(Actually by Katie Rutterer)

Previously, we’ve invited you to dream big and set your sights high to create a dream goal. Now it’s time to set up a timeline for that goal. You may have heard the famous quote from Napoleon Hill, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” Putting a time quota around your goal helps break it down into workable chunks, setting you up for daily habits that help you achieve anything you set your mind to.

Taking a look at your big picture goal, give it a long-term number. Is it something to accomplish in 1 year? 3 years? 5 years? If it’s doable in less than 6 months, you didn’t dream big enough!

Once you have your long-term goal, decide where you want to be in half that time. Start to think about steps you can take to get to that halfway point.

For example, if I don’t have pull ups or ring dips, getting a muscle up might be be a 3-year goal. I should aim to have pull-ups and dips halfway through that timeline (18 months), which means 1 year from now, I should have the ability to be able to do solid pull-up negatives and a few strict ring dips.

From there, continue to break things down into doable chunks—find your way to a 90 day or 3 month version of your big goal. Where would you like to be in 90 days in terms of being closer to that big picture? I’m not going to have my full muscle up goal in 90 days, but in 3 months I could focus on having 3-5 three second pull up and ring dip negatives. These smaller goals are what you set your sights to so you don’t get overwhelmed thinking that a muscle up is so far away!

In the next post, we’ll talk about breaking this 90 day goal down into even more doable daily/weekly habits. Notice how this big goal starts to feel less intimidating when you approach it with small steps in mind. This is a great way to not be overwhelmed by huge tasks (or workouts!).

Make sure you are working from a place of love and positivity. Frame your goals with a sense of self worth. Remember your Why from last week!

Action items for this week:

  1. Develop your long-term plan
    Look at your goal(s) and see how they stack up over 1, 3, or 5 years. Do you need to dream bigger? Reign them in? Are they good for this time frame?
  2. Break it down
    Try to break it down into 90 day chunks. This may require you to break it in half, then half of that half, etc., but it’s important to have something with a closer deadline and a smaller goal every 90 days that contribute to your main goal to keep you on track over time.