What do I do next?

What do I do next?

What do I do next? OptiMum Health

I’ve recently had a few queries/enquiries essentially
asking me the same question:

I set a goal, I’ve achieved it – what do I do now?

Thinking about what typically happens highlights 3 main
responses

Scenario 1 – the diet cycle

You’ve done something amazing – setting a goal and
achieving it. Now that you’ve got there, you stop
following your routine.

According to Prof Steve Peters in his fabulous book The
Chimp Paradox, we lose success because of complacency.
Simply put, we stop doing the ‘thing(s)’ that
contributed to us achieving success in the first place.

The result, your weight creeps up, your fitness slows
down and you eventually reach the point where you’re
back where you started….

Spurring you to go round the loop again….and again….and
again….

 

Each time you restart that loop, you are essentially

just going through the motions. Following a plan to get
you what you want without giving consideration to ‘what
comes next’ and to your mindset – how you think about
your health & wellbeing for the long-term.

My view on this….

“Following a diet plan, only ever teaches you to follow
a diet plan”.

What do I do next?

 

It gives no consideration to your preferences, your
schedule, your priorities, your lifestyle or your own
specific requirements for health in the long-term.

When following a diet plan, you expect yourself to
stick to it rigidly too – but life’s not that perfect,
is it?

 

Being able to deal with life’s turns and tumbles in
your approach – at least in terms of your mindset – is
essential to long-term success.

It doesn’t have to be perfect every single day – make
the best of each day and it’s opportunities, being
mindful of the long-term trend.

Also consider the “support systems” you have in place
to ensure approaches fit with your routine schedule and
work for you for the long term.  Want to know more?
 Check this video out

Scenario 2 – You want more

You achieve your goal…but it just doesn’t seem good
enough.

The things you thought would happen when you reached
that weight/fitness/performance level aren’t quite what
you imagined. Perhaps you expected everything to feel
differently once those measures were what you had
decided was best….

Maybe if you just lost another 5lb, trimmed off another
1% body fat, trained a little bit harder, longer……

Here it’s important to understand the ‘WHY’ behind your
goal.

Why is that goal important to you?

Are you pinning emotional issues on a physiological
challenge?

Are you competing with yourself?

Has your mindset become a little skewed, your behaviour
a little obsessive? In so doing, are you overlooking
your overall health?

What do I do next?

Recently I talked about playing a “bigger game” when it comes to your health…in pursuing perfection are we chasing the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow and forgetting to enjoy the rainbow?

Disorders such as orthorexia and other eating/exercise orders can often become part of this goal path so it’s important to realise this trait in yourself, for the benefit of overall health.

If this sounds far too familiar, we recommend seeking
some support.  Techniques such as Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy (CBT), Neuro linguistic Programming (NLP) or
counselling really support you in dealing with the
underlying issues driving your behaviour.   I
thoroughly recommend this and whilst can’t provide the
service directly, will happily refer you to someone who
can.

Scenario 3 – where do I go next…the lifetime goal

You reach your goal and feel so amazing you want to
carry on but are not sure what to aim for next.

There are plenty of clichéd memes about enjoying the
journey – you know the sort of thing I mean: Health is
a journey, not a destination.

What do I do next?

Although this meme refers to Life, it applies equally to Health.

I do think goals, when properly framed, help people to work towards a healthy lifestyle. They can keep someone focussed on WHY they are doing something – which is why I believe it’s really important to understand why your goals are important to You.

 

Generally speaking, I ask clients what their ‘ultimate’
or big goal is and then we work back from there, to set
interim goals in the short and medium term. That way,
nothing is too far off. You have milestones to work
towards in the nearer term.

I can also see the merit in considering a ‘life-time
goal’. Where do you want your health and wellbeing to
be in your old age? Do you still want to be active?
Want to be able to get down to, and back up from the
floor to play with your grandchildren?

This may seem a million miles off right now but giving
consideration to this may concentrate and focus your
mind on your overall aim in the shorter term too.

That way when you do achieve a big goal, you’ll fairly
easily be able to identify another goal that will work
towards your lifetime goal.

So which of the 3 best describes you?

It’s not about being perfect…it’s about having a plan.

What’s your plan?  Do you know, roughly?

If you’d like support to identify your goals, frame
them into realistic, achievable milestones or just an
ear to listen to where you are now, please get in touch