Stick to It: Repetition and Fail-Prooing Your Goals

Some smart dudes (Will Durant & Socrates)

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

– Will Durant (paraphrasing Aristotle)

 

The above quote is often misattributed to Aristotle. While the spirit of the words may have been wholly inspired by Aristotle, it was William Durant, American philosopher, who wrote them in his 1926 book, The Story of Philosophy. Frankly, it doesn’t matter who the hell said it. It’s simple and it’s true. Excellence demands quality repetition. Busy chipping away at your health and fitness goals? You’ll never make it if you don’t stick to it.

 

­Grit

There are many factors that contribute to success. Grit is one of the greatest attributes you can rely on to help you stick to your plan. Researchers from UPenn and West Point published an article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP) listing several studies about ‘grit’ and its notable impact on success. Grittier individuals (across many different groups) outperform their peers. This was true for young spelling bee participants as well as West Point cadets.  However, grit is also one of the hardest traits to develop. In my article, “Mental Toughness,” I listed several ways to challenge your comfort level. The smart thing to do is to make it easier stick to your plans.

 

Do a quick review

I am assuming if you are ready to stick to a plan or goal you have in fact established one already. Spend a few minutes quickly reviewing it and make sure that it is specific and realistic. If you don’t believe that you can achieve your goal, then you were doomed from the start.

 

Fail-proofing in 5 steps

  • Publicize it.

Now that you are busy toiling away at your goal – I want you to tell everybody. Blast your goal on social media and personally announce it to friends, family, and co-workers. Don’t forget to tell the guy or gal who is brutally honest. They will call you out on your BS and help keep you accountable. The fear of failure and public embarrassment is a strong motivator for most people. It may be that you will let yourself down 50 times before ever letting someone else down. Use that to your advantage.

  • Make good habits.

Motivation ebbs and flows. It is inconsistent and you cannot rely on it alone. When something is a habit though – you will stick to it. There are several great books on habit formation (I will list them below) that share similar strategies. One common element in the books is creating a disciplined routine that can be prompted by a trigger. For example, say you wanted to tweak your morning routine to increase energy. You might consider drinking a tall glass of water immediately upon waking. The trigger is the sound of your alarm and your next immediate action is to drink the water. You can even fail-proof this strategy further by leaving the glass on your bedside table, so it will be readily available when you wake up. Remember, one of our keys from Durant/Aristotle was repetition. The more you do it the more it will stick.

  • Remove temptations.

There is a practicality to the phrase “out of sight, out of mind.” For instance, if you are following a diet, you should stock your fridge and pantry with nothing but healthy food. You might not be able to control your co-workers bringing muffins into the office, but you can control what is in your own house. When possible, make it so you have to go out of your way to screw up.

  • Track it.

This is a big one. Tracking can help adherence and encourage a bias for action. Additionally, it can help reveal patterns you didn’t even know were there. Paying attention to patterns is top-of-mind awareness. There are countless commercially available tracking systems and planners that make tracking easy to do. I prefer the online/mobile platforms like Goals on Track, because they present a visual graph that allows you to see your progress over time. On a tight budget, feel free to use a small notebook and a pen.

  • Hire a coach/trainer.

Your coach is your last line of defense. A good coach will hold you accountable and help put you back on the path after you deviate. Also, if your current strategy truly isn’t working, your coach will be right there to help you form a new one.

 

Conclusion

To wrap this up, once you have started on your journey to your goal, it will take persistent action to achieve it. Bring all the grit you can muster and supplement it by fail-proofing your goal in 5 ways:

  1. Publicize it
  2. Make good habits
  3. Remove temptations
  4. Track it
  5. Hire a coach/trainer

 

Stick to it! At the end when you have achieved your goal you will be so proud of what you have accomplished. Then give yourself a great big reward – because you have earned it.  It’s up to you!

 

To Your Lasting Fitness,

Matt

 

Resources:

Here are some excellent resources to help you learn about habits and how to stick to your goals. I’m not affiliated with any of these organizations.

 

Books:

  • The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
  • The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
  • Living Your Best Year Ever by Darren Hardy
  • The Power of Less by Leo Babauta

 

Articles:

 

Tracking Software and Products:

  • GoalsOnTrack: http://www.goalsontrack.com/
  • HabitBull: http://www.habitbull.com/
  • Strides: http://www.stridesapp.com/