In a world where the overwhelming majority of people find themselves abandoning their personal resolutions, the struggle to achieve goals is a universal experience. We delve into the heart of the matter in this episode. April Shprintz delves into the often-overlooked middle phase – the notorious “valley of suck” – and shares three tips that will take you from failing to actually hitting the finish line. Uncover the secrets to overcoming this challenging terrain and discover how being present transforms the mundane into the extraordinary. Brace yourself for a transformative journey where consistency reigns supreme, and the middle becomes the birthplace of magic. Tune in and get a glimpse of the extraordinary success waiting for you on the other side of the valley!
—
Listen to the podcast here
Go From Failing To Finishing With These 3 Tips
I am so glad that you’re here. In the last episode, we talked about being present and how that helps you enjoy life more, have those magic moments, and experience more happiness. Now, in this episode, I’m going to share how being present will help you hit more of your goals. As we record this, we are at the end of January, which is when most of the people have fallen off the wagon of their New Year’s resolutions.
Do you know that only 8% of people stick with their New Year’s resolutions? Out of 100% of people, 92% of people let it go. Maybe you knew that, but I was shocked. Not everyone does New Year’s resolutions, but a lot of people do. What that tells me is people are good at starting and probably, if you put people near the end of the process, they’d be good at finishing or at least decent at it.
Where I think we struggle is in the middle. The middle is either the valley of suck. If you look at the change curve, it’s where you know what you’ve gotten into and it’s in the difficult part. Sometimes, the changes don’t seem to be happening that quickly. It’s the consistency of day in and day out. It’s not sexy but, like being present, it is where the magic happens. The middle is where the magic happens. I’ll give you three ways that you can get better at the middle.
The middle is where the magic happens. Share on XIf you get better at the middle, you’re going to be one of the people who make it to the finish, no matter what it is. Here’s the good news, when we’re not talking New Year’s resolutions, the numbers get much better. About 30% of people now reach their goals. That means that 70% of people don’t. You get good at the middle, you’re going to be in that 30% and maybe we can bump that 30% to a higher number. That would be amazing.
Check-in Points
Here’s the first one. You need check-in points. If it’s a fitness goal, that could be progress pictures or even taking time to notice fitness gains. I take progress pictures every week for my macro coach and candidly, I hate them. Sometimes I dread them and sometimes I am so incredibly grateful for them. I couldn’t imagine not doing them. In the week to week, I’m never excited, but if I go and compare my recent picture to the previous month’s picture or when I started, I’m so grateful for it because I can overlook the progress that I’ve made.
From Failing To Finishing: If you get better at the middle, you’re going to be one of the people who make it to the finish no matter what it is.
If you’re not someone who has that photographic proof of something, then think back to how far you’ve come. I got injured in Taekwondo a couple of years ago and hurt and had to rehab one of my legs. When I went back to the gym, not only could I not squat weights, I had to relearn doing a squat with my body weight and it was incredibly difficult.
Set “At Least” Goals
If I wasn’t keeping track of what that was like, then maybe now when I’m using 95 pounds for my working weight for my squat, I might think, “I should be able to squat more than that. That’s not very much.” I remember I was trying to just sit on something without falling down to re-strengthen my legs. That helps me know that this part of the middle is a good part. I’m going to get to where I want to be.
The second, at least goals. We’ve talked about this together before, but it’s important in the middle. As you get to that part where you’re not as fired up, not as motivated as you were in the beginning, and you don’t have that extra off umph that you can give when you’re getting close to the end like running a race, those at least goals matter. They are where you say, “I am going to work on this particular thing three times this week. At least 3 times because that’s manageable instead of I’m going to do it 6 times a week or maybe life gets in the way and you’re new at least goal is twice a week, but you are consistently chipping away at getting better.
The great thing is, if you hit that at least goal, you’re going to get dopamine to help you get there for that at least goal. You might even get a little more dopamine from your brain to help you with going above and beyond on the weeks where you can. What matters most is when you are not doing as much as you could do on a “perfect week,” like, “I’ve done it six times this week,” you still feel good. You still feel motivated to continue. I will tell you that consistency eats perfect for lunch. You want the consistency.
Enjoy The Process
The third, I want you to think about if you were unable to do the goal and what you’re working on anymore. What if it was taken away from you? If you’re tired of doing it, bored of working toward it, and if you feel like you’re not moving forward, what if you couldn’t do it? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, think about this. Many of us complain about going to work, but how many of us during COVID wanted to go to work, sit and talk with our co-workers, see people and have conversations in person like we never had?
From Failing To Finishing: Focus on the parts that you actually do enjoy, being present in the middle, getting towards the goals, and really focusing on where you’re going.
How many of you spend a week alone with your kids, even with your kids and your spouse? You are excited to go back to work. What if it’s a fitness goal? You were unable to go to the gym. You had lost your mobility or if you’re just like, “This client project is never going to end. It’s so much work.” What if you didn’t have that client work? What if you were in a time of unemployment, which most of us have been in at some point or another?
How would you feel about taking this action then? What that will help you do is focus on the parts that you do enjoy, being present in the middle, getting toward the goals and focusing on where you’re going and showing up for yourself in new and better ways. I want you to let me know which one of these works best for you. Here’s to your success.
