Posts Tagged ‘motivation’

Go Get ‘Em Tiger: Achieving Your Goals

Yet another week greets us, which means another need to play catch up with our blog friends after a busy weekend away from the computer, right? Winking smile 

How it should be. If you’re wanting to get all up to date with FFF happenings, here ya go!

Whew! That’s a link roundup right there! Now, why don’t we dive right into this morning’s post. I realized at the end of last week I never gave you part two of my Numbers Game panel recap. I figured Monday morning made the perfect time to make up for it. I’m sure we all have some goals we would like to tackle this upcoming week – so let’s do that in a healthy, balanced way! Smile 

speaking panel
The awesome panel: Lisa, Janetha, and Beth

In Part One of the Numbers Game I focused on the positive and negative ways we can use goals. Well, that’s all fine and dandy to look at but what matters is how we apply that information. In today’s post, I want to discuss how we make sure we use numbers to motivate our goals in a balanced way that helps us achieve healthy progress.

We each had different experiences to share and key points to take away. Some of my other members have each done a great job giving their points of view on their own blogs:

Now, it’s time for another one of mine. (with some fun outtakes again along the way)

3 WAYS TO KEEP A HEALTHY APPROACH TO GOALS AND TRACKING PROGRESS

Step One: Break It Down. Think about your goal. What does the big picture of your goal look like? Running a half marathon? Writing a book? Doing ten push-ups on your toes? Holding a challenging yoga position a full minute? Developing your blog? Achieving a healthy weight? Saving money? Reading more books? Picking your nose less? (checking you’re paying attention) What IS your goal?

Now…list out everything you can actively do to work towards that goal. Be specific. List out the many actions you can take that can help you achieve your goals.

Step Two: Focus On What You CAN Control. If you have a weight loss goal, you may find yourself frustrated when the scale doesn’t reflect your efforts. If you have a blogging related you goal, you may get discouraged should the growth you anticipated not happen. However, those numbers relate to outside sources (hormones and water weight or people clicking your site). You can’t fully control them.

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Go back to that list of things you can do to work towards your goals. Those are where your focus should lie. You want to PR in a race? Make your focus getting in adequate training runs and speed work. Want to achieve a healthy weight? Focus on the number of nutritious meals you eat in a day/week/month and the number of workouts you accomplish? Want to increase blog readership? Focus on producing quality content, getting involved in the community, seeking guest post opportunities, etc.

Checking off what you CAN control and putting effort into those practices regularly WILL lead to results with time. Consider every small act you take towards achieving your goals an accomplishment and don’t forget them along the way. Setbacks will undoubtedly happen at times – boy do I know that from my overcoming binge eating goals – but you have to stay focused on the positive and believe in yourself to continue moving forward.

Step Three: Re-evaluate Often. Step back and look at your progress and ask yourself tons of questions to make sure you are still on a healthy path.

  1. Have your goals changed? How do you need to adapt your actions for them?
  2. Have you achieved your original goal but it doesn’t feel good enough? Why do you feel the need to do more?
  3. Have you tried everything but aren’t seeing results? What ways can you alter your current choices to kick start things again? Seek advice if necessary.
  4. Are you feeling unmotivated suddenly? Remember why you originally pursued the goal and determine if you still feel as strongly. If you do, focus on the why of your goal. If you don’t, consider adjusting your goal or finding new inspirational tools.
  5. Are you going crazy? Do you feel overwhelmed or stressed? Take a close look at what triggers those emotions and resolve those issues. Perhaps you will need to give up counting calories or reading particular blogs or using certain tracking tools.

Stay aware of your needs and your happiness. It will make achieving your goals that much more possible.

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There’s the gist of my main points for this topic. I do have about ten million more things I could delve into and talk about. Obviously I feel quite strongly about this topic. I want people to achieve their goals. I want people to dream BIG. I want everyone out there to do exactly the things they hope to do and achieve their wildest hopes and dreams. I think we all have the potential to do so…and to do so in a healthy and happy way. Go get ‘em tiger.

