Goals and Gains
By Rio Hall, Senior Instructor at Barry's
How’s your 2021 going? We are leaning into their new year resolution of goal setting and self-care by bringing back the YouAppi x Barry’s at Home series with Adjust and Tapjoy. I led the first sweat sesh in the four-part series on Feb 17, 2021. It was a full house for this Goals and Gains event that held over 100 of the mobile industry attendees registered for the event.
The year had a rough start with stay-at-home restrictions carried over from 2020 which makes goal setting feel like a far-off realization. The "new year, fresh start" effect is wearing off and the goals to get fit or finishing that lingering project seem far in the distance now that we are into February. If you feel this way, you’re not alone. It seems that many of us have issues with goal achievement and we’ve heard that 92 out of 100 people are failing to achieve their goals but with the right tools, we can be part of that 8%.
I kept the team on track by kicking off the total body-weight workout programmed with some high knees to warm us up followed by 30 minutes packed with squats, push-ups, crunches, and burpees. The thirty-minute gains workout was perfectly balanced with a goal-setting workshop. I have been leading my own goal-setting Instagram series and I felt that the stars aligned with the opportunity to lead a private goal-setting workshop just for the group. Overcoming some personal challenges at the end of 2020 when I felt the odds were stacked against me really gave me perspective on how we approach goals. I was able to fight these challenges and be part of that 8% by overcoming the odds and reaching my new goals despite the trials that life (especially during a pandemic) presents. As I always say, easy never changed the world! Here I share the six tips tips that have really helped me find the focus and clarity I needed in goal setting.
1. Goal Setting vs Task Setting
If something is singular, it is a task, for example, “I want to lose 5 lbs” is a smaller task and the target is actually a piece of a much larger goal. The goal might be “I want to feel healthier, happier in my own skin, and feel better.”
Decide what the overarching goal is first. Feeling healthy, happy, and better is the transcending thing while losing the 5lbs is one task as part of the journey to achieving that larger goal. Once you find that overarching goal, you can then reverse engineer the steps to get you to achieve that goal.
Once you create that transcending thing, you’ll realize there are multiple avenues or pathways to accomplish that goal. If one task doesn’t work for you, pivot to find another task that will get you one step closer to your goal. Noticing and accepting this concept generates that positive flow and energy into our self-talk and habits. Thinking you have failed based on one task won’t allow you to honestly give that next task all of your efforts. Mentally you have already decided that you have failed.
Knowing that there are more options and paths to completing tasks creates a positive self-image and mindset, allowing you the freedom to give each task 100%.
Ask yourself, “Are you setting tasks? Or goals?”
2. Have the confidence to speak about it
Through fear, most of us tend to not talk about our goals, hiding them in the shadows. This sets you up with the mindset of disbelief in your accomplishments.
Announcing your goals with a purpose to a close circle of people that you respect offers up that knowledge and will keep you accountable with yourself and with them.
3. Build better habits
Establishing better habits as part of your everyday life starts with seeing what habits or tasks we aren’t already doing first. Work through that initial step and find the time to put those good habits in your life. Do this repeatedly until it becomes part of you. Being consistent will bring that necessary repetition.
Set alarms to keep you on track. Pick a time when you know you are free to complete your new task. After a period of time, you will stop thinking about it and that habit will just become part of your day. You might even feel weird if you aren’t doing the task. This is the inflection point where it has finally taken hold in your life.
4. Take Notes and Evaluate
Understanding what your journey looks like and where you are in that journey is important. It brings a realistic check-in with yourself in order to re-evaluate the tasks initially set for yourself. This will give you the freedom to take actions that are more effective for you, bringing you back on track towards the overarching goal.
At this point, ask yourself how have your tasks evolved? What challenges are still left?
5. Find Your Flow
Your flow will ebb and flow, ups and downs of motivation can happen. Find a way to stay motivated by making a decision and a choice to act.
Create positive triggers when you are feeling unmotivated or fraught with negative thoughts. Replace those feelings with something that will trigger you to drive positivity. Turn to music, faith, complimenting others or anything else that you know will drive your positive mood is a positive trigger. Apply these things that are meaningful to you and set your eyes on that challenging task to finish it.
6. Be Resilient and Push Through the Pressure
With mental fatigue, we tend to push the things we aren’t excited about for last. Have a good and real conversation with yourself about the type of person you are. It may be easier to step off in the final steps of goal achievement but think about what kind of character you want to have?
Pressure and excuses are always part of life and pushing through that allows you to bounce back, stay your course, and finish your goal.
Train your mindset and character on the small things based on your decisions and choices consistently. Allow your character to take your next steps and achieve your accomplishments.
Goals and Gains Event Takeaway
With these tips, I hope it gives you the tools you need to overcome your personal challenges. 2021 is just starting and with the right tools, we can overcome that statistic and reach our new goals. Be honest with your overarching goal and the tasks to reach those goals. One of the most humbling lessons is allowing yourself to fail. Failure is just an opportunity to regroup, pick yourself up, and get back on track. This will lead you to accomplishing your goals and builds your character along the way.
If you’d like to join us for our next virtual at-home Barry’s workshop on mindful meditation and how it compliments goal setting on, slide into our DMs.
