You Can Reach Your Goals Even When You Take Shortcuts

If you’ve always heard you should never take shortcuts, find out why that advice may not always be right! Find out how to reach your goals even with shortcuts!

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You Should Never Take Shortcuts, right?

“When it comes to success, there are no shortcuts.”

You don’t have to look far to find famous quotes about the perils of taking shortcuts.

Turns out this may not always be the best advice. Finishing projects, diets, P90X-like programs. If you don’t do the whole dang thing exactly like it’s laid out, you’re a failure. Right?

Not so fast, sister. If that’s you, and if you fell off the wagon one tiny bit and then just…QUIT…take heart.

That was all of the “there are no shortcuts” gurus shouting in your ear.

I’m pretty much the queen of start-and-never-finish projects.

Fortunately, I have an amazing partner who keeps us himself sane despite my proclivities. Consequently, my house is not a mess.

I also like food, so I even manage to get dinner on the table.

So Can You Reach Your Goals If You Take Shortcuts?

Say you’ve decided (once and for all–again) to “get in shape.” We’ve all done it, like, a thousand times.

All except the 7 or 20 people in the ~~country~~ world who can eat anything they want, never exercise, and still look like Kerry Washington, or Jasmine Tooks (I had to Google trending hot women).

So there’s your brand new goal. Maybe it includes eating really healthy and exercising, or this time you just decide to focus on exercise alone. Whatever.

You buy all the crap, clean out the shelves, get the new exercise videos and equipment to go along with P-some number-some letter, and plan to start on Monday right after work.

Then What?

Two, three, four days…maybe you make it an entire week! You dutifully do your workout each day according to schedule, even though you were sore as hell after the first two days.

Doesn’t matter! You, mama, are going to power through. Man, you’re even watching the snacks and not eating anything after 7PM!

Then….Friday rolls around and you cannot resist going out with the gang for margaritas, chips, and salsa.

But you’re still strong. You will only have one skinny margarita, and, oh, maybe ten chips. Then straight home to do your workout.

Good luck with that.

Gal, if you can do the above, just stop reading.

Of course you stayed for a few drinks and well over 10 chips.

Will you really do that workout when you get home? (Hint…make Friday your rest day. Best thing ever).

Now You Have A Decision to Make

When you wake up on Saturday, are you going to throw in the towel completely? Most people do.

But you don’t have to. This is not the time to think, “oh what the hell? I messed up totally, so I might as well just start again on Monday, (or worse, quit altogether).”

Jon Acuff in his splendid book Finish says, “Might as Well” is one of the most dangerous phrases in the English language.

You do not have to do this. You messed up! Big deal. How much damage could you possibly have done? Don’t even try to calculate it. Just don’t.

Pick yourself up, throw off your “I’m such a dope failure” attitude and make a better plan!

There are better ways…ways that can keep you on track in spite of your lapses. And let’s be real. We all have lapses.

Stop Trying to Be Perfect

Progressing is the goal…perfection is not. It doesn’t even matter if you take one step forward and then three steps back. Get back on the horse again!

Progress is the name of the game…progress, not perfection! Make a poster (free printable) and put it up everywhere in your house, in your car, wherever you need to be reminded.

Don’t fret if you took a shortcut here and there. Don’t make it the rule, but don’t let it lead to quitting. If you made the goal, keep going.

Every step forward will get you there in the end.