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Goal Achievement, Going Against the Grain, and & Getting Whatever You Want
“Oh my God!”
I could hardly believe it as I leaped out the water, dove forward feeling nothing but air from my waste up, and smoothly entered back in with a perfect streamline. For once, my body felt like a pro athlete’s.
About 5-7 strokes per lap, and I completed my 100 yard breaststroke race. I had never felt so powerful in the water before, and I managed to shave 6 seconds off my best time ever. In swimming terms, 6 seconds off of a 100 yard breaststroke race is about the same as accelerating in a car from 50 to 100mph.
Everyone told me to focus on ‘pulling’ with the breaststroke, but today I figured out how to explosively donkey kick and propel myself out of the water.
I found another way.
Dare we discuss the Joneses?
I love ‘competition,’ because it’s the smallest threat. The pure nature of competition suggests that many people are taking the same method towards a common goal, and they are racing. I’d rather look the other way…
In my life, I’ve realized that ‘going against the grain,’ or choosing alternate paths for goal achievement, as compared to everyone around me, consistently produces faster and more desirable results. By choosing ‘Path B’ when everyone is looking at ‘Path A,’ you are competing against less people.
More people would do this, but they just don’t take the time to think about it… now you know.
This same skill has been applicable for me in life, on a repeated basis:
- Swimming
- Water Polo
- Teaching fitness as a Doctor of Physical Therapy (unique perspective)
- Teaching physical therapy as a Fitness Pro (unique perspective)
- Starting a private Physical Therapy & Personal Training facility when everyone else goes for # of patients per hour
- Learning Spanish by living in Spain, instead of hoping to through courses
- Learning business through the world’s best coaches, and paying them directly, instead of through a teacher that reads their stuff at school
- Losing bodyfat by first balancing out my muscles, so I could ‘get more’ from every rep of every exercise I did…
There are a lot of these examples, but the important thing is that you see that large accomplishments can come out of small decisions. By thinking creatively about your life, and strategizing your best method to attack a goal, you stand a much higher chance of success.
Instead of walking blindly into a body transformation, career, education, or family goal, I dare you to plan it out. Think through all of the upsides, downsides, and fastest methods to achieve your goal. Then, consider the sustainability of your efforts over time. Is there an easier way to keep up with this long-term? How will you transition and when?
In the comments section below, here’s what I’d like you to do:
Write your goals for the next 16 weeks. Be very specific, and be sure to include the following categories for your goals. I recommend 1 goal for every category in the next 16 weeks.
- Health goals
- Family goals
- Career goals
- Adventure goals
- Financial goals
- Spirituality goals
Next, be sure to answer these questions for each goal:
- What is the fastest way to hit this goal? (i.e. for fat loss, it would be short-burst workouts and a rapid fat loss nutrition program – be specific.)
- What is the meaningful advantage of me reaching my goal?
- What will it feel like if I don’t hit my goal?
- Once I hit my goal, how will I keep it? What’s my long-term and/or transition plan?
The first step is to get all of this down and receive feedback. Let’s begin:
