This past week I’ve made 4 posts on my personal Facebook page on how to still accomplish big things in the last 90 days of 2023. 

I’ve referenced Brian P. Moran’s book The 12 Week Year. The premise of the book is to effectively do more in each quarter to get more done in the year. So often we have this amazing push at the end of each year to accomplish what we set out to in January. But what if we just work that hard each quarter? What could we actually accomplish?? 

This is something I’ve been coached more on this last year in the business mastermind group I’m in. We concentrate on 90 day sprints every quarter. It’s helped me become more focused which has allowed me to accomplish more each quarter and that will make me more productive this year.

I’m going to wrap up my week of posts with a longer blog featuring Brian’s 4 Keys to Successful Commitments. If you want to check out my other posts on setting your goals, go check out my Facebook page here. I post a lot on fitness, nutrition, business, and of course my awesome family.

Here are the keys along with a few quick personal notes:

1. Strong desire: In order to fully commit to something, you need a clear and personally compelling reason. Without a strong desire you will struggle when the implementation gets difficult, but with a compelling desire, seemingly insurmountable obstacles are seen as challenges to be met. The desired end result needs to be meaningful enough to get you through the hard times and keep you on track. 

• When I meet with client’s I refer to this as their “why” and I tell them it needs to be big because at some point this stuff is going to get hard and you need to be able to have a big enough why to keep coming

2. Keystone actions: Once you have an intense desire to accomplish something, you then need to identify the core actions that will produce the result you’re after. In today’s world, many of us have become spectators rather than participants. We must remember that it’s what we do that counts. In most endeavors there are often many activities that help you accomplish your goal. However there are usually a few core activities that account for the majority of the results, and in some cases there are only one or two keystone actions that ultimately produce the result. It is critical that you identify these keystones and focus on them. 

• First, we help our clients form 2-3 action steps that will help them reach their goal. Then, my question to clients is what do you want to tackle first? We layer in the actions and let them decide what’s most important and doable first.

3. Count the costs: Commitments require sacrifice. In any effort there are benefits and costs. Too often we claim to commit to something without considering the costs, the hardships that will have to be overcome to accomplish your desire. Costs can include time, money, risk, uncertainty, loss of comfort, and so on. Identifying the costs before you commit allows you to consciously choose whether you are willing to pay the price of your commitment. When you face any of these costs, it is extremely helpful to recognize that you anticipated them and decided that reaching your goal was worth it. 

• My question to clients: “is there anything holding you back from achieving your goals?” This allows me to tackle objections as well as allows them to put forward the issues in their way so we can begin to address them right away before we start

4. Act on commitments, not feelings: There will be times when you won’t feel like doing the critical activities. We’ve all been there. Getting out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to jog in the winter cold can be daunting, especially when you’re in a toasty warm bed. It is during these times that you will need to learn to act on your commitments instead of your feelings. If you don’t, you will never build any momentum and will get stuck continually restarting or, as is so often the case, giving up. Learning to do the things you need to do, regardless of how you feel, is a core discipline for success.

• Two things here…1) my number one rule I give new clients is JUST SHOW UP. Show up when you’re tired. Show up when you’re angry. Show up when you’re stressed. Show up with your kids. Show up when you’re sore. Show up when you don’t know what to do. Show up when you’re knee hurts. JUST SHOW UP. 2) it’s not about how you show up or your effort when you do, it’s about getting the rep, checking the box, and then getting up tomorrow and doing it again. Trust me, there are plenty of days I don’t want to workout, but I don’t do it because I want to – I do because I have to.

Hopefully this helps as you tackle the rest of 2023. If you need more help, we’re always available. The first step is to book a free consult to talk about your goals. During that appointment we’ll make a plan to get you there.  You can do that HERE.

~Coach Josh