post about goal setting, for now the message is simply to steer away from the failing culture of New Years resolution and rather set General Goals that can get you all the things you want for your self and others.

Lastly, the cool thing about new years is that we can set new intentions and then change them as we hit them. I really like the way Matthew McConaughey put it in his 2014 Oscar's Speech: 
'So you see every day, every week, every month and every year of my life, my hero is always 10 years away. I’m never going to beat my hero. I’m not going to obtain that, I know I’m not. And that’s just fine with me because that keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.'

I hope this can help you go out there and make 2018 your best year yet, in a couple of days I'll post a good way to set specific goals too - because remember that by telling others about your goals you'll be more likely to reach them!

Ciao,
Coach Chris