Achieve any goal with this one acronym
Megan Miller
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If you are looking for a cheat sheet or quick hack to get you to a goal, you won’t find that in this blog. Instead, what you will find is an incredibly simple, but not easy, set of steps to help you achieve nearly anything you want.
More often than not, when goal setting or planning for our futures, we tend to overthink and overcomplicate things, which leads to overwhelm, burnout, and eventually failure. In the busyness of our lives, I’ve found that when it comes to goals, the most effective way to formulate a proper game plan and actually stick to it is by living by this one acronym, which you’ve likely heard before: Keep it simple, stupid (or KISS).
KISS serves as a reminder that we don’t need fancy bells and whistles to help us achieve great things. Usually, it just takes a few small changes or a few new habits to direct us toward our goals. If you have something you want to set out to achieve but you’re not sure where to start, my advice to you is this: Keep it simple, stupid.
Take a moment and think of a goal or two that’s been on your mind recently. Now, take out a notepad and allow yourself some time to gameplan how you can get there, in the simplest way possible. Here are our simple, but not easy, tips to help you along the way.
Set up simple systems
Here are my top three tips for building systems to get you to your goals. The best part? They’re all focused on being sustainable and simple.
1. Ask yourself the question “can you see yourself doing this forever?”
When it comes to reaching goals, it’s key to focus on long term sustainability. There are few instances where short term wins are the goal, so taking the time to figure out habits and routines that are sustainable for the long run is worth the extra effort upfront. Show up for yourself by figuring out what habits you can actually stick to for the long haul, even if it takes some trial and error to determine this.
I like to think of habits and routines as promises I make to myself. If I don’t feel like it’s a promise I can hold up, then I may need to tweak or adjust it. It’s often helpful to even put things in your daily calendar and think of them like a meeting or appointment, and then not allow yourself to flake out on those commitments. If you say “I am going to show up to the gym and work out three times a week”, make it a promise to yourself by scheduling it in your calendar. I also find this calendar trick helpful in evaluating if something is actually sustainable because it gives you a visual look at all of the habits or routines you’re committing to. If it’s too much, you’ll be able to see that. Or if there’s room for you to add in a little extra (say, 10 minutes of reading time before bed), you’ll be able to see that, too.
2. Make it a habit
Habits are built by repetition over time, and they are the key to reaching goals. If we are hyper focused on getting to our goals quickly rather than effectively, we’ll end up taking shortcuts that can’t be built into habits.
What is a habit? I like to break it down into three parts: A cue, an action, and a reward. Take working out, for example. The cue is setting out your workout clothes, the action is the workout, and the reward is the confidence and pride you feel after.
3. Utilize the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid)
Like I said, KISS is one of my favorite methods for goal setting. When all else fails, revisit your goal plan and see where you may have overcomplicated things. How can you pare down? How can you simplify? Simplifying doesn’t necessarily mean making things easier, but it does mean making it more straightforward and cutting out the fluff.
If you’re having a difficult time seeing where or how you can simplify things, it might be time to bring in a second set of eyes. At Rise, we love working with our members - both new and old - to formulate roadmaps toward their goals. And then comes our favorite part: walking with them every step of the way to get there.
Whether you decide to hire a coach or not, I challenge you to share your goals with others - like friends, family, or coworkers. Unfortunately, it can be really easy to give up on ourselves, or even forget that we set a goal in the first place. We are stronger together than we are alone.
Whatever your goal, remember to: Ask yourself if you can see yourself doing it forever, fall in love with the daily habits you create, and always strive to keep your actions simple.
If you want to connect with an experienced fitness and nutrition coach on our Rise team, sign up for a free fitness consultation here - we would love to help.