DTLC Radio

Fitness and health should be a priority in your life. If they are not, why not? Without your health, what do you have? Being healthy and physically fit is foundational to living your full potential and fulfilling the calling God has on your life. Fitness does not guarantee immunity to health problems or setbacks. The point is to do all you can to pave the way for a long and vibrant quality of life.

10 Rules for Setting Realistic Fitness Goals

Health is a choice for 90% of the population. The remaining 10% with disease or illness can likely improve their quality of life by pursuing fitness.

There are no shortcuts. Getting and maintaining health and wellness is an intentional decision that takes time. You didn't get in the shape you're in overnight and you're not likely to get in the shape you want to be in overnight, either.

Start with nutrition. Fifty to 70% of the fitness equation is nutrition. This is the easiest place to start, even if you can't be very active.

Know your overall goal. Where do you want to be physically and by when? Answers to these questions will help you determine the program, plan, and routine you should be following to get the results you desire.

Nearly every program works. The key is finding one that you like and are willing to commit to doing over the long term. If you won't do the program, it won't work, regardless of how many others have found it successful.

Don't focus on your weight. Forget the scale and focus on getting healthy, feeling better, and being stronger. Your weight will take care of itself.

Focus on your workout. Set short term body-related goals instead of weight-related goals. What you want is the best physical version of you. Whether it's lighter or not (and it likely will be anyway) is mostly irrelevant.

Be consistent. Consistency is king. Your goal should be to make fitness a part of your lifestyle, not simply something you do for a while.

Write down your progress. How do you know what to do if you don't know what you did? Track: how much? how many? how long? how far?

Reward yourself. Celebrate your accomplishments. Another good reason to set short term goals...you get to celebrate more frequently.

Other Podcasts of Interest

Get Your Body Right

Brain Fitness

Music has the power to motivate, inspire, and reach into your soul. Today, more than ever, music is literally everywhere. You can't go to any store, mall, restaurant, park, or event where music is not a prominent part.  Even if it's just in the background, music is all around us. It has the unique power to touch every person and quite literally, be a universal language. Music can also serve as powerful motivation.

What's In Your Ears?

What music are you currently listening to and regularly playing in your life? What you chose to listen to has the capacity to set your mood. Moreover, it has the ability to change your mood, motivate, and inspire you. Music, and specific types of music, can push you to change and help you stay on track. Lyrics too, especially those you know and sing along with, affect you as well. Are the lyrics of songs you listen to positive, uplifting, and challenging you to move forward?

Too often, we just turn on the radio and don't give much thought to the lyrics of songs we hear. We might know them but rarely do we take time to consider how they effect our attitude. It's funny to hear a song you haven't heard in a long time - years or even decades - and discover you still know every word. The mind has an incredible power and music, when used rightly, can provide all kinds of benefits and motivation.

Never Surrender

Winston Churchill once gave a speech to his old school. The speech was short and simply repeated the phrase, never give up. Churchill also gave a famous speech about fighting on beaches, landing grounds, fields, streets, and hills..."we shall never surrender." The question addressed here is, are you simply living just slightly above the level of mediocrity or are you living full? Have you settled or have you committed to never giving up and striving for all God has for you? Music, and specifically the music you chose to listen to, provides a means of keeping you focused. Choosing wisely can go a long way to keeping on keeping on.

Fight the Good Fight

Keeping the faith and fighting the good fight. Does this describe you? Even in secular music we can find God's truth making its way to the surface. Why is this? Because truth always rises to the stop. What you fill your heart and mind with, in the form of music, can be a powerful partner in accomplishing your goals.

Goal setting is the final stage of the process for getting from where you are to where God has called you to be. First, He reveals His vision for your life...what your life is meant to be about. Second, He clarifies His purpose for your life...who you are called to be. Third, He gives you the freedom - by way of your gifts, personality, abilities, and interests - to pursue various roles and "things to do" with your life. Within your doing, goals and goal setting become the primary means for accomplishing your vision and fulfilling your purpose.