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  • Do any numbers “set you off” in a bad way with blogging or health/fitness?What things motivate you in a positive way?
  • Which of the points above stick out to you the most or do you try to focus on in your own personal progress?

Posted by on August 29th, 2011 21 Comments

It’s Pretty Baller

Last night I posted ten of my “running tips” that helped me get started running. You all dove right in there with some other awesome tips to share! Some favorites:

Yep. You all are AWESOME! And I have to add here too – in no way do I think running is the only path to fitness or that if you don’t run, you’re like the ice baths and bite monkey butt. I love a variety of fitness and truly believe that if you do something active that betters your health – you’re killing it. And if you do run, at any pace, you’re a runner. Plain and simple. Smile 

I had to take some of these running tips on the road with me this morning. Let’s just say that a six mile tempo run did not sound like the most welcoming idea this morning. I had trouble getting to sleep last night and didn’t sleep all that well. Plus, I have yet to have a tempo run longer than five miles and that extra mile just seemed daunting. I decided there was nothing to do but get out there and go for it. It would be a challenge, but I can rise to the challenge.

6 mile tempo run

Well, that went much better than expected! I did a one mile warm up and then my four tempo miles – 8:37 / 8:33 / 8:21 / 8:15 – and finally finished with a mile cool down. My body never ceases to amaze me.

In my panel discussion on the The Numbers Game (did you catch Part 1 of the recap?), we discussed a lot about choosing which numbers work the best personally as a motivational tool. I definitely find great use in numbers with my fitness related goals. Each workout gives me some feedback on my progress and when I look at the overall trends, I can see progress in my health. I can see how far I have come and think “yea…it’s pretty baller that I can run six miles!!”.

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Fitness related numbers always inspire me. I believe it’s because when focusing on things like mileage, pace, sets of exercises, number of workouts accomplished or spin classes attended, the emphasis lies in what my body can DO. Not what it looks like or how much it weighs. That distinction opened up my ability to love and appreciate myself so much more. The body is a pretty cool thing when you really stop to think about it. God did a pretty good job working it all together, don’t you think? Smile 

I hope you get the chance to witness your powerful body in action today and think of every accomplishment it has helped you make. Rise to any challenge and believe in yourself. And now tell me…

Posted by on August 24th, 2011 36 Comments

 

 
Catch Up With Recent Posts

Announcement Time

Posted: November 23, 2011 at 7:47 am

Well, I have had a whirlwind of a few weeks over here. I missed all of you so much! I can’t express enough gratitude for your patience while I got some important things sorted out. Some scary things. Are you ready for the announcement? Here goes! I will no longer be blogging at Faith Fitness […]

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Self-Love Reflection: The Road Not Taken

Posted: November 20, 2011 at 11:47 am

Hello FFF readers! Nice to meet ya! My name is Carissa and my husband and I blog at Fit2Flex.  Well, I blog…he consults! We are both certified personal trainers with a passion for healthy, active living and clean eating.  I am also studying to become a registered dietitian, a race announcer, and a runner.  Stop […]

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Healthier Eating For Kids

Posted: November 19, 2011 at 10:56 am

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what’s for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens! As parents, we want the best for our children. We help them to feel loved. We strive to teach them […]

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Announcement

Posted: November 17, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Hey, everyone! I wanted to pop in and say I am working on some new and exciting changes.  As a result,I may not be posting as much during the coming week.  Please stay tuned for the big announcement! Love you all! And still feel free to find me on Twitter and Facebook for the time […]

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Where The Change Happens

Posted: November 16, 2011 at 7:54 am

It’s kind of funny. I become a certified personal trainer and the first workouts I turn to this week come from someone else. The book came in for me at the library last week and, after flipping through it, I couldn’t wait to give the circuits a go. Making The Cut includes a lot of […]

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From Beginning To End

Posted: November 15, 2011 at 11:53 am

Good morning! First off, thanks for the many congrats yesterday. Love you all bunches for the tons of support you have given me in so many things this year. I hope I can return a little bit of that love through this here blog as well. So yesterday I had my first parent-teacher “conference” for […]

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