Trip to Mongolia, a childhood dream of mine - Sunrise on Lake Hovsgal
"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it." -William Arthur Ward
You might know about being healthy, but how will you know when you are healthy? We talked about the first step to leading a more healthy lifestyle, which is understanding where you are. Establishing the baseline was hard work. Congratulations! Now it's time for the fun part - dreaming and goal setting. Set aside 15 minutes to create your goals. You have 15 minutes to invest in having a better life - being happier, more attractive, and energetic - don't you? We thought so. You've done the hardest part anyway. Don't skimp on this easy, but critical, next step.
What to do - Create Mindful Goals
- Grab your Mindful Log and flip it over.
- Now for the fun part - imagine how you will look and feel once you are at your healthiest. You will probably picture yourself physically, but think about how you will feel as well. (Don't just say you're going to be smokin', even though you are). You should have more than one dimension. Maybe you're also going to set a great example for your kids. Write them all down. This is your vision.
- Make your vision a little more tangible. It's okay if you said you're going to be "hot" or "feel great" (you will), but break it down into Mindful Goals you can check off. Are you going to lose 20 pounds, stop feeling sleepy in the afternoon, stop catching colds every other month, start seeing muscles in your arms? Break it down so you'll easily know when you've achieved your goals. Mine are to have a flat stomach, lower my cholesterol 10 points, lose 3 pounds, and run 4M in 30 minutes.
- Tie your goals to something besides the way you look. It will keep you more motivated. Use your health tests to help set them. I want to lose my abdominal fat because it looks good, yes, but also because the way my abdominal fat is distributed is a strong risk factor for heart disease. And you all know how paranoid I am about my cholesterol level anyway! Write down your goals - you'll be inspired by the vision you dreamed up in step 2, but these end goals will give you something real to shoot for.
- Flip the sheet over and look at your Mindful Log. This is your baseline. Highlight all the processed food you are eating and look at your exercise levels. Notice the amounts. What trends do you notice? What do you see that you don't like?
- Create your weekly Mindful Rules after you look at your Mindful Log and think about your goals. Include both eating and exercise goals. These rules will help you achieve your end goals. For example - cut down on your fried food consumption (once every two weeks), replace refined carbs with whole grains, prepare two more meals a week at home, etc. Be creative. My rules are to 1) eat breakfast, 2) cut udon noodles down to once every two weeks, 3) drink two cups of green tea a week, 4) add one weekly speed workout to my training, and 5) practice yoga twice a week.
- Write your rules down at the top of a new Mindful Log. Work them into your Mindful Battle Plan, and continue filling out your Mindful Log so you can keep track of how you are doing. It will keep your goals top of mind, which will make a big difference. Publishing my Log in this blog has made me much more mindful, and I've already lost a couple pounds since I started.
- Keep reading Mindful Eats regularly for more tips. Even if I don't post that day,I'm sure you haven't memorized everything so review an old post or two.
- Enlist your family and friends to help you stick to your rules. Share your rules with them, and give them permission to tell you when you are off track.
- Shake off your bad days. Everyone has them. Don't beat yourself up - take note of how it makes you feel, then move on. It's not about being perfect; it's about improving your batting average, and that's what you're doing. Get back on your healthy regime, and stick with it. If you punish yourself through starvation or an extra hard workout, tomorrow will be another bad day and you'll get even more off track. Trust me, I've been there.
Creating your goals might seem like a lot of work (and it is a little work), but you can do it in less than 15 minutes. You won't achieve your vision without it, so just do it! You're obviously committed, or you wouldn't be reading this. You're doing more than most people already, just go the extra little step. You'll look and feel amazing, and you're worth it!
Tip: When your Mindful Rules become a habit (and they will), take a moment to do a fist pump - you just achieved a huge accomplishment! Awesome. Now you get to start at step #1 again - reflect on your Mindful Log (this time you get to review your Vision and Goals and tweak them if necessary), and now you get to set some new Rules!
What I ate: 15 oz. green juice, 1 banana, 1 grapefruit, 3 clementines, 2/3 c. brown rice, steamed tofu + red chard (resavored), 4 squares dark chocolate, 6 oz. plain yogurt, 1 apple, 1 c. pistachios, whole wheat spaghetti, 1/2 c. spinach, 1 hot chocolate, 70 oz. water
Exercise: 45 min gym circuit
