I had taken myself out of the game and became complacent with an existence that I knew I was greater than but settled for because I allowed the world and myself to tell me “I was one of the lucky ones”.
Now that I have made this awesome, powerful, change my life, measurable, quantitative goal…what do I do I, where do I start?
I started by putting it out in the universe. First you have to say it aloud to your self, no matter how ridiculous or far fetched the goal may seem to you at the time… you have to SAY it. But don’t stop there! Now you have to tell somebody. You have to get the real naked truth about your self and the desire for yourself out there in front of somebody. Because you need that level of accountability and you are going to need a village of people who know where you really really are and where you are really trying to go. They will carry you on those tough days during your journey when you can’t carry yourself and trust me on your journey… those days will come.
Accountability is so important. Accountability is an obligation. A willingness to accept responsibility and to account for your actions. You see I had been down this road before. Wrote a goal to do something. Made some progress. Then hit a rut. And instead of putting in the extra effort to work past my rut…I would look at my progress… and think “30 pounds down, that’s an accomplishment. I did something. More than most…not as much as some. I’m good. I can stop here.” IN MY RUT. Before I was adding accountability as an element of my journey, I could have decided at any point my rut was good enough and no one would know that I had settled. But after I told my goal to my circle, they would know my endgame and if I stopped during a rut… they would know that I had just given up on my goal. Given up on ME and settled… once again.
Let’s talk about these ruts: A rut is when you are no longer making progress even though you are doing what previously yielded great results. You’re just stuck. This is the time when some will quit. But DON’T. A rut is not a bad place unless you decide to stay there. A rut is your opportunity to reorganize, re-strategize, and get prepared to reach your next milestone. You’ve gotten better… you can do more… now more is required of you. Kick it up a notch and keep going!
On December 28, 2013, 274 days after I started my journey, I was down 100 pounds because I worked through and passed all my ruts. I walked away from that experience knowing I can do anything because I now know the formula for success:
- Have a vision.
- Set quantitative goals.
- Build a village and circle of accountability.
- When you reach a rut, work harder and try something new.
- And most importantly… don’t stop until you get there!
