3 Practical Ways to Overcome Obstacles

As a trainer I spend my days helping others get stronger and achieve their goals while doing the same for myself. It doesn’t matter if I have been working with someone for a long time or if I am working to fight through a new issue in my own life, I always refer to my three ways to overcome obstacles.

Look at the big picture-

Everything seems giant when we look at it up close, so take a step back and appreciate the bigger picture. Sometimes a little perspective can take us a long way. I love stressing over the details of daily life like laundry, cleaning, and small organizational tasks that have no huge impact yet looking at them under my magnifying glass of a to-so list can make them seem monumental. Even when we are going through major life events or struggles like weight loss, looking through a wider lens can make a big difference. There have been countless circumstances where a client is upset because they ONLY lost a few pounds this month when they are forgetting about all the other pounds that have been lost through their whole journey. Never lose sight of the bigger picture, it’s much prettier than the little one in front of you.

Set goals-

One of the biggest challenges with my job is helping clients set goals.  I meet someone everyday that “wants to lost weight” but rarely do I come across someone with a realistic plan. S.M.A.R.T goals are the most accessible way to set realistic goals that can be achieved in an attainable amount of time.

S- Specific

M- Measurable

A- Attainable

R- Realistic

T- Timely

I want to lose 50 pounds versus I want to lost 10 pounds in a month and then re-evaluate my goals in order to achieve my long term goal of losing 50 pounds.

I want to be a better runner versus I want to cross the finish line of my first 10k race in two months.

I want to be a better parent versus I am going to improve my parenting skills by taking my child on one adventure with me every weekend for a month.

Once you are able to set a short term, realistic goal that can be reached in an accessible time line you are able to starting working towards a larger overall goal. Trying to achieve a generic and vague goal is going to be about at easy as pulling teeth from a lion. If you start small, you can build your successes, continue to stay motivated, and  build towards a larger picture goal. Currently I am working towards completing my second half marathon in hopes that I will improve my experience from last time and begin a longer journey towards running a full marathon.

Strive for greatness and never settle- 

Nothing makes me sadder than to watch someone settle for less that what they wanted. Someone who wants to finish a 5k in 30 minutes but convinces herself that she’s too tired to keep running. Someone who wants to lose a certain amount of weight but hits a plateau and gives up. Whatever you are fighting for, put everything you can into the effort to achieve your goals otherwise it isn’t worth trying. Don’t settle for anything less that what you want and always keep your focus on the end result. Greatness is not achieved over night but instead is a combination of small victories and failures strung through a long period of time.

Now you have the tools to successfully summit the mountain, lose the weight, cross the finish line, or accomplish your biggest goal yet.  Be brave, fight for what you believe in, and succeed!