Planning is the key to success in any part of your life. As children, we were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Now at age 7, I didn’t have a concrete plan but I had a general idea as to what I wanted to be… a gymnast. The goal to become an Olympic athlete became more prevalent as I grew older. However, as I matured and secured my first job at a gymnastics center, I soon realized becoming an Olympian was no longer the ‘plan’. I had a new one, to become a coach.
I followed through with this new plan when I became a gymnastics coach at the age of 15 and then by the time I was 19, I was also a springboard diving coach and a dance instructor. Eventually, my plan branched out into something I hadn’t initially considered – to become a personal trainer. But regardless of how I got here, it was planned (to some degree).
We all have created a plan for our lives in every aspect of life… career, financial, relationships, spiritual, family and even physical. The problem with having these plans is that not all aspects are our #1 priority. For example, someone who excels in their profession, may not have the greatest relationships or may not be in the best physical shape. You may also notice that someone who is great with their relationships might be lacking in the financial department of life. Either way, the key is finding balance in all areas of life so that we can feel the sense of fulfillment in every part of our lives.
Now to be able to excel in all areas, you MUST plan for each category. Each day do one thing for each area that will help you achieve your goals. Planning out your day, week and even month will break down the tasks at hand. For example, I know that during the course of the week, I will go to the gym a minimum of four times. Then depending on my schedule for that week, I plan what days I’m going to workout! The same thing goes for my finances; each month, I plan my payments for all of my bills. I know that on the 10th and 26th, I will sit down and pay those bills. My nutrition plan is a little tougher because my schedule is different each day but the night before I look at my schedule and tell myself, I will eat at 6:30a, 9:30a, 12p and so forth and so on.
Planning takes the guesswork out of things or the thought of not having the time to do it. When you desire to lose weight or pay off your credit cards, you MUST figure out how you are going do it; if not, it’s like shooting in the dark not knowing where the target is.