Benefits

The benefits of setting goals (and accomplishing them) are myriad. IN the 1960's, psychologists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham developed the first theories of goal-setting. They found that setting goals increased motivation and productivity between 11% and 25%. They also found increases in focus, priority designation, purpose identification, and personal satisfaction when goals were accomplished. This resulted in deeper levels of commitment and persistence in the face of opposition.

I first studied this research in my Organizational Communication and Professional Development Master of Arts program in the late 1980's. Just a few years ago, The Association for Talent Development did research of their own on goal completion. They found the following percentages for the likelihood of success:

When one has an idea or a goal in mind - 10% likelihood of success

A conscious decision is made to commit to the goal - 25%

The goal is written down with a stated deadline - 40%

When a strategic plan is developed and written down - 50%

That plan is shared with another person - 65%

When a specific accountability appointment is set to monitor progress - 95%

That's incredible! It also means that when you have an accountability partner (i.e. personal coach), you have just a 5% chance of failing to meet your desired outcome.

Two Parts

There are two parts - or two types - to goal-setting: Outcome Goals and Process Goals. Outcome goals are descriptions of the final results you want to see or experience. Process goals are the strategic steps you're going to take to accomplish that outcome. It is important to know the difference and to set both types. Trying to determine the specific steps to take is where many people get bogged down. This is when a coach can prove most valuable.

SMART-ER Goals

SMART is an acronym for a goal-setting strategy popular in management and leadership circles and it works equally well on a personal level.

S - specific

M - measurable

A - achievable

R - relevant

T - time bound

There are other versions of this approach but the principles remain basically the same. We expand on this by adding E and R;

E - evaluate

R - readjust

This episode covers these principles in detail and expands your understanding of how to set goals you will actually accomplish. Keep in mind this is part four of a four-part series covering vision, purpose, mission, and goals. Be sure to listen to the previous episodes and take notes if you need to. Please reach out to me if this is an area in which you could benefit from having a partner and accountability.

 

Previous Episodes in the Series

Vision

Purpose

Mission

Mission - what you're called to do - is born out of who you're called to be. Being before doing, but doing is just as important for living a joy-filled life. After all, we want to hear the Father say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." That means we are supposed to be doing something. How to determine what you should be doing is the topic of this episode of DTLC Radio.

Multiple Missions

You have multiple missions because you have play several different roles. Just like you don't have a singular passion (probably), you likely won't have a singular mission. The various roles for which you have responsibility help to determine your missions. You may be a daughter, wife, mother, and Vice Principal at the local elementary school. Or, you may be a son, husband, father, and small business owner. Each of your roles will have a different mission for you to accomplish and "do."

Your purpose in each role - who you are called to be and become - remains the same throughout. What you do shifts, ebbs and flows from role to role. This means your "mission statement" may be somewhat broad or seemingly "generic" because the specificity is spelled out within each role.

Your roles will also change over time, from decade to decade. What you are called to be doing in your 20's is not the same as it will be in your 40's. Likewise, as you, your children, and your parents grow older, your roles will change accordingly. This means regular revisiting to update and adjust so you can stay on track and confident in your calling.

Benefits of Knowing Your Mission

Knowing who you're called to be and become is more than half the battle and key to determining what you should be doing. Knowing your mission gives several benefits:

Know what to say "yes" to and what to say "no" to

Keeps the main things the main things

Provides consistency and continuity - which breeds security, confidence, and stability

Provides motivation and energy because you have a sense of direction with the roles you fill

Opens your mind to new opportunities

There are several questions you can ask yourself and a process you can work through to help determine your various missions. This episode lays out the questions and outlines the process that bring you answers. Episode 19 is part three of a four part series on vision, purpose, mission, and goals. Episode 20 will delve into goals setting and accomplishment, all in relationship to fulfilling your vision, purpose, and mission.

