Yesterday we filmed seven new cooking videos! It was an exhausting but super productive day.
Although I didn’t knock anything off my daily to-do list, I knocked off a step towards my 2017 goal of creating more video content.
Then, it got me thinking about that goal and how I’ve made it happen. So, today, I’m talking all about why simple goal setting isn’t enough. If you want to truly accomplish something, it takes more than just setting an intention. I’m sharing how I accomplish my goals – and it definitely takes more than initial goal setting.
What I Ate Today, April 25, 2017
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Breakfast
I made my Baked Oatmeal with Spiralized Apples on Monday for the blog and saved leftovers. I reheated a big scoop of it with some almond milk to soften it (it gets dry after refrigeration.) To reheat, I placed in a pot with the almond milk and stirred until creamy and heated through!
Snack
While I was filming, I had my bowl of raw nut mixture near me, as always – the same raw blend (pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews) with raisins.
Lunch
Although I was sort of tasting here and there, I made sure to have some toast once my carb cravings came in strong (#preggo.) I made the Cabbage Buddha Bowls from the Inspiralize Everything cookbook and put the chickpea-avocado mash on top of toasted Ezekial for a mini-lunch. And no, that’s not a real tattoo on my arm – it’s from an event on Monday night (it’s a Tattly temporary tattoo.) I have no tattoos!
Snack
At the end of the day, I had an apple (forgot to take a picture) with yumbutter almond butter, and a serving of this Beet Superfood Bowl – a recipe from my first cookbook, Inspiralized. I also made some tea with steamed almond milk and Vital Proteins.
Dinner
Dinner was Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles! Easy, quick dinner that required minimal prep and tools, because most of our stuff is packed up!
Dessert
I forgot to take a photo, but I had a packet of these Eating Evolved coconut butter cups that I’m OBSESSED with right now. How did I not know about these sooner?!
Why Goal Setting Isn’t Enough
I’m going to get right to it: goal setting isn’t enough. You need to set a goal – with a plan in place to achieve that goal.
Let me explain. Last year, I set a goal of “doing more yoga.” I set this goal in May of 2016. I even wrote it down (yayyyy!) in a cute little notebook by my desk. So how many times did I do yoga May – December 2016? ZERO. Not once! Not a single time.
So why did I fail at this goal? I didn’t make a plan.
This year, as you might now, I set a New Year’s resolution/goal/challenge to do yoga in 2017. BUT, instead of saying “do more yoga in 2017,” I created an actual plan. Nothing extravagant, no spreadsheets, no alarms in my phone. I just set an easy-to-follow plan: once a week.
So how many times have I done yoga in 2017? Once a week since January 1st! Well, I missed about 3-4 classes due to travel schedules and pregnancy fatigue, but overall, I’ve stayed true to my goal – more so than I ever have with any other long-term goal.
Now, don’t confuse goals with intentions. Intentions don’t need action plans – intentions are meant to be more for daily inspiration, mental motivation, and general uplift. For example, “I’m going to eat healthy today” isn’t an intention, that’s a goal. BUT, “I’m going to be happy today” is an intention – you just need to repeat that a few times throughout the day (Write it down, of course) and check in with yourself throughout the day to see how you’re doing. With “I’m going to eat healthy today” you may want to plan your meals for the day, bring a water bottle to work, pack healthy snacks, etc etc. There are actionables that will help you achieve that goal.
Of course, our lives get super busy, and it’s hard to keep on top of our goals (both professional and personal), so here’s what I recommend:
- Make a goal.
- Make a plan to achieve that goal.
- Check in with yourself once a week to make sure you’ve followed the plan. If not, perhaps the goal is unattainable in the timeframe you gave it OR perhaps the plan isn’t practical. Reset the goal, reset the plan, and reset the execution.
For example:
- The goal: I want to start eating more vegetables.
- The plan:
- Make a meal plan every Saturday morning that includes a serving of vegetables at lunch and dinner.
- Grocery shop on Sundays and meal prep the vegetables so I won’t be tempted to skip it during the week.
- Drink one green juice or smoothie 3 times a week.
- Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays
- Make a meal plan every Saturday morning that includes a serving of vegetables at lunch and dinner.
- The check in
- Check in once a week (on Saturdays) for one full month.
- Each week, check in on Saturday and see how the week went. For example, if drinking a green juice 3 times a week is too much, adjust it to once a week.
- After the first month, make a plan for moving forward – is this doable long-term? Is this lifestyle for me? Is meal prepping hard but I do enjoy eating vegetables? Adjust the plan accordingly.
I encourage you to take 5-10 minutes today (maybe on your lunch break, on your commute home, or before bed) and write down one of your goals that you’ve been meaning to achieve and follow the steps of making a plan with check-ins. Make these goals as big as you like or as small as you’d like, from “starting a business” to “losing 5 pounds” – a goal is a goal, and as long as you plan it, you can make it happen.
Here’s an example of some goals that I currently want to achieve that haven’t been given action plans yet:
- Watch less TV and make more use of my evenings.
- Tone my arms more.
- Get Inspiralized t-shirts made.
- Listen to more outdoor music.
- Drink more green smoothies and juices.
- Read more.
- Make a 5-year plan for Inspiralized.
- Cook more from cookbooks.
- Break out of my lunch rut – each something new everyday.
In the spirit of this post, I’m going to make myself a plan!
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