Olympian Michael Phelps once went through a five-year streak during his teenage years in which he trained every single day.
365 days a year. Sundays, Christmas, and Thanksgiving … and twice on his birthdays!
Throughout most of his adult life, Michael spent 4 hours a day in the pool and 1 hour in the gym. He woke up at 6am every morning and went to bed at 10pm every single night.
Was it worth it?
His 28 medals say yes!
Most people underestimate what it takes to achieve something of real significance. They then end up failing because the cost turns out to be far higher than what they expected.
Phelps was able to achieve extraordinary goals in large part because he understood, and was willing to pay, the associated cost. So in this lesson, we are going to count the cost. You’ll calculate what you need to put in or give up in order to achieve the goals you say you want to achieve.
For example: if you really want to get in the best shape of your life, you might need to give up alcohol and hanging out with your friends at night, so you can put in the effort to go to sleep on time. You might need to give up your extra hour of sleep and put in an extra hour at the gym before work in the morning. You might need to put in some extra resources by way of hiring a personal trainer or a nutrition consultant.
So for each of your key goals, please write down what you need to give up or put in to achieve each goal. You can use the attached worksheet as a guide. Here are some areas to reflect on:
- How much time do you need to put in?
- Will you need to take that time from something else you enjoy?
- Will it cost you money?
- What about energy? What other resources might you have to put in?
- What other people or things you might need to give up in order to make your goal happen?
Once you’ve written down everything that each goal is going to ‘cost’ you, please take a moment to ask yourself these two questions:
Is my goal worth it? Am I really and truly willing to commit to it?
If yes, comment under this lesson with what you are willing to give up and put in for one of your goals.
Remember: only you can decide if a goal is worth it for you or not. No one can make that decision for you.
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