What are you READY, WILLING, and ABLE to do to get what you want?

Like, actually.

This might come off a little harsh, but I talk to a lot of people who say that they want certain things, whether they be body composition changes, weight loss or gain, a different relationship with food, a new job, more sleep, relationships with humans, etc, but then when it actually comes down to taking the actions to get those things, they’re not actually doing anything to move forward.

Maybe that’s the difference between a goal and a dream?

Something like this:

We can dream about being as jacked as The Rock, but in our hearts not actually feel inclined to set a real goal and put in the massive amount of work to be as jacked as The Rock.

In my mind, this is an important distinction. And, okay, maybe the example about The Rock is an extreme one, but I imagine you get what I mean. Let me make it a little more relatable…

We can dream about losing 10 pounds, but if we’re not willing to actually change anything about our food plan or lifestyle to get us there, then it’s just a dream, NOT a goal.

Or, we want to be able to backsquat 300 pounds, but also aren’t willing to get to the gym 4-5x a week and lift those heavy-ass weights, like Ronnie Coleman said:

I imagine THIS is why we keep wanting to believe in the “magic pill” idea.

If there was a pill we could take that would allow us to have all the things we wanted without us having to do any of the work, that would be pretty amazing. That’s why people keep falling for the products on Facebook that claim to make you lose 30 pounds in 3 hours… That’s why I personally purchased fat-burning tea years ago, as if that’s a real thing… we do want that magic! However, to this point, that, unfortunately, does not exist.

So, how do we figure out what things are dreams and what are actual goals??

I imagine this comes down to a little WILLING, READY, and ABLE analysis.

Simply put: If you want to see changes in your body composition, health, or performance, you have to make changes in your intake or activity.

So, when you think of your goals, the things you actually want to achieve and not just dream about, how ready, willing, and able are you to make the necessary changes and get after these goals?

You might consider journaling about these questions:

On a scale of 1-10, how READY am I to take the necessary steps to reach X goal?

On a scale of 1-10, how WILLING am I to take the necessary steps to reach X goal?

On a scale of 1-10, how ABLE am I to take the necessary steps to reach X goal?

You might consider things like:

The time it would take (per day, per week, per year, the overall timeline, etc)
The equipment you need, if any
The knowledge you’d need to gain, if any
The support system you’d need
The effort you’d need to put in (per day, per week, per year, the overall timeline, etc)
The sacrifices that may be required and if you’re okay with those

In my opinion, unless you’re above a 7 for each READY, WILLING, and ABLE, I’d consider the thing you want more of a dream than a real goal.

With that being said, I also believe you can work up to the 7s, if needed. If you’re currently a 5 for “readiness”… ask yourself, what would you need to do to make that a 7? Do that before you jump into the goal fully.

Thinking through these questions, and preparing for the journey to work towards our goals, is critical. This line of questioning can help us have a more realistic grasp of what we’re working on and what it will take to achieve those things.

And if you answer the questions and find that you’re NOT ready, willing, and able, to dive into the goal, that is totally FINE too! And now you know that it’s more of a dream and maybe you can come back to the questions at a later time when you might have more of a capacity to attack that goal.

Lastly, with ALL of this being said, if you decide that you’re not willing to work towards Rock-level-fitness, that’s not to say you should throw up your hands and give up completely. Instead, maybe you can work towards a slightly more attainable goal that does fit your current readiness, willingness, and ability. Remember, as always, better is better and moving forward is important, I just want you to be realistic with your pursuits and make sure they fit with your lifestyle and are things you really want and are willing to work towards.

I hope this makes sense and came off as more #realtalk than super harsh. If you agree or disagree with this perspective, I’d love to hear your thoughts… please leave a comment, or write me an email at sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com to share!

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As always, thank you for reading.
xoxo,
Sara

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