I use the word “goals” in a conversation with someone at least once a day. I am a firm believer that if we’re not growing, we’re dying. If we’re not setting and achieving goals on a regular basis, we’re not progressing in life.

Goals are not limited to fitness accomplishments.

Making progress in all areas of life is vital to our ultimate fulfillment as human beings. We all have tremendous capabilities, and not pursuing that which challenges us on a regular basis is a wasted life.

Shying away from something that makes us uncomfortable, yet that we know is good for us, is a missed opportunity to become a better person. 

Our intimate relationship, financial situation, career, physical environment, social life, fun, education, and of course, health and fitness, are all areas where we have room to improve. If you’re only focused on one or two of these areas, then you’re massively limiting yourself. 

I invite you to explore all facets of life, including your daily emotional state, and your enthusiasm for life.

How excited are you to wake up in the morning and start your day?

On a scale of 1-10, if it’s anything less than a 6, it’s time for a change. Maybe a complete overhaul. If you’re unhappy in any area of life, address it immediately, and begin to move in the direction you want to go.

If you don’t yet know where you want to be, take 30 minutes right now and write out a list of everything you want to see, experience, and own before you die. Let the pen go wild, and don’t hold back. Allow your ideas to flow uninhibited.

Often when people have spent months or even years exhaustively pursuing, and achieving one or two life changing fitness goals, they look around and go “now what?” There is a lingering feeling of hopelessness once big goals are knocked off the list because other areas of life have been neglected in the pursuit of those goals. 

IMG_7818There is more to it than just fat loss. There are countless exercises to master, and improve on. 

How about setting a specific goal for lifting a certain amount of weight in the barbell squat, deadlift, or bench press?

What about setting a goal number for the amount of pull-ups, pushups, or jump squats you can do in 2 minutes?

How about setting a time goal for running a specific distance?

If you don’t like any of these examples, find something you DO like.

  • If running isn’t your thing, set a biking or swimming goal.

  • Hike a new mountain. 

  • Improve your mobility and flexibility, and measure your progress. 

  • Do something adventurous like skydive, or bungee jump.

  • Travel somewhere exciting, and experience a new culture. 

  • Take up meditation in an effort to become more mindful, and learn to be more present.

  • Get out of debt, and create a plan that keeps you out of debt permanently. 

  • Contribute to a cause or a charity that love.

  • Set a goal of reading a book a week, and write down and apply one new thing you learn every day.

  • Go back to school.

  • Work together with your spouse to infuse more passion, and intimacy into your marriage.

  • Learn a foreign language.

  • Attend a self-development seminar.

  • Start a successful business.

  • Live every day in an ideal mental state, and move away from habitual emotions like anger, resentment, and apathy.

  • Make it a point to face a new fear each week. Journal about it. 

Whatever you choose, do it because it excites you, and inspires you to grow. 

As long as you’re alive, there are endless things to improve on. If you think you’re finished with goal setting, you might as well be dead because you’ll stop looking for ways to improve.

If you can’t find anything that inspires you, it’s because you haven’t taken the time to get to know yourself. You haven’t done the work. It is your responsibility to move out of your bubble, and toward something that scares the shit out of you. Into the unknown.

This is how we grow. 

If you’re putting your focus exclusively on your fat loss goals, and trading your happiness for a number on the scale, you’re living a seriously unbalanced life. You cannot be in a caloric deficit forever. If the numbers on the scale have become the sole reinforcer of your perceived progress, then it’s time to seek new reinforcers.

Once you hit your maintenance bodyweight, cross “fat loss” off your list, and move on to the next goal. Now you have one less thing to take up mental space, and demand your energy and focus. This is a good thing!

Your life is an ongoing project filled with uncertainties, lessons, and opportunities. While you may be working hard toward a fitness goal right now, remember that you can set exciting goals in all areas of life.

As long as you’re breathing, you’ve got work to do.