Do you need goals or do you need standards? 

Goals are important.  I’m not going to sit here and say they aren’t.  But many goals end up being outcome goals.  Outcome goals, like “I want to lose 20lbs” or “I want to win this basketball game”, tend to be things that are actually out of your control.  Ultimately, you can’t control if the scale measures a 20lbs drop in the earth’s gravitational pull on your body mass.  What you can control are the day to day decisions that will ultimately cause the weight to come off. 

This is where process goals come in.  Process goals are focused on things that are within your control.  The 100 workout challenge we do every summer is a perfect example of this.  You can control whether you finish 100 workouts between July 1st and December 31st.  Yes things come up, but you can plan for that and still make it.  

To consistently accomplish process goals, you need to have some standards.  These are the actions you take daily and weekly that are part of your standard operating procedures.  

 So what are your standards?  I’ll go first : )

This isn’t meant to be a “look how disciplined I am” list.  This whole subject got my gears turning because for the last 5 years in particular, I have slowly but surely raised a lot of my standards.  Among other benefits, I am much happier.  Here are some standards that are working for me:

1. No snooze button.  Whether I wake up rested or horribly sleep deprived, I just get moving.  That extra 10 minutes of sleep won’t leave me rested; it will leave me LATE.  I’ve learned enough times doing it the wrong way to just skip the snooze.  It’s never worth it.
2. Tomorrow gets planned in detail before today ends.  It’s hard to overstate how much this has helped. The more I can spell out my schedule the day before, the fewer decisions I make during the day and the more I focus on just executing a decent plan.  Since implementing this discipline I have been getting a lot more done, much better, with less stress and burnout.  Another unexpected benefit of using a paper daily planner: I mindlessly scroll less on social media.  I still use the calendar on my phone to keep track of long term items, but I no longer look at my phone during the day to see what I am supposed to do next. 
3. Strength train Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, go on a 1 hour walk/ruck the other days of the week.  What happens when I don’t feel like it or the weather sucks?  I do it anyway.  Because I’m lifting multiple days in a row now, I do our 4 day per week program that is organized into upper and lower body splits.    
4. No booze, no added sugar, no junk during the week.  I feel crummy when I don’t eat well.  I can’t perform for my clients or employees without decent nutrition.  I allow myself treats on the weekends but…
5. Keep weekends reasonable.  Relaxing is good.  A couple adult beverages are fine.  That said, I have an ability to go hog wild with too much booze and junk if I go full “dis-regulated” mode.  While I will relax a little on the weekend, my choices need to at least resemble the disciplined week enough that it doesn’t take 3 days to recover from the weekend.
6. Drink 100 oz of water a day.  I’ve done the full gallon a day thing before. For me, I find 100 oz is the better number most of the time.  Perfection isn’t required with much of this to get the benefits from hydrating.  My first 40 oz are electrolyte water.
7. Read 10 pages a day no matter what.  I realized watching something on TV at the end of the day doesn’t really unwind me.  Reading definitely does.  Sometimes I read stuff for motivation or education.  Other times, I just read whatever interests me.  Remember, reading is good for you.  Scrolling is good for social media companies but bad for you.  Streaming is great for netflix but is it good for you?  It’s totally cool to make an exception for a specific show you really like when that comes out.  I definitely caught the last season of stranger things and the terminal list.  Now that I’m through those, I’m back to my books.
8.  Walk 10,000 steps per day no matter what.  On the days I ruck, this is much easier.  On my lifting days, this can be more challenging.  I have become a big fan of using a walking pad lately.  A walking pad is just a much more affordable treadmill that you wouldn’t want to do full blown running sprints on.  They are around $150 and get the job done for just getting more steps in when you have a few moments.  

Writers note: Why did I specify “no matter what” on those last two goals?  I’ve found there is something powerful about having some very simple standards that you simply will not compromise on.  10k steps is not hard most days.  Neither is reading 10 pages.  But doing it NO MATTER WHAT is the challenging part.  I don’t get a hall pass on these ones.  If I have to stay up late walking on my treadmill and reading, so be it.  It is hard to overstate how much trust you build in yourself when you start executing something no matter what life throws at you.

What standards do you want to start holding yourself to?  If you want more inspiration, check out 101 Easy Healthy Choices.

When you are ready to chat with a personal trainer about your goals and standards, fill out the form at the top or bottom of this page and I’ll be in touch.

On Target Fitness provides personalized strength and longevity coaching for adults 40+ in Portsmouth, Kittery, Kingston, and the surrounding Seacoast and southern New Hampshire communities. Our Portsmouth studio serves the greater Seacoast, and our Kingston studio serves southern New Hampshire. We work with clients who value expert guidance, individualized programming, and long-term health so they can stay strong, capable, and independent for decades to come.