P90X blog: Goal setting 2

I will continue to talk about goal setting because in my humble view, the biggest barrier for people to actually begin or successfully complete their p90x is because of a problem with goal setting.

One reason that holds people back is fear of failure.  Fearing that they will start but won't make it all the way. But as Tom Hopkins said, failure is not the worse possible result, not trying is. If you try, you can succeed, if you don't try, you have already failed.  If you suffer from this problem then pretend that you have already failed, then give it the best try you can.

While a lot of us are willing to risk failure, we still don't give it our best shot. Why? Because we somehow tell ourselves that success isn't worth the trouble after all. "Why do I have to have six pac?", "I'm ok the way I am, I don't have to be Arnold Schwarzenagger" etc.

If this is your problem let me tell you that you don't have to become Arnold, and not everyone works out for the same reason. What is important is that you find what will motivate you personally.  But before that you must be aware of the many different kind of motivations and benefits to working out, and then you can pick the one that compels you the most.

I believe that the strongest reason to work out and eat healthy is that it simply the cheapest and most efficient and fun way to lead a healthy, sick free life.  It is more of a preventative measure to illness, it makes you age a lot slower, and it allows you to enjoy sports and physically demanding activities well into your later years in life.  It lets you take control of your habits, you watch what, when and how much you eat. 

Proper dieting doesn’t simply mean taking lots of protein shakes, it also ensures that your level of cholesterol and sodium are tempered, and that you are taking the proper portion of all sorts of nutrients the body needs. This prevents all kinds of illnesses that are not necessarily obvious like high blood pleasure and perhaps pneumonia etc. 

Other benefits include you get higher levels of energy in your day, you always feel fresh and positive, you look good in whatever clothes you pick.. etc etc. I certainly can’t list all the benefits in this article, but the point is if you are dismissive of working out or you are not yet motivated enough, I encourage you to widen your horizon and learn more about the subject of the different benefits of working out, I’m pretty sure you’ll find something that will tick with what you really want.   

The point is you have to really want it, you have to crave it. That want will make a difference in your life because you will work hard to satisfy that want. You will make sacrifices, ask questions, change yourself, and figure out ways to satisfy that want. You wouldn’t do that for a mere wish.

Once you’ve discovered your compelling reason for working out, commit to achieving it through working out. Write your goal on a piece of paper and stick it were you can see it everyday.  This single act is probably the most decisive factor in your P90X workout. This is the showing up part, this is the 80% of business I mentioned earlier.

For a goal to be effective though, it has to be very specific and concrete. It can’t just be “getting healthy”, that doesn’t elicit specific actions. The good news is that the P90X program breaks down that vague goal into very specific concrete goals. Tom Hopkins, the famous sales coach, says not to set short term goals for more than 90 days! What a coincidence! With P90X, you have a 90 day goal, which is broken down into 3 phases, each phase broken down into 4 weeks, with a specific program for each day in that week (both working out and as a meal plan).  So all you need is to set that 90 day short term goal of getting healthy. The rest is on us.  What happens after the 90 days? You’ll be surprised how easy it will be for you to maintain what you have achieved.

One last and very important point: for those who think “oh I don’t need this cheesy goal setting exercise.. I’ll just do it”. You may actually accomplish the P90X without putting anything on paper, but I’d lake to get a dollar for every friend of mine who has started the P90X and didn’t finish it for whatever reason (be it exams, getting busy at work, Ramadan etc).

In my next blog I’ll discuss a bit more about how the P90X workout is structured, so that you know how your ultimate goal of getting healthy is broken down.