Every day we are presented with countless decisions to make, and every year we make new commitments to uphold. As we are all coming off the highs of last year’s holiday season, we emerge into the new year with new hopes, intentions, and goals. The grand ideas we often start with, however often become lost in the mix of the daily milieu. These everyday “low level” choices begin with whether to get up or snooze an alarm clock, and end with whether to watch one more Netflix episode or go to bed…before starting it all over tomorrow. The summation of the low level choices becomes exhausting and distracts from the “high level” decisions that require more thoughtfulness and energy.
We tend to relate easily to the “low level” decisions because they are quick and easy (i.e yes, I would like an extra scoop of cashew ice cream because it tastes so good), but have a much harder time keeping in tune with our “high level” decisions that operate the goal center, (i.e. I will not take the extra scoop of cashew ice cream because I’ve committed to losing 5 pounds this year, and this keeps me on track toward my goal). See the difference? Commitment and discipline are fundamentally necessary when it comes to making your “high level” decisions if you are going to see through to accomplishing goals you’ve created for yourself.
And with that, we welcome you to 2018, where most people by now have already given up on their New Year’s Resolutions. If you’re still fighting the good fight 2 weeks into January, then all the power to you. If you’ve fallen off the bandwagon, don’t abandon hope quite yet, and listen further to our awesome exchange with special guest Vivian Young who we believe deserves a trophy when it comes to mindfully adhering to goals she sets for herself.
Vivian Young is a self-made master of setting and sticking to goals and before she turned 30 she made a bucket list of big ideas she wanted to achieve. Most notably this included becoming a vegan body builder and entering a bikini competition, which she completed in 2017 and has since committed to continuing her body building. As another example, Vivian wanted to become scuba certified, but not knowing how to swim didn’t stop her from working toward this goal – what did she do? She started with one arm in front of the other, and in 2017 she took swim lessons and is now swimming pool laps once per week. In our conversation today, Vivian talks to us about how she sees through to accomplishing her goals, and keeps up the hard work even when the times get tough. If you are interested in hearing our first conversation with Vivian, please listen to our July 2017 interview here.
In today’s conversation with Vivian, we wanted to break down the process and understand how she sets her goals in the first place, before even starting to accomplish them. For Vivian, it often times starts with a story board. Then, she tells us, one of her strategies to stay committed is to have an accountability partner. And yet another is to listen to what her mind and body are saying, because sometimes goals do need to be modified, and that is ok too! It is so much more about the journey itself then the end result, and the journey is what keeps her motivated to meet her end goals.
Vivian shares with us her personal 2018 goals and her strategies for how stick to them. We discuss how she will contend with inevitable obstacles that will arise and yet still progress onward in the face of those challenges. Throughout this exchange, we hope you add tools to your tool chest, find inspiration in your own goals and commitments, and recognize the difference between your low and high level decisions so that you can stay focused and uncluttered from letting the small things get in the way of progress toward your most authentic and accomplished self.
Show Notes:
Follow Vivian Young on Instagram @iamvivayoung
Other episodes you might enjoy: TPP 009 our first interview with Vivian Young and TPP 015 with Kate Harris and Keith Tharp
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