 

Associated Podcasts:

Having a Vision for Your Life

Knowing Your Purpose and Who You've Called to Be

Purpose, and understanding yours, is all about identifying who God created you to be. You have been created for a reason, a purpose. You have been created to be a specific someone, one who is unique and unlike anyone else. How does that make you feel? Excited? Fearful? Depressed? Your reaction depends on the degree to which you have been able to answer the question, who are you?

Life Calling

Knowing your life calling is answering the ontological question - a five dollar word that means the study of being - what is your purpose in being? Purpose is part of the four puzzle pieces of vision, purpose, mission, and goals. James addresses the connection between being and doing in his discussion about faith and works (see James 2:14-26). It is definitely a scriptural concept and one God is wholeheartedly in favor of you discovering.

Key Phrase

A key phrase to help you find clarity is: To get these results (your vision), I must be this kind of person (your purpose), and do these kinds of things (your mission). Filling in the blanks can help you find direction and gain traction to move forward. Keep in mind that this will take time, energy, and focus. It is a process but being proactive can make all the difference.

Benefits of Knowing your Purpose

The benefits of discovering and understanding your purpose could take pages to express. Start with a shot of confidence followed by a basis to keep moving forward resulting in better health, lower stress, and greater satisfaction. Those who have taken the time to proactively reflect and discern their purpose live in a state of joy few can express. I believe that it is part of the "peace that passes understanding" that results in seeking God (see Philippians 4:4-7). Seeking your purpose is about dropping anxiety, choosing joy, and asking God for insight.

It is my prayer that this podcast will answer a few questions but will also challenge you to seek a partner to help you discover your purpose and find true fulfillment.

 

Related Podcasts:

Vision

Can you see where you are going? Do you know where you are? If you don't know where you are you have little hope of getting where you want to be. Proverbs 29:18 says, Where there is no vision, the people perish. Vision, often interchanged with purpose and mission, is unique from both. Part of 4-part recipe - vision, purpose, mission, goals - vision is the broadest of all.

Crafting a vision is about seeing a picture of something you want to exist in the future. It is a target you intend reach. Vision is about a perspective of your life, not from this point forward, but actually from the end looking back. If you lived your life the way you feel called, what would that look like? What would you like people to say about you and your life when you're laid to rest?

Recipe for Success

Vision is an overall perspective that ultimately encompasses your purpose (who you're called to be), your mission (what your called to do), and your goals (the specific individual accomplishments that fulfill your mission and purpose). Knowing your vision helps clarify your purpose, mission, and goals, as it provides the framework for decision making. Who you are (your being) and what you do (your doing) should fit within the confines of what you want your life to amount to. Individual goals are set based on completing the mission and fulfilling the purpose.

Finding Vision

There are specific and measurable things you can do to determine or discover your vision. Ultimately, as a Christ-follower, your vision must come from God. He is not in the habit of playing "hide-n-seek" with regard to such things. However, He will permit you to work through the process and process always takes time. You must be patient and persistent in seeking your vision. Prayer, gathering information, and evaluating your vision are parts of the process.

Keeping Your Vision Alive

Once understood, your vision will require adjustment and regular evaluation. You have a responsibility to keep your vision alive...making sure it is from God, keeping it simple and easy to remember, and building it on solid core values. It is important to share your vision with others who can and will encourage you and aid in keeping you accountable.

 

Related Podcasts:

Finding Your Passion

Understanding God's Will for Your Life

Understanding God's Specific Will for Your Life

For many, the greatest fear is having their secrets found out. But what if those secrets are the very things causing you trouble and keeping you from moving forward? In this podcast, we tackle the dilemma of needing to keep our secrets while desiring to be fully known.

Secrets

We all have them. You have them and I have them. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. The burden (beyond carrying deep, dark secrets) is the dilemma between having others know the real us and desiring to be known and accepted. Many secrets we carry long term are deeply personal and possibly traumatic. These experiences can leave deep scares and unhealed wounds. Letting them be known is often not even an option.

