Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast. Everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey, even the stuff you don't want to hear, there is no such thing as perfection. I realize this the hard way and it hurts my type A brain perfectionist mindset to admit that. But I realized that seeking perfection held me back for the longest time. And I see it holding people back constantly because A, there's no perfect time to start. And B, we are human. We will never be perfect with things. We are flawsome and we have to embrace that. And so often when we want to see a new result, when we want to reach a goal, we seek out a perfect plan. We wait for the perfect time. We expect ourselves to be perfect with the implementation of it. And when none of that happens, we ultimately give up.

(00:48):
Instead, what we need to do is find a way to double down on what is actually working and really realize where the disconnect is between why we feel like we're failing with things and what we actually need right now. And so this got me to thinking about how we can better own our week. And I say own for a reason, because ultimately whether we succeed or fail is up to us and whether or not we've recognized what we need right now to help us move forward to where we want to go. And I found this great quote by Eisenhower that says, plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. So often we get caught up in doing a plan perfectly, so much so that when we don't do it exactly as it's laid out, we give up instead of recognizing, Hey, this plan gave me guidance, but it's a roadmap I can tweak and adjust based on what I've actually encountered.

(01:38):
If we think about it like setting our GPS to get to our destination, you might have a traffic jam come up. You can't necessarily control that, but you can find a way around it. So I think really recognizing that there's always a way to overcome those obstacles is really key. And this comes back to meeting ourselves where we're at so we can create that plan, recognizing that things might not go as planned, and that comes back to how can we better own our day, own our week. And there are really four strategies I found helpful to help you own your week, get that plan in place that allows you to be flexible when life happens, because that's really what ultimately dictates whether or not we see results or we fall back into old patterns, whether or not our plans can flex with us and we can shift our mindsets to embrace that flex as life really dictates.

(02:27):
And we really need to. So what this comes back is to owning some basics, and there's four that I think are key. Number one is knowing your priorities. What truly is a priority for you that day, that week, that month. When you set those priorities, you can find ways to make sure that they happen. No matter what we prioritize is often what we value. So if you are trying to make a new habit change, you have to recognize why you value the changes you're trying to make. Because if you just say, oh yeah, this kind of gets me to my goal, I'll do it, someone said it was best. You're not going to embrace doing it when life gets hard, when other things get in the way. So you have to recognize why something really matters to you so that you can plan it in and see how that is building the lifestyle you want to create.

(03:13):
And part of finding what you want to prioritize and even picking just one or two things for the week is owning your non-negotiables. So what are things that you want to make happen no matter what? How can these be tied to the priorities you need to do to work towards your goals? Because sometimes owning our non-negotiables are owning things that slightly fight against the goals we want to achieve to plan around them, which is something key to do. But you also want to know what's going to be non-negotiable for me this week. And then if life gets in the way, how can I make sure this happens? So if you know that your workout will slide, if you leave it to the end of the day when you're really busy and tired and stressed and your workout is non-negotiable for you this week, put it first in your day, tie it to something else.

(03:55):
Give yourself a plan B, shorter option. But how can you find a couple of different ways to make a non-negotiable happen no matter what? So you have to connect them to your priorities. You want to think what are even just two to three non-negotiables based on those priorities that you're going to keep in? And then what are ways you're going to make sure that they happen no matter what? Tying them to habits you enjoy putting them first in your day, coming up with a plan B option that you know is so silly, simple, you can do it no matter what. Then number three, plan it and schedule it. When I'm saying plan it and schedule it again, plans are useless to some extent, but planning is indispensable because the more we schedule it in, the more we shift other things around it. And we don't let life sort of interrupt that because it's really easy to have other people say, oh, I need your help here, or have something else that will come up or a meeting run long, and then not hold that plan that you put in place for yourself.

(04:46):
But if you've actually scheduled it onto your calendar, not only is it less likely that someone will let something else run over, but you can know that you have this solid accountability there because I think so often we don't put it in writing. We don't put it in front of our face so that we have to see it, and it's just sort of this nebulous, vague thing in our head. And so it's very easy to let it slide, but the more we've written it down, the more we've scheduled it into our planner, the more we're holding ourselves accountable to it. And then if you can even connect doing it with somebody else, if you'll feel more responsible or guilty, if you bail on them, the better off you're going to be. But the more you really have it as a definitive plan in place and as something scheduled in with even reminders, the more likely you are to do it.

(05:25):
Even when life tries to interrupt and think about all the reasons, then that that scheduled thing goes back to your non-negotiables and your priorities because we'll find time for what we deem non-negotiable and we'll value those priorities and we'll prioritize them even more in our day. So really schedule it in the number four. Start each day with intention. So whether or not it's putting your non-negotiable first, the thing you value first in your day, start your day with intention. And I would even say start it by making sure that you have an outline of what you need to have in that day. Yes, things are going to pop up, but how can you even plan in time knowing that there are specific days where more things might pop up? How can you even own what your usual schedule looks like? Don't plan in 17 different things to the day is busiest.

(06:11):
Maybe that's the day that you don't necessarily have to hit on your non-negotiable workout. You plan that for the Tuesday instead of the Monday, but really set the intentions for the day early on so that you know what you can expect and even have that wiggle room when life does get in the way. The more we own the reality of our life, what real life really looks like for us, the more we can plan these things in and set those minimums. And that's what all this is really about, having those minimums, giving ourselves the accountability to keep those minimums, but also owning what's truly realistic for our lifestyle. Because if right now, three days a week of working out is what is realistic, you might say, well, six days a week is an ideal, and that can lead us to saying, well, I shouldn't do anything.

(06:54):
I can't do it perfectly. No, no, no. What is perfect is what fits your schedule right now. You can always build towards six, but it's better to build momentum because motivation is created by action, not the other way around, even though we often think we need to be motivated to take action. So really think about how you can set your day and each week with intention by owning the reality of your schedule and what it looks like now, not even what it looked like at another time of year, but what it looks like now. So if you've been struggling, feeling like the plan has to be perfect, the day has to be perfect. You have to be perfect with the implementation of everything. Change how you're viewing perfection even by giving yourself these minimums and taking ownership of what your lifestyle looks like. So again, know your priorities for the day, for the week, for the month.

(07:35):
Set your non-negotiables and make them things that are just two to three things that you're going to get done no matter what. And even give yourself how you're going to do them no matter what. Plan it and schedule it. Give yourself that extra accountability around those priorities and non-negotiables to make them really happen. And don't list out a bazillion things you have to do. Again, keep it to two or three, and then start each day with intention, understanding what that day is really going to look like to some extent with some wiggle room, and then owning when the non-negotiables be scheduled into that schedule. But really taking control right from the moment that you get up of what you want out of that day.

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.