Constantly setting goals but can never seem to follow through? Setting goals itself may be the issue! Here’s why-

Every year, almost everyone I know asks me the question: “What are your New Year’s Resolutions?” I typically respond with something you’ve probably heard before- “If you’re not going to follow through on your goals today, you’re definitely not going to follow through with them on January 1st.”

This was my philosophy for years- until I heard someone say something that shifted my mindset from negative to positive thinking: “You shouldn’t set goals, but set values. Instead of saying “This year I will go to the gym four times a week” with no values to actually make that happen, focus on what comes before consistently going to the gym.

Discipline and Diligence.

Doing a 180 in life is much easier said than done, and trying to focus on going to the gym from zero times a week to four times consistently is going to feel impossible if you don’t set up your mindset and attitude properly.

So, before you drop $150 on your gym’s annual membership, instead of thinking about the physical need to hit the gym, try to cultivate a mindset of self-discipline and consistent effort.

How do I do this?

Staying on the theme of the gym, what’s the best way to ensure proper form and the highest weight during an exercise? Practicing performing the exercise correctly with little to no weight at first, then eventually upping the weight more and more. Before you can even think about squatting 150, you have to squat with just the weight of your own body to understand how to correctly perform the exercise.

Once you have proper form, adding weight becomes easier and easier. The same goes for building self-discipline. You start with almost nothing, build up your mental toughness by adding “more weight” (more consistent tasks), then the difficult things such as going to the gym, eating healthier, and making better choices becomes significantly less daunting and easier to achieve.

Instead of thinking: “My goal is achieving a better body.” Shift your mindset from thinking of the physical to the mental-“My goal is to prove I can show up for myself again and again, without letting my own self get in the way.”

Focusing on improving your values rather than goals will make completing and staying consistent with them much easier. Doing it this way makes it less of a competition with your “To Do List”, and more of a competition with yourself. Harder at first, but makes completing goals easier in the long run.

Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it”