TEN SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU REACH YOUR GOALS
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How did you do at creating a clear vision of what you want to get out of your training? You should now have a better understanding of the importance of setting goals in order to enhance your bodybuilding efforts. There should be little question in your mind that goal setting is the first step toward successfully developing the physical body you desire. Many books have been written on this subject, and I am sure you are currently applying at least a few of the many proven strategies toward your daily, regular-life goals, as well as in the gym. This subject is discussed quite often, to say the least. Goal setting is talked about so much, it can even become a little boring at times. But it is imperative that you do not to get caught up in the trap of taking this important subject for granted. Read this chapter with the belief and anticipation that there will be at least one key distinction that will help you get closer to achieving your bodybuilding goals. Goal setting is a fundamental task that must be done on a consistent basis if you hope to attain the physique you desire. Unless you already have everything in your physique you have ever desired, there is always room to improve upon your goal setting strategies. Successful drug-free bodybuilders are very good at finding several ways to help make their dreams come true. 1. HAVE THE COURAGE TO BE A DREAMER Let’s imagine that your goal is to have the biggest calves in your gym. What would you do differently in order to get them? Would you train them harder, heavier, or more often? Would you ask people with big calves questions on how they built theirs? Would you read with a different attitude everything written on calf training? You more than likely won’t get the biggest calves in your gym by accident. You can earn the biggest calves by making that desire your goal and doing everything possible to build them. Unfortunately for many people, even a simple goal like this would be too big for them to even contemplate. Instead they would spend their time thinking of all the reasons why it can’t be done. “Most people don’t aim too high and miss, they aim too low and hit.” --Bob Moawad There is the saying, “Ask and you shall receive.” Be sure to ask for enough from yourself. Don’t be like the local bodybuilder who trains hard and builds an awesome physique, only to enter the novice class when he could have won the entire open division. He unfortunately set his goals too low. In his victory he has also suffered defeat, in my opinion. Don’t sell yourself short. Champion drug-free bodybuilders courageously set lofty goals and work long, hard, and intelligently to achieve them. Recently my TaeKwonDo instructor, Ricardo Oliveria, began working out with me at the gym. After just a week of training, he had set his sights on going head-tohead with three-time NPC Team Universe winner Chris Faildo. I said to myself, “Who is he trying to kid? Faildo has been training for 16 years and is one of the best drug-free lightweights in the world! Ricardo should try winning a local NPC Ironman Naturally contest before he even thinks about competing with Faildo!” But then I thought, “Who am I to tell him what he can and cannot achieve? He had the determination to earn a black belt and open a martial arts school. Even if he doesn’t reach this goal, wouldn’t he demand more of himself in his approach to training, nutrition, and supplementation? Wouldn’t he be significantly better with this ambitious mindset?” Many people may argue, “C’mon, you’ve got to be realistic!” But what exactly is considered realistic? I am sure many of you have physiques that others find unbelievable to have been built without drugs. How is your way of thinking different than theirs? Is it possible that someone with better physique has taken that mental process even a few steps further? There is always a higher level of achievement, but you will have a difficult time getting there if you do not first believe it is possible. I have little doubt Ricardo will do much better as a bodybuilder because he expects more from himself than if he settled for goals others consider reasonable. If you are in a state of frustration about your training, let me ask you a question: Is there another area in your life in which you are extremely accomplished? Maybe you have attained a certain level of education against great odds, have an outstanding position in your company at a young age, make a tremendous amount of money, or have the ultimate relationship. Many people can’t imagine how you were able to accomplish such a feat. That’s the problem – they think it is impossible. But you made it real – despite what other people thought was possible. Think of the character qualities, positive mindset, and the strategies that made you reach those goals and apply them to developing your physique. But what if you set a goal and you fail? This is a possibility for everything you do in life. You must focus your attention on what you want in life – not on what you don’t want. If you doubt yourself at the start, there is no way you are going to do everything possible to reach your goal. Replace your fear with courage. In the “merry-go-round of life” you need to stretch a little if you plan to get the “brass ring.” Eventually you will find out what you are actually capable of achieving. Setting goals that are too ambitious is a good thing. In our society, most people settle for far less than they are capable of doing. 2. KNOW WHAT YOU ULTIMATELY WANT TO ACCOMPLISH “Begin with the end in mind” stresses Stephen Covey in his best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. To make every day a day in which you productively work toward your goals, you must focus on your ultimate destination. Knowing exactly where you want to end up will make you more efficient at working toward your goals. This clarity will also ease the handling of the smaller problems that may arise along the way. 3. KNOW WHY YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS Why do you want to achieve a particular goal? Attaining a goal if you do not know exactly why doing so is important to you will be very difficult. Many experts on this subject believe that 80 percent of what is needed to achieve a goal is having a strong enough reason why doing so is important. If you know why, how to accomplish a goal will become easier to discover. Try writing half a page on why this goal is something you must achieve. Think through this process. If you can’t communicate all the reasons to yourself, you will undoubtedly have a big challenge when the going gets tough. 4. DON’T WORRY SO MUCH ABOUT HOW YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH THE GOAL Don’t get caught up in worrying about every precise detail necessary to reach your goal. This is another reason why most of us do not set goals. We assume that if we do not exactly how to get to a goal, we won’t be able to accomplish it. But that’s not necessarily how your mind works. First, plant the goal in your mind. Then your subconscious mind takes over from there and searches for every possible way for you to reach that goal. If you are committed, persistent, and believe in yourself, you will eventually find a way to achieve your desire. “If you put everything off until you’re sure of it, you’ll get nothing done.” --Norman Vincent Peale In the last chapter, I discussed the goals of President Clinton and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Do you think that when they set their “unrealistic” goals at young ages of becoming President and an action movie star they knew every precise step necessary to get there? No. Not being afraid to set the ambitious goal in the first place allowed them to move forward and recognize all the people and resources available to help in their quests. This powerful strategy will also work for you. When you set a goal – no matter how big or how outrageous you may think it is – your mind will start seeking every opportunity to make it come true. But before this “magic” will start happening, you must truly believe it will come true. Have faith in yourself. The human spirit is awesome! As my mentor Anthony Robbins says, “Reasons come first, answers come second. ” Your mind will assist you in finding opportunities to make your goals come true in ways that will be absolutely astonishing. 5. WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS Writing down your goals will help you achieve them for a couple of reasons. First, it will signal to your brain that this desire is far more than just a fantasy – it is an endeavor you are committed to turning into reality. Secondly, the paper that it is written on will serve as a constant reminder of what you have set out to do. In a recent interview, WNBF World Champion Kai Greene goes even further and suggests that you write down your goals down six times a day to fuel your fire. After listing all your goals, write the following question: “What can I do today to get closer to achieving these goals?” Your brain will subconsciously go to work seeking opportunities to assist you in your efforts. 6. REVIEW YOUR GOALS OFTEN New Year’s Day is a time when many people set resolutions and goals. What often becomes a problem is that they make the goals but then never measure their progress until the beginning of the next year. I use my time on the stationary bike to review my goals. This constantly reminds me of what I want to accomplish and motivates me to use every day as an opportunity to work further toward my goals. If I start to stray, reviewing my goals also serves to make myself accountable for my actions -- or lack of action. I won’t tolerate lack of action if my list of goals reminds me that I have not done what I need to do to reach them. The pain that is caused by not working towards my goals will force me to get back on track. 7. CREATE A PLAN A goal without a plan will most likely remain just a dream. To turn your dreams into reality, you must create a plan of action. Brainstorm all the people and all the resources available to help you devise this plan. To build your body without drugs, be sure to take advantage of information in the bodybuilding magazines and books specifically designed to meet the needs and conditions of natural bodybuilders. Also, sit down and evaluate your current habits. Both in the gym and in your mind honestly determine if they are truly working for you. If not, then make the necessary changes. Model those who are already successful. This is a tremendous tool. Live with the attitude that you can learn something from anyone at any time. 8. PREPARE FOR OBSTACLES AND CREATE SOLUTIONS Even the best-made plans will not always go smoothly. Understanding this before you run into difficulty will help you be mentally prepared for obstacles that will challenge your commitment. Instead of fearing problems, anticipate them. Be proactive and contemplate different physical and mental obstacles that may get in the way. Creating several possible solutions to each potential problem will give you a greater sense of confidence that you can handle any situation that may arise. 9. TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR GOALS AND STRATEGIES No matter how dedicated you are, your motivation inevitably may wane to some degree. One way to keep yourself on course is to tell other people of your goals. Doing so will give you that extra bit of incentive to keep chipping way at them when it gets difficult to do so. For some of us, letting ourselves down is a lot easier than letting someone else down. 10. BE FLEXIBLE – BUT STICK WITH YOUR PLANS LONG ENOUGH Let’s say your goal is to find a way to build your stubborn chest. You may have tried 20 different routines for a significant amount of time and none of them seemed to work. You’re not quite sure if there is any routine to improve your lagging chest. But instead of giving up, you have the courage to persist trying to find an effective method. Then you may run across a Ron Coleman article in one of the bodybuilding magazines and – boom! – you start getting the results you always dreamed of having. If you didn’t set the goal in the first place, this valuable source of information might have slipped past and you never would have earned the chest you have. Giving each routine a long enough period of time to be properly evaluated, along with your flexibility and persistence, led to your success. BONUS TIP: ENJOY THE RIDE Have you ever reached a goal, only to be excited for a surprisingly short period of time? If so, you are not alone. Have you ever finally reached a goal like building your arms up to 15 inches, felt a sense a pride for a few minutes, and then started noticing all the guys with bigger arms than you? Many people feel somewhat guilty because they do not fully appreciate how fortunate they are to have accomplished a goal – especially when there are many people who only wish they can be half as accomplished. The explanation for this is simple. You will never be “there.” Success has many different levels. There is always a higher level of achievement to attain in every aspect of life; including your bodybuilding endeavors. There will always be someone bigger, there will always someone better, there will always a bigger contest to win. If there is one lesson I would like to teach you from my experience, that lesson is to enjoy the process of what you are doing. If I could go into my past and change anything, I would have enjoyed everything more along the way. Instead, when I achieved something great, I just buried my head in determination and immediately focused on the next conquest. I seemed to defer enjoying the moment until after the next goal was accomplished. But, you know what? When you get caught up in that way of thinking, there is always a next goal and you never allow yourself to celebrate. I noticed many people who had achieved far less than me but yet appeared to be much more happy and satisfied with what they had done. I have worked hard to make the necessary mental adjustments. I want to keep you from falling into the same trap. You don’t want to be in that place. The key to being successful and happy is to enjoy the process of working toward your goals. Appreciate the fact that you have a “gift” of something in your life that gets you out of bed early in the morning anticipating the day with joy. In Nissan’s latest advertising campaign, the automobile maker preaches, “Life is a journey, enjoy the ride!” Don’t wait to enjoy success and happiness until you finally achieve your goals. You should be proud of the great person you have created who is able to be so visionary as to set an ambitious goal, create a plan, work diligently toward the goal, and confidently face the obstacles in the way. Many strategies may help you reach your goals. There are many books and audiocassette tapes that address this subject and can be extremely helpful to you. I recommend anything written by Anthony Robbins or Zig Ziglar. Although we have discussed the value of goal setting in building your physique, be sure to apply these skills to enhance the quality of your entire life as well.
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