Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

My basic process to achieve my goals usually starts with the following 3 steps:

1. Set a goal.
2. Create a plan to achieve that goal.
3. Start executing the plan.

Recently, I started incorporating goal progressions into this process. This adds two simple steps:

1. Breaking down each goal into small wins that define the path to achieve that goal.
2. Planning how I will celebrate those small wins.

With these 5 steps I believe I can achieve any goal. However, achieving goals has never been my biggest problem.

How Do You Sustain Momentum After You Achieve a Goal

My biggest problem has always been sustaining momentum after I achieved any given goal. For example, typically each year around late summer / early fall I set a goal to get to my “fighting” weight before the new year. This may require me to lose anywhere from 5 to 25 pounds depending on how far off track my routine gets during my spring and summer travels.

When I set this goal, I always achieve it. I have a 100% success rate. Unfortunately, the problem starts after success. Once I hit my goal, I lose momentum and I allow bad habits to creep in and take over. This is not what success should look like.

As the saying goes, when you keep doing the same thing and expect different results you are insane. So the time is now to try something different. So far, the best advice I can find to address this problem is two-fold.

First, focus less on the goal and more on the process. I actually wrote about using the process as the goal a few months ago. I do try to take my own advice more often than not, and this is one area that I’ve actually listened. So living a process oriented life is not my problem. However, this second part is what I’m missing – BALANCE.

Achieving Goals with Balance Instead of Using Extreme Action

The root cause of my problem is that I use extreme action to achieve my goals. Time and time again, my process to pursue goals is full of unsustainable actions. Things like:

• running 9 miles 5 days in a row,
• waking up a 3 am and averaging 4 hours of sleep for two months straight,
• or fasting for 24 hours, 3 days a week and drinking only smoothies for the remaining days.

Of course I can achieve any goal with extreme actions like this, but is it worth it? I don’t think so, especially when all the progress I gain is lost shortly after my goal is achieved.

What is needed instead is patience, sustainable actions, and a focus on the long term over the short term. This requires balancing the pursuit of goals with healthy habits and self-care. While sacrifice is important, extreme sacrifices in the short-term is self-sabotaging in the long term.