The problem is, these secrets are likely crippling you and keeping you from realizing your true potential. The desire to be fully known is overridden by the pain of the past. The end result is mental, physical, and emotional discomfort that affects and infects every area of your life. Living life while hiding from your past - who you really are - takes its toll. Often, your subconscious compensates for this by habits and behaviors you wouldn't otherwise indulge if you were free in the truth.

The Answer

It can be hard to hear and even harder to do...but the answer is to reveal the truth and share your secret. Fear of judgment, condemnation, ridicule, and abandonment are just a few of the concerns secret keepers have. Jesus said you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. That is true in so many ways!

The freedom that results from ridding yourself of this burden is visible and goes beyond description. The guilt and shame we carry alongside our secrets is replaced with acceptance, grace, forgiveness, and love. These come not only from God but from others we trust as well. Soon, over time, we can learn to share our story and allow God to use it for His glory and in service to others.

Getting there is definitely a tall order. No one knows your secrets but you. That said, you're the only one carrying the pain as well, which impedes your progress and keeps you from realizing your true worth and value.

It is my prayer that this podcast will serve you, bless you, and challenge you as God uses it to work in your life.

Understanding God's specific will for your life is not part of a game of Hide-n-Seek the He is playing with you. God wants you to know what His specific will is for your life and He is more than willing to show you. The problem isn't that His specific will is hidden, it's that we're aren't looking at it from the right angle.

God's Universal Will is the Key

Understanding God's universal will for your life is the key to understanding and discerning His specific will. If we are not living under God's universal will, we will never see His specific will. It works like this. When you are submitting to and living according to God's universal will, you are living in His will...you're under that umbrella. When situations, opportunities, decisions arise, since you are already living within the will of God, any choice you make will be within His will. The specific choice may be viewed as His "specific will" but it is revealed in His universal will.

Now, "any choice" obviously does not and cannot include any decision that would be contrary to God's Word. To do so would be to violate and came out from under His universal will. Obviously, such a choice would create big problems. However, while living within the universal will, any decision will be within the same "will of God." The choices - or a better way to think of them is as options or opportunities - become His specific will. But you say, "Yeah, but I determined "His specific will" and not God. No, you determined which course you would take and God allowed you the freedom to do so as a reward for living under His universal will. God has not revealed every specific decision you should make to remain within His will. Why? Because the decision does not make that much difference to God.

There is No One Right Decision

There is no "one right decision" you have to make before God is willing to bless you. It is mistaken to think that if we don't make the "one right decision" that some how we will be out of God's will. He doesn't operate that way. Instead, He gives us great freedom to choose and decide what we would like to do based on our spiritual gifts, heart/passions, interests, education, and experience. Just like determining your passion, you don't have just one. And failure to identify that "one" will result in agony and regret.

Living within the universal will of God provides us the opportunity to explore who God has created us to be. You can dream as big as you'd like. There are no limits. Will one choice be better than another? Possibly. All choices become part of who we are and where we're going. Can it be challenging to make a decision? Yes, of course. But that doesn't mean that there is a bad decision, necessarily. Understanding God's will for your life in this way gives you the freedom to choose from multiple good options.

How can I know and understand the will of God for my life? This question may be as old as the history of man but it is not impossible to answer. In fact, the answer may be simpler than you think.

Use Your Head

Too many people want to know what God's will is for their life but bypass the primary means God has given for us to determine and discern it - our mind. You cannot expect to know what God's will is for your life if you are not willing to think about it. More specifically, to use your mind in considering what He has already told you. Chances are good that many simply do not trust their own minds, and for good reason. Christians though, should have no problems trusting their minds.

When a person "becomes a Christian" they are transformed, renewed, and redeemed. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17). This renewal and rebirth includes the mind...especially the mind. Now, there is training involved in getting your mind accustomed to "spiritual thinking" but that is part of the transformation process. God fully intends for you to use your renewed mind.

