Aim Low, Hit Often.

Today is January 21st. By now due to 2 different data points I looked into, one having more than 800 million data points, the vast majority of those who committed to New Years resolutions quit or failed by January 19th. So 2 days ago most of the humans in the world that committed to a life changing habit or chasing a life changing goal absolutely quit only 19 days into it. What does this say about us as humans? Is it saying something about only those who quit? Is it saying something about the majority of us as people? Are all these people mentally weak? Physically weak? Do they lack grit? Do they lack discipline or commitment? Maybe they don’t know how to properly schedule things and are poor planners? To be very honest, a little bit of all these things are likely true. And I think it shows a lot more about ALL of us as humans than it does about only those who fail. 

There is a key to success when it comes to setting goals. The key is to aim lower. Our problem as a society is that we are fixated on what others are doing. We want to look like other people, we want to do their workouts, we want to reach their level of financial success. We let what other people accomplish (usually these are outliers as well) dictate what we think is success or failure to us. We will never hit the mark aiming like this. So many people set goals that are high only because they think it is the right thing to do. You have done it, and so have I! I’ve set goals that are high because I have fear that I am selling myself short if I aim too low. But you see there is a time and a place for high goals, and that is after you are already in arms reach of them. You have to first have beginners success, you have to first prove to yourself that you are capable of taking the first step. As you take the first steps and you accomplish the “low goals”, it calls for celebration. Most people overlook their first achievements and only look to the next obstacle to overcome, they are motivated so I can’t blame them but this isn’t how to do it. 

Aim low and often early. Give yourself grace, build habits and not perfection. If your first new years resolution is to go to the gym 3 days a week, then that can be successful for almost anyone! You see the difference between that and saying I’m going to the gym 5 days a week or even worse everyday? You have very little room for flexibility. That means when life “happens”, which it always does, you won’t have much of a chance to overcome external obstacles that will appear. You may get sick, you may lose your job and have to find a new one, you may get injured, you may get new work hours, maybe your child gets sick. So many different things can come up, but if you set goals that allow you to have flexibility you can still win. If you learn to develop new habits and not just stringent rules to follow then you allow yourself the autonomy to make it work however you can! That is what we did with Rise45 and that is why it exists. If you are reading this and you are participating with us, we aren’t even halfway there I know it is doing wonders for you. And look around at your peers, many of them have already failed their new years resolutions, they didn’t plan correctly and they need help in developing habits instead of starting resolutions they see others doing. 

If you are not doing Rise45 and you missed out on joining us, don’t worry we will have another that will begin in just a few months as spring and summer approach. But swallow your pride folks, aim low, have success then build out your next tier after you prove to yourself what you can do. When in doubt, trust me when I say that something is better than nothing. Habits take time. Take your time. Keep rising.