3 tips to help you achieve even your hardest goals!
Hi Friend!
Have you ever set a S T R E T C H goal? It's not a regular goal. It's a goal that you will need to really stretch yourself in order to achieve.
I want to share with you a journey that I've been through three years ago after having major surgery and three lessons I learned along the way that will help you next time you set a S T R E T C H goal.
It was about five years and a half ago and I started having health issues. I went to see a specialist and he said they can fix it, but it's going to require major surgery. Basically doing 4 surgeries at the same time. Recovery will take eight weeks and I cannot work during that entire time.
I thought to myself, he must not realize how active I am. He’s just saying that most of his patients take eight weeks. There’s no way that I’ll take that long. In fact, I’ll show him. I'm going to have that surgery on a Wednesday and the following Monday I'm going to be back at work. Have you ever fooled yourself into thinking that a situation didn’t apply to you? You’d be different?
Lesson number one:
Find somebody who's already accomplished what you want to achieve and set realistic expectations.
I called a couple of friends who had one of the surgeries I was having, told them my plan and they said that I better adjust my expectations…and I did!
After the surgery the doctor said I had three goals for the next two weeks:
Do not get pneumonia.
Walk three times a day for five minutes each time.
No stairs!
At the end of the two weeks, I went back to see my doctor and said, great news no pneumonia! I was walking seven minutes, three times a day and I stayed upstairs in my bedroom for two weeks.
I asked my doctor, what's the next set of goals? He said the goal is to listen to your body. I asked again and told him I needed measurable goals. He repeated his instructions. I thought, what do I do with that?
I decided on my daily walks I would set landmark goals and progress slowly. At week three, after surgery, I had to fire a member of my team and had no other choice but to work. I had no idea that lying in bed and using my arms to work would cause my sternum to swell. It was painful, unbearable for me to set up for any length of time and I started having setbacks.
Lesson number two:
Get an accountability partner!
I knew the importance of one because I have had one for years for my business goals. Now, I needed one for my personal goals. I reached out to my husband and asked him to be mine and to help me. He quickly agreed and told me the issue was that I was setting landmark goals when I’m walking. This means I have good days, I have bad days and I’m constantly making my body walk the same distance. I needed to switch to time goals, he said. Then he said what I knew but didn’t want to face. He told me that I’m working way too much and I needed to cut back. I needed to only work a short amount of time every day and when that time was up I had to stop no matter what. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but I knew he was right and listened. Once I implemented his suggestions then I started making progress again.
Lesson number three:
Notice how far you’ve come, celebrate your wins along the way.
In January of 2018, I went to my industry’s trade show and met probably the most negative person I’d ever met. One of those people that after you’ve been around them, it feels like their negativity is stuck to you like slime and you can’t get it off!
But the blessing came at that moment. I realized that I had become so focused on how far I still had to go. That I was focused on how I was in the worst shape of my life and I was exhausted all the time. I was spiraling in negativity and had become the person I didn't like. It was time for me to flip the switch! Instead of focusing on my goal of getting back to my normal self and how far away I was. I needed to look behind me and say look how far I’ve come. I need to celebrate all these little wins along the way.
When you set a stretch goal, you are pushing yourself farther than you ever have. You are outside your comfort zone. This is the time that you need to stop focusing on achieving that goal and enjoy the journey, the growth, and celebrate the wins along the way.
I hope that sharing my lessons and journey with you helps you next time you set your stretch goal. You CAN achieve ANYTHING you put your mind to. Sometimes it can take longer than you want but implement these three lessons and you’ll get there.
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Hugs and high 5's,
Shana Anderson-Nute
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