Nutrition - Getting Started by Creating Goals

How do I get started?

An easy question to ask, difficult to answer, and even more difficult to follow. The questions can really apply to anything. Allow me to break this into what I have found to be the most effective action steps necessary to make drastic changes in your life, and let's apply it to nutrition. Once you realize that progress in your nutritional habits carries over into progress in the other areas of your life, you will be astounded by what you can achieve. 

Create Meaningful Goals

The first place anyone should start with anything is to have a goal (or goals) in mind. What is it that you hope to achieve through changing your eating habits? Create some meaningful goals that really connect with you. I am talking, really dig down deep and find several things that would make the biggest impact on your life.

Goal Brainstorm

The best way to do this is to just start a goal brainstorm – writing down as many of the positive changes you hope to see by cleaning up your diet. Shoot for at least ten items but write as much as you can – get creative! Now remember the post ‘Who Do You Want to Be?’ Draw back on this and align your goals with that person! 

Biggest 'Wins'

Once you've created a list of 10 or so positive changes you’d like to see, identify 3 or 4 of them that would make the biggest impact on your life. What 3 things off your list would have the most massive uplift on your life, and improve your personal well-being?  Since we've already figured out the ‘How’ part of the equation (through diet), and we've identified the ‘What’, now we must define the ‘Why’. Now, you may have already defined some of the why in this stage. Think of the purpose of that goal and just elaborate. 

Goals into Goal Statements

From there you want to refine those goals into goal statements. Here is an example of my goals then moved into goal statements:

My Personal Goals: look good, feel good, perform well, optimize my brain health, have clear focus, influence my genetics, change the world for the better, positively impact the lives of others through diet, be happy, stay motivated and positive, create a community of healthy individuals.

My Goal Statements:

1.       I want to eat optimally so that I can look good, feel great, and perform well. By doing so, I am able to influence others to make better choices about their food, because I live my life to this standard and establish credibility by being the ultimate resource.

2.       I am aware of what I put into my body because I want to influence my genetics as best as I can. If I do not do this, I am unable to pass on the best possible genes to my children and would be doing them a disservice.

3.       I understand that by making ideal food choices, I am fostering an environment to create the best ‘me’ possible. I believe that the body is a temple for the mind and spirit and that they are all connected. By taking care of my physical health I am optimizing my mind and able to establish deeper connection between the three.

4.       By developing the discipline to eat the best food possible, I see that this discipline carries over into all other areas in life. By combining that discipline with the way that optimal eating makes me feel, this creates an exponential effect on who I am on a day to day basis and I believe I will be able to change the way people eat to feel the same.

As you can see, these are pretty deep goals. This is done in way that establish deep cognitive connection to what it is you hope to achieve. By having a clearly defined vision, you can start by altering your habits which paves the road to your ultimate success, that final destination. Make up your mind to achieve these things and you’ll start to realize that the subconscious mind will work its magic and allow them to happen. Change your thought process from “I can’t eat that” to “I DON’T eat that”, because it simply does not align with your core goals. 

Next Steps...
Now that you've created meaningful goal statements, the rest is easy. You've made up your mind to achieve, now allow yourself to execute. In our next blog on 'Nutrition', we will cover basic nutrition and diet principles that are easy to follow and understand so that you can begin making more educated decisions on what you eat. Until then, commit yourself to creating as powerful a connection to your goal statements as possible and you will find yourself already making better intuitive choices when it comes to your food selections.

Lifestyle vs. 'Diet'
You might find that it is easier to pass by bakery section without a second thought and load up on fresh fruits and vegetables. Your willpower will strengthen. The task of 'healthy eating' will no longer seem like a chore. This is a total shift in mindset, and is a crucial part of the process before we begin to dive into the science quality food. It is important to realize that this is not a temporary 'diet' to look good for the beach - this is a lifestyle. You live this way because you feel better, look better, think better, and remain happier by creating an easily sustainable lifestyle. It is easy once your mind shifts gears. 

Thank you all for reading and I am looking forward to the next post which will start putting the pieces together!