Goal Setting: Is Your “WHY” Big Enough

Today I had a conversation with a guy at jiu-jitsu about discipline and diet.

He basically said that he doesn’t have the discipline to pre-make his meals and put them in tupperware or ziplock bags, or whatever.

I told him that if your “WHY” is big enough, you’ll do what it takes. Basically what that means is if your objectives are important enough to you, then you’ll figure out a way. That is your why.

Awareness precedes → Choice which precedes → Results or Change.

In order to know where you’re going, you have to know where you are at.

Here’s a few steps that will get you headed in the right direction.

Step 1: Right down what your objective or goal is, and have a specific deadline. This will make it real. If you keep it in your head, it stays at the subconscious level and then it’s not really a goal, just a thought. Goals must be written down to become real.

Step 2: Assess your starting point so your goal can be measured, and write down any potential set backs. If you told me you wanted to train at the Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Chicago and I was responsible for getting you there, it sure would help if I knew where you were leaving from. Knowing your starting point and mapping out a plan will save you time and energy. You’d laugh at a business that had no business plan.

Here’s a practical example.

Your goal is to lose body fat and you currently eat two meals a day, they’re usually sweets because you’re under a lot of stress, and one of them is right before you go to bed. 

So your plan might look like this:

1. Eat four meals a day.
2. Eat your last meal two hours before going to bed.
3. Take 3 grams of fish oil with each meal.
4. Whenever you’re craving sweets, take one heaping tablespoon of glutamine with 2 ounces of heavy whipping cream (this kills a sweet tooth immediately).