The Next Right Thing
Do you have big goals that you want to accomplish? Do you struggle with knowing what to do to make progress towards them? Are you scared to take action because the thought of getting through every obstacle in the way seems so daunting? As common as it is to have a big goal, it’s just as normal to feel a little overwhelmed by how you are going to get there. Recently, I listened to someone talking about how to overcome these challenges by doing “the next right thing,” instead of focusing only on the end goal.
The end goal is necessary and should be clearly defined, otherwise we will continue working on the next shiny object that sounds easy to attain instead of making progress towards our actual finishing point. Once we’ve clearly defined our goal, we need to devise a plan and move forward by stepping out and doing something actionable. We can use this process in all areas of our life, but so we can all relate, this post is specific to health and fitness.
Clearly define your goal- There likely are larger motivators behind your goals, but try to keep it concise when writing down what you want to achieve:
Every month in 2019 I will be a part of the committed club (16+ workouts/month)
I need accountability in my nutrition so I’m going to utilize the nutrition coaching platform for the next six months.
Recovering from workouts and feeling energized are struggles for me so I’m going to commit to sleeping 8 hours each night.
Make plans carefully- We have a much better chance of succeeding when we tell someone else about what we’re doing. Or, even better, by getting them involved to keep us accountable.
Plan your schedule around your workouts. What days and times are you going to work out each week? If you don’t clearly plan it out, it’s easy for things to come up because you “can always work out tomorrow.”
The reason I’m doing nutrition coaching is that I need someone to keep me on track. I know that by having a program to follow I can learn sustainable ways to continue on my own in the future. This program is customized specifically to me, which makes it that much easier to follow.
In order to get my 8 hours of sleep each night, I will cut out screen time 2 hours prior to bed. I will sleep in a cool, dark room, and won’t drink coffee after 12:00 pm or consume alcohol before bed.
Stepping out and doing what you can- Think about the people in your life who watch what you do. You are inspiring them by taking control of your health! The more you can stick to your plan, the more likely they are to follow or join you in your endeavors. The next right thing means taking just one step at a time. Swinging for the fences right away will likely leave you as one more person who says that they tried something and it didn’t work. In reality, you set yourself up for failure because the steps you tried to take were just too big.
We all know people who tried a CrossFit workout one time and it didn’t work for them. Do marathon runners just start running huge distances to start? No, they make small incremental progress, working towards that end goal of completing a marathon. Has anyone changed their health by doing a 30-day challenge? Well, maybe for those 30 days, but almost all go back to the same way they were eating prior to the challenge the day it is over.
Find a program that you can sustain for the long haul! It likely won’t happen on its own, so get some help. Going to bed early takes discipline and if you think you are going to be the anomaly who doesn’t need to do the things that set you up for a great night of sleep, you likely are not going to notice any shift in your energy levels.
Doing “the next right thing” can transfer into just about every area of our life, but sitting back and hoping that we’ll just end up where we want to be is not very actionable. Hope is not a strategy; taking action is. We can help you in just about every area of your health and fitness, so if you are struggling with something or sick of just continuing to do the same thing, please reach out to one of us. We would love to help!