Master your fitness goals
The quickest way to abandon a fitness goal is to aim for an outcome you cannot actually control.
Most resolutions fail not from a lack of willpower, but because we set the wrong kind of targets:
- intimidating numbers ("lose 20 pounds")
- strict deprivation ("no more chocolate")
- fragile scorecards (based on what everyone else in the gym looks like).
As I often remind myself, the best workout is the one you actually do, and consistency beats intensity every single time.
Real progress happens when you flip those conventional targets on their head. Inspired by Dr John Berardi at Precision Nutrition, here are three shifts to make fitness feel manageable, sustainable, and surprisingly enjoyable:
- Focus on behaviours, not outcomes (Control)
- Move towards what you want, not away from what you fear (Direction)
- Chase personal mastery, not external validation (Motivation)
Shift from outcomes to behaviours (control)
Are you slightly intimidated by gyms? Me too.
Gyms easily trigger thinking traps like unfair comparisons and all-or-nothing thinking: "She’s way leaner than I am," or "Look how strong he is – I’m a string bean."
When you tie your self-worth to an outcome like shedding ten kilos or bench-pressing a specific number, real life quickly gets in the way. Work gets hectic, the kids catch a cold, or poor sleep derails your energy.
You cannot force your body to change on a strict deadline. What you can control is your daily behaviour:
- Outcome goal: Lose 20 pounds.
- Behaviour goal: Eat until you are eighty per cent full at dinner.
- Outcome goal: Lower blood sugar.
- Behaviour goal: Swap evening sweets for fruit three nights a week, or protect a thirty-minute evening routine so you actually get eight hours of sleep.
Behaviours give you something concrete to practise today.
How to make it stick: Pick one clear daily action and mark a big X on a paper calendar each day you complete it. A continuous chain of crosses provides visual momentum. And if life derails a day? Don’t beat yourself up. Tomorrow is a clean slate – simply start the chain again.
Shift from avoidance to approach (direction)
"Starting Monday, zero chocolate."
"I’m quitting takeaways cold turkey."
Goals built around deprivation take up enormous mental energy. The moment you tell yourself you cannot have something, your brain fixates on it. When willpower inevitably runs dry, you give in and feel like a failure.
Approach goals work because they pull you towards something positive instead of relying on white-knuckle restriction:
- Avoid: Stop snacking on crisps at your desk.
- Approach: Keep a bowl of sliced apples within arm’s reach.
- Avoid: Cut out fizzy drinks.
- Approach: Drink a tall glass of sparkling water with lemon alongside lunch.
I tested this technique on my own chocolate habit. Instead of a sweeping ban, I kept fresh celery sticks on hand to reach for first. Did I quit chocolate forever? Ha, not a chance. But having an easy alternative cut my consumption dramatically, and the guilt vanished with it.
Shift from performance to mastery (motivation)
Performance goals depend on external scorecards: lifting more than the person on the next bench, fitting into a specific trouser size, or hitting a strict race pace. When an off-day hits, your motivation crashes.
Mastery is an internal game. It is the physical equivalent of living by an inner scorecard – measuring your growth against your own standards rather than the room's applause:
- Performance: Run a half marathon in under two hours.
- Mastery: Focus on running smoothly and quietly, improving your breathing rhythm on steep hills.
- Performance: Bench press a heavy personal best.
- Mastery: Dial in your bar speed and strengthen the supporting shoulder muscles.
Chasing mastery is gratifying because nobody else can take it away from you. Even if someone runs faster or lifts twice your weight, you leave the session feeling proud because you practised your craft a little better than yesterday.
The gym is for you
When you stack these three shifts together, the gym stops feeling like an audition. You aren’t there to compete with anyone else or punish yourself for last weekend’s dessert.
Focus on the daily behaviour, pull towards good habits, and enjoy getting better at the movement itself. The results will take care of themselves.
(If you want to apply this same mindset beyond your workouts, take a look at my guide on The eight-week experiment: How to turn vague goals into real projects.)