If I asked you were it possible for you to get into the best shape of your life, we could agree that it is. If I asked you were it possible for you to become smarter than you’ve ever been, I think we could agree that you could work hard, study, learn, and practice more than you ever had. But strangely, the idea of becoming the “perfect version” of ourselves seems so unobtainable. It seems impossible.
But it isn’t. It just requires you to work harder and more diligently than you ever have before. Is it worth it? Just ask yourself this. Would you like to be the smartest, best looking, fittest, funniest, best dressed, most compassionate, loving person you’ve ever been? Would you like to be your own definition of the perfect person?
If, like me, you answered yes, then you’ve taken the first step to becoming your best self. The journey is long, the obstacles hard. The plan, though, is simple. Define, plan, execute, redefine, plan again, execute again, etc. Let’s go over the plan in a little more detail.
Plan – think about your perfect self. What does he or she look like? How does he speak? How does he think? How does he eat? How does he interact with others? What do people think of him? What is he capable of, that you aren’t? Define your perfect self in adjectives that are measurable and obtainable. Things like “he is lean and strong, with a low body fat percentage and a good amount of visible muscle,” or “she speaks well, avoids idle conversation, and is listened to and respected by all of those that she communicates with.”
Take those descriptions and plan out how long it would take for you to achieve each and every one of them. For instance “if I am at 17% body fat, and I can lose 1 lb per week, it will take me 20 weeks to get to my goal body fat percentage,” or “I speak often without thinking about what I’m saying. This lends to people not caring about my thoughts or respecting my opinions. I need to spend the next 3 months focusing on my idle talk.”
Then implement a “snowball method” towards becoming your perfect self. Start with the shortest timed goals. “I will floss every day” will only take about a week or two to perfect, whereas “I will be able to run a marathon” might take much longer. As soon as you’ve made a description habit, move to the next one (while continuing the first, of course). With each habit you introduce into your newly constructed lifestyle, you will be 1 step closer to your perfect self. You will also gain momentum with each goal, which will motivate you towards the next goal. By the time you reach the goals that could take months or even years to implement, you’ll be so full of new skills and motivation that you’ll tackle them with no problem.
Remember that each of your goals should have purpose. You may found as I have that a couple of months (or years) down the line that a certain goal of yours no longer suits your best interest. Maybe there is no good purpose for being 10% body fat, but instead you find it important to have functional strength and cardiovascular stamina. In this case you would align your plan to fit your new goals. Instead of focusing on body fat percentage, you would plan workouts that focused on increasing strength and stamina.
With the victory of each goal implemented into your lifestyle you’ll be one step closer to becoming your vision of your perfect self. Each victory will mark a decision you made and plan that you carried out, work that you did to make yourself better. You’ll feel better about yourself with each victory, and with the learning of each new skill or the discipline of each new focus, you’ll find it that much easier to move to the next goal.
It’s a long journey to the top of the mountain, but it’s completely obtainable, and totally worth the effort. Start climbing today, and you’ll be well on your way before you even start feeling the pain. Good luck, and I’ll see you at the top!
Image: ibm4381
Click Here to follow Lifehack on Twitter!
Hi Ibrahim – you have some excellent points. Funny how even though tons of research has shown that lasting habits can be formed by just doing something for as little as 21 days – easy right! – we are still all so hopeless at making lasting change. If you are serious about goal setting, I have found that that the key to making habits stick is to visualise how bad things might get if you carry on. And by that I mean really think about the absolute worst-case scenario. So in the case of not flossing, imagine how it would make you feel to have all of your teeth fall out at an early age, how stupid you would look, how your confidence would suffer, and then how you’d feel knowing that you then have to find the money to fix them etc when this could all have been avoided with a small action each day. At this stage write down your thoughts and feelings in as much detail as possible, and put them somewhere accessible so you can refer to them if ever you start to slack. It also helps to ask a friend to help you in this by reminding you of your reasons for doing it – in your words, rather than theirs. This approach helped me kick smoking, when almost all of my friends still smoke, and can be applied to pretty much any goal too. As you say – conquer the smaller ones first and then everything else becomes easier! Best of luck!
I love this article! With most anything, the biggest part to moving forward towards progress is making the decision to do so, then fulfilling the steps to make it become reality. Great article with great tips! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks dude, good article ..
A problem with this is that once people achieve something, they soon want more. If you become what your perfect self then the chances are that the perfect you will find other ways to improve. I agree that we should always strive to continue our personal growth, but finding contentment in who we are now is also of vital importance.
This is one of those articles I read and it reminds me what I have not been doing. I have become slack and lazy over the long winter.
Ibrahim -
Hardcore article with intense focus. I like the idea of starting small and slowly ticking the boxes and that is something I do (I have a daily checklist of what I’m trying to achieve). I’d add that we will inevitably fail at some point during this process and preparing for this falling off the wagon is key. A bit of forgiveness and kindness to ourselves is key and having a support team can also help. Good stuff for getting us moving – although I know I’ll never be perfect!
Phil
Very nice article… i like your advise
Great article Ibrahim! I think it’s a good idea to always have this perspective. It can be easy to just go into autopilot with everything and lose focus on our goals. Having in mind the idea of achieving your perfect self is a great way to stay motivated.
Goal setting is th emost important factor in achieving success. I love th Harvard study that found that the 7% of graduates that had written out goals made more than all the rest combined! Something to think about and then do! It doesnt take long, but focusing on the goal for ten minutes each day is crucial
Wow, this is really inspiring. Gladly I will take those tips for changing myself so that I will be more satisfied with myself~
thank you alot.