Why You Never Achieve Your Goals

Today I'm going to teach you how to achieve large goals without burning out

If you've tried:

• Diets

• Workout programs

• Starting a business

• Getting promoted at work

• Taking on full-time work or school

Or anything that involves a lot of time and effort, and you've quit more times than you care to admit, this is for you.

Imagine you sticking to one of those goals for 1 year instead of quitting after week 2.

What would your life look like right now?

Unfortunately, most people don't know how to maintain momentum.

They lose confidence, complain, and even blame anyone and anything but themselves.

You lack an effective, sustainable system.

I've been guilty of this as well. I'd get excited and motivated in the beginning but then these start to creep up:

• Trying to multitask

• Succumbing to distractions

• Searching for new hacks and shortcuts

• Procrastinating and coming up with excuses

Here's your action plan for the next 3 months. Let's get started.

Step 1: Start with a "Hard to Fail" Routine

"Don't jump right into the gym on your first day without a plan."

We know that much. But there is such a thing as overplanning. 

What about days when you don't feel motivated?

If you plan to work out 6 days a week after being sedentary for a year, you're planning to fail.

This is a dream killer, the main reason why most people quit. Right when they don't "feel like it."

PSA: Everyone loses motivation! We cannot rely on this. We need a system we can act on that's so easy it's hard to fail!

This is your lifeline when you have low energy on any given day.

You need a repeatable system that is so low friction that it makes you feel stupid for skipping it.

Example 1:

Let's say your goal is to go to the gym 5 times a week (for the sake of a fitness goal, i.e. building muscle). If you're not feeling it that day, do your routine for 10 minutes. Set a timer and start with the first exercise.

The point is that you DO SOMETHING.

Don't kill your momentum because the thought of a 45-minute workout feels too difficult that day.

Set an absolute minimum!

Example 2:

You decided you want to be more mindful so you take up a meditation habit. While it would be cool to meditate for 20 minutes daily, you're overstimulated that day and don't "feel like" sitting.

Sit for 2 minutes. I don't care how "busy" you are. If you can unintentionally scroll social media for an hour, you can sit still for 2 minutes.

You'd feel dumb if you had this conversation with your spouse or best friend:

Them: "Hey did you do your meditation today?" 

You: "Uhh, no I forgot"

Them: "But don't you only have to sit for 2 minutes"

You: "Yeah, but uhh, I got...busy..."

NO. STOP. It's 2 minutes. See how ridiculous that sounds? Make it so simple, it's stupid to fail.

I talk about simple goals here while starting an effective morning routine in a previous issue.

This ensures you don't skip a day and keep the momentum you've built.

Think about it this way. With a "Hard to Fail" Routine, you will have:

• Increased discipline because of its low friction.

• Maintained motivation because it's easy to stick to.

• Preserved mental energy because you have a routine and it doesn't require a lot of precious willpower.

Step 2: Plan your day in advance.

I see too many people writing half-baked goals with very broad descriptions (I've done it too).

You have to get hyperspecific!

Let's do a little demo: Which one of these people do you think will be more successful?

Question: "What are your top 3 goals and how will you achieve them?"

Short-term Sam: "Work out by going to the gym, focus better by meditating, and clear my mind by walking daily."

Long-form Larry:

"Do strength training 4 times per week for at least 25 minutes on days [a, b, c, and d] at 7:30 am."

"Meditate every morning at 6:00 am for a minimum of 10 minutes."

"Go for a walk after lunch at 12:30 pm daily for at least 20 minutes without my phone."

Hmm, who do you think will be more likely to stick with their goal?

Right. Long-form Larry boy.

He's predefined the details and primed his subconscious mind to eliminate the guesswork.

Big Benefits:

• Reduced decision fatigue

• Specificity makes the goal clear and concise

• Increased chances of adherence to the routine

Step 3: Focus on ONE task and one task ONLY!

Look, I get it.

You have a laundry list of achievements that you want to pursue but attacking them all ensures you master none!

Let's paint a picture:

You're Multitasking Matt with multiple missions. You love art, music, fitness, career development, and starting an online business among many other things.

You not only want to get good at them all but you want to MASTER them!

Let's say we have a 100% mental battery every day (although it realistically fluctuates). Do you think you can dedicate 100% to each one? Hard no.

It's more like this:

• Learning to code: 24%

• Digital art creation: 15%

• Practicing the guitar: 31%

• Working out 5x/week & diet: 11%

• Creating content for a personal brand: 19%

This is where most people end up for 40+ years:

In a job they hate

No time for fulfilling activities

Stressed and anxious

Seeking instant pleasure

And ultimately, filled with regrets!

Not you though.

You're Deep Dive Dan. You only focus on ONE goal for at least 3 months.

You gain skilled competence in one area of your life before you pursue another. Everything else gets put on maintenance.

This is what sets apart the most successful people from those that wish they were.

With this practice in mind, a realistic distribution would look something like this:

• Learning to code: 0-5%

• Digital art creation: 0-5%

• Practicing the guitar: 0-5%

• Working out 5x/week & diet: 5-15%

• Creating content for a personal brand: 80-95%

Your main goal should take up the majority of your time and energy. Everything else should happen at maintenance levels or be temporarily eliminated.

Step 4: Put it all together!

Now you have a system! You can test it out, tweak it to your needs and optimize it for your unique situation!

As always, if you need some help, reach out with a reply or send me a DM on Twitter!

TL;DR

Step 1: Start with a sustainable routine: Set a minimum standard that you can still do on your worst days.

Step 2: Plan your day in advance: Set your next day's schedule the night before. Be specific!

Step 3: Focus on a single task: Go all in on your most important, high ROI task, everything else on maintenance.

Step 4: Put it all together: Plug your goals into this framework and make any necessary adjustments.

Resources:

• Content OS: Set up a framework for content creation around your interests to attain internal fulfillment and financial freedom! Check out the article on creating your own content.

• 2-Hour Writer: Learn a marketable skill by writing 1-2 hours per day that translates to a professional upgrade, starting a business, or bringing clarity to your overactive mind.

• Modern Mastery: Join a like-minded group of individuals committed to content creation, starting a one-person business, and networking with others on the path to self-mastery.

• Hypefury: Tired of posting your content manually? Schedule unlimited tweets and save your ideas in a simple dashboard. I schedule all my tweets on Sunday saving me hours per week! (Also post to IG, FB, and LinkedIn) + many more features!

Read the previous letters on the blog.