Make sure you achieve your goals by following these 5 tips. Whether it’s entering a competitive event, getting back to a healthy weight or taking on a professional challenge, there are a few key steps to success that are always the same. Be prepared to push yourself beyond your limits!

Knowing what it takes to achieve your goal

Before committing to your goal, list exactly what efforts are needed to achieve it and what steps you need to take:

• To run X km successfully, you will need to train for Y weeks at a rate of Z sessions per week.
• Before cycling 20 km, you will do 5 km, then 10, then 15, and so on.
• To be able to complete this marathon, you will not only have to run but you also need to supplement your sessions with muscle strengthening and endurance training.

This concrete preparation phase will allow you to quickly determine whether your objective is the right one for a given period. If not, you just need to rethink your strategy to find a medium-term goal that suits you and your current planning. It is likely to be just a sub-goal of your ultimate objective.

Visualise the completed goal

Now that you know that your goal is achievable, project yourself forward to the day of your success: where are you, what are you wearing, and who are you telling about your victory? How do you feel at that moment?

Visualisation is a very powerful reinforcement technique used by many top athletes. By creating a mental image of yourself in a successful position, you improve your self-esteem and are more motivated than ever to do what it takes to achieve your goal.

Making sense of your goal

You know where you’ve come from and where you want to go, but why are you doing it? Borrow the “5 Whys” technique from the business world to find out what really motivates you: ask yourself why you want to achieve your goal, and then expand on each answer with a new “why”. The “5 Whys” technique is also very useful for analysing the causes of a problem (that was its original purpose): why have you not been able to achieve this goal so far? Answering 2 or 3 “whys” can be enough to bring out unsuspected solutions.

Implementing a plan of action

It is time to create a roadmap to your goal. Mark out your journey in small steps, taking particular care to ensure that your progress is gradual. Each step should challenge you enough to be proud of what you’ve done yet be achievable enough to avoid discouragement.

Plan for breaks and time to breathe: just like on a long hike, you will need to recharge your batteries and check that you are on the right path when you need to get going again!

Take advantage of this time to establish monitoring indicators, ideally with figures, to measure the progress you have made. These indicators will give you the courage to continue your efforts toward success!

Sharing intentions with loved ones

You have all the basics of the contract you want to make with yourself, and it may be easier to keep it by making the commitment. Share your goal with people you trust: they will be able to motivate you if necessary and remind you of how much this project means to you in moments of doubt. They will also be there on the day of your victory, witnessing how far you have come!

You are now ready to take the plunge and improve daily to become the person you dream of being: a more confident and resilient version of yourself with mental strength to spare. These tips are valid for achieving an athletic goal, developing better daily habits, or completing any challenge you didn’t think you were capable of!

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