billhamp 
October 29, 2012Great night last night with friends. It was yesterday afternoon when I looked at Amanda and said, “Why don’t you text Heather and see if she and Brian want to come over tonight?” She did, they said yes, and 3 hours later we were sitting around the island in the kitchen eating chili and pumpkin bread as the kids played in the bonus room. . . Perfect.
We talked about a lot. Always have great conversation with these guys. One of many topics we discussed was hitting goals. It’s the whole thing I’ve written about before of now that triathlon season is over, how do I just maintain for a few months? That’s my personal example but everyone has one. You have a goal. It could be anything. . . finishing a race, finishing that race in a specific time, paying off your debt, saving for a major purchase, losing weight, insert your specific goal here. You have this goal, you work towards that goal with a focused intensity, you stay on track, everything is clicking, you are making progress, the day comes and you achieve the goal and then. . . .
It’s over.
That thing that you’ve worked so hard for has come and gone leaving you now with the new challenge of maintaining. For me, that’s when it gets tough. I think that’s when it gets tough for a lot of people. Brian and Heather agreed.
The weight one I think is a real tough one b/c it’s not one that you can set a new specific goal with. You weigh X and you want to weigh Y. So you lay out your plan, you start working out, start eating right, you have your goal. It’s specific. You will have accomplished the goal when you weigh Y. Until you weigh Y you will not have accomplished the goal. You start losing weight, people notice, you feel better and the positive affirmation isn’t bad either, you are rocking and then the day comes. . .YOU HIT YOUR GOAL WEIGHT! You achieved your goal!
MAINTAIN:
Now what? You weigh what you want to weigh. It’s not like you say, now I want to weigh Z. You simply have to maintain and that’s when it gets tough. The new goal is a little fuzzier. It’s a little more generic. Now you weigh Y and you want to get to. . .Y.
Ugghhhh. . .
This is why I think so many people gain the weight back. The focus gets dispersed. It’s no longer laser like.
I’ve heard Donald Trump say it’s harder to stay at the top than to get to the top. I would agree AND I think it’s all about accomplishing the goal vs. maintaining.
What do you guys think? Have you experienced this in an area of your life? How have you learned to deal with it?
The committment has to stay strong regarding any business goals, weight management, or with any goal. The goal must be “realistic” or disappointment sets in, and the goal setter feels that it’s useless to continue thus stops trying to achieve.
So set realistic attainable goals….
Hey there Bill, I just got off of the phone with your Dad and he told me to check out this site, and say hi to you. Since I’m in great shape, why not make this our introduction, and I’ll start here…Not everybody can be an Air Borne Ranger, and not everyone can live a life of Danger..
My trainer, who is 38 and the best shape of anyone I know, say’s this comment before we absolutely attack our workout…The philosophy is: If you can continuously increase your heart rate, through your whole workout, you will lose so much weight that you’ll need carbs…As we chat I’ll give you some workouts.
Billy, Matt is just like you and me. When the three of us decide to do something, committ to it. Then it’s “lights out” we go after it 100,000%. Matt, like you, is chisled from his workout program. The two of you are cut out of the same mold.
Love ya