Get Under the Umbrella

Most of us want to know the will of God specifically for our individual lives. What does He want me to do with my life? Who should I marry? Where should I live or go to school? The problem is that we've spent much of our time ignoring and neglecting God's "universal will" to the point of failing to see any connection between the two. We miss that God's "specific will" is revealed through the process of living out His universal will. We tend to think of the will of God as a program to follow rather than a process to live out. When viewed correctly, who we are takes priority over what we do.

The umbrella of God's universal will necessarily includes His specific will. Why are we surprised when we can't seem to discern God's specific will when we have shown little interest in following His universal will? Scripture clearly reveals God's universal will. Unless and until we are consistent in living that out, we will struggle to decipher specifics. That said, once we do develop consistent living under His universal will, His specific will becomes much easier to identify.

Freedom Under the Umbrella of the Will of God

You might think that living under an umbrella would be greatly restrictive. But you would be wrong, the umbrella is not stationary. You are not restricted to living only in the space under a stationary umbrella. The umbrella is not a gigantic "group sized" umbrella that is too big to carry. On the contrary, it is individual and goes where you go. God's universal will applies to you as His child. Yes, He has other children to whom His will applies, but they also have their own umbrella. Each person carries - and is therefore responsible for - their own umbrella. The umbrella serves as protection as you carry it through your life. In doing so, you have great freedom. (I think I'm going a bit overboard with the metaphor...but you're beginning to see the point.)

It's a popular myth that God is a "cosmic killjoy" just waiting for people to screw up so He can zap them! God wants us to enjoy life abundantly. He knows what prevents and creates joy. Since it is His will that we live an abundant life (John 10:10), He shares with us how to have a full life and not a frivolous one. Although there are boundaries under the umbrella - that's where you have to stay to keep dry - we still have tremendous flexibility in where we can go. We can remain under the umbrella of His will and still choose from a myriad of alternatives. Determining God's specific will for your life starts by answering the question: Does this decision agree with or violate God's revealed universal will?

 

Related Podcasts and Articles

Renew Your Mind

When was the last time you got yourself in trouble by overthinking? What kinds of things do you tell yourself about who you are and what you're capable of? What do you tell yourself about others? It is possible to think yourself into problems through mistaken beliefs, attitudes, and patterns of thinking. But it does not have to be this way. You have the power and can equip yourself with the tools to change your "stinking thinking."

Cognitive Coaching*

The overall goal of cognitive coaching is to reduce emotional distress, gain control over your thoughts, and change the trajectory of your life. By altering or correcting faulty thoughts, perceptions, and beliefs you can intentionally change your life. As a coach, I view my clients (you) as the direct agent of your own changes. You are in control and are the expert on you. You are not a helpless victim of circumstance or forces beyond your control. Yes, life happens.  Charles Swindoll has said, "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react." Your reactions are based on your thoughts and your thoughts are rooted in your beliefs.

When you choose to think a particular way or adjust the way you think about something, you are rightfully taking responsibility for yourself. You bear responsibility for your own thoughts and it's your job to take charge of them.

Challenge Your Thinking

When you increase your self awareness and identify your negative thoughts you can begin to change them. In this episode I give several strategies for taking control. These include:

Writing down the negative thoughts

Talking back and challenging your negative thoughts

Questioning your thoughts - Is this true? Can you prove it? Are you overgeneralizing?

Stop giving power to your negative thinking

Find Your Beach!

 

NOTE:

*Cognitive coaching, in a Christian coaching context, presupposes the transformational aspect of regeneration accomplished by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Control is a relative term. You have responsibility in how you respond to truth in your life. Real and lasting change is accomplished by God but our willingness to follow His lead is in our control. This might seem like a non-issue but I think it is important to make the distinction to be aware of how change takes place. Basically, we're training ourselves to live according to our "new nature." If you have questions about this process, please contact me.