First, identify what you want in terms of fitness or your career. Then, ask yourself "why do I want this?" Be honest with yourself. Once you have your answer you're going to ask yourself "why" again, and then again to that answer. Ask yourself "why" a total of five times.
This process will force you to dig down to your true motivations. From there, you can find out what you're really after.
Create a Linear Goal Structure
Once you've determined what you really want using the exercise above, set a deadline for when you're going to achieve your objective. For instance, you might plan to accomplish your fitness and career goals in five years.
Next, take that five-year goal and break it down into five year-long targets that lead you to your ultimate goal.
From there, focus only on your goal for year one. Dissect that into 12 month-long objectives. Take the first month's mission and break it down further into four week-long goals. This process is called "chunking," and it breaks your goals down to make them seem less intimidating, and helps you develop an action plan. This will also make it less likely for you to give up.
Turn Your Weekly Goals Into Daily Tasks: Take your first week-long goal and break it down even further into tasks that you can tackle each day. Make yourself a schedule, then go down the list and hit every one of your tasks before the end of the day.
More: Athletes Guide to Setting Goals
Don't Keep This a Secret
Let your friends and family know what you're doing, and ask them to support you and hold you accountable. If you share your objectives with others, you'll feel an inherent pressure to stick to your plan or risk public embarrassment—which can be a strong motivator.
More: How to Organize a Strong Support System
Surround Yourself With the Right People
Speaking of friends and family, we've all got people in our lives that can hold us back. They claim to have ambition, but all they do is sit around and complain and waste time. Take a step back and recognize who these people are, then limit your time with them.
This can be challenging because this may describe some of the people closest to you—but it's necessary if you want to be successful. Surround yourself instead with people who make you better, who you want to emulate, and who encourage you to do more each day.
More: 5 Simple Tips for Fitness Success
Stay in shape in a fitness class.
