Setting goals is a crucial aspect of developing and maintaining a survivor state of mind. Goals keep us accountable. In this post I will talk about how I was able to use goal setting to beat cancer twice, and I’ll offer three tips on how you can use goal setting to kick cancer’s butt too.
Before I dive into the weeds, I’d like to mention a concept from a book that I read called “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy. In this book, Darren Hardy references this idea that most great feats can be credited to an abundance of small achievements, consistency, and perseverance. No incredible accomplishment happens overnight, but instead, it is the day-to-day achievements all summed together to form one amazing outcome.
I live my life based on this principle. And it is why I set not only long-term goals for myself, but also much smaller, more attainable daily goals that contribute to my long-term goals overall..
And I can promise you that this “Compound Effect” concept holds true even in aspects of life outside of the cancer realm.
Having a long-term goal offers a sense of purpose. Motivation. Something to strive for. Without a goal, we would just be floating through life (which might be fine for some people, but not for me!)
A long-term goal could be something like getting a promotion at work, or running a marathon. Or, for a lot of us reading this blog, it could be to beat cancer.
Along with having long-term goals, I’ve also mentioned that it is important to have smaller daily goals to keep us on track and to utilize the “Compound Effect.” This can sometimes seem overwhelming, and the more daily goals you have, the more overwhelming it gets to remember all of them.
Which brings me to my first tip.
Tip #1: Write it down
I am SUCH a notebook guy. I keep track of every single one of my workouts in a notebook. I took notes in notebooks all throughout college while other people used computers. And yes, I used notebooks to achieve my goal of beating cancer. I looked at my notebooks every single day because whenever I saw my long-term goal of beating cancer right there in front of me, it kept me motivated and on track. My goals are never out of mind because they are never out of sight.
But no matter what you use to write down your goals – a notebook, a sticky note, a note on your phone – look at them every single day.
Tip #2: Break it down
Breaking down a long-term goal is a great way to make it seem more attainable. Break it down into very small accomplishments that can happen every day.. Daily goals are so important because, of course, “beating cancer” isn’t something that can be accomplished in a day. So instead, according to our good friend Darren Hardy, breaking up that goal into a bunch of smaller, more attainable goals will keep us on track and lead us to that goal.
Using my bone marrow transplant as an example, I would write down daily goals every single day (and as a matter of fact, I still do today!). I was all about being as physically active and mentally healthy as I could be when I was in the hospital because I strongly believed that it would help assist my treatments in my fight against cancer (and I still thoroughly believe that contributed to my success).
As you can see in the picture at the top of this post (taken during my transplant) I obviously wasn’t using one of my notebooks, but instead a little whiteboard. The whiteboard was my way of communicating with my family during my bone marrow transplant because of the painful mouth sores which made speaking tough. But in any case, on this particular day, I set a daily goal to walk 13 laps around the transplant unit. I was probably very tired that day which is why I broke it up into two different goals, which is a great example of making sure that the daily goals are attainable!
Item number two on my list was to eat an applesauce and watch an episode of my all-time favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with my girlfriend and eat an applesauce. Watching the TV show and spending time with my girlfriend distracted me from being stuck in a hospital which was great for my mental health. Eating the applesauce was a great way to get calories in when I was hardly eating.
Side note, if you or someone you know going through treatments is having a hard time getting enough calories in, “10 Foods To Eat When You Don’t Have An Appetite” has some great options.
But back to this post, looking at this list, you’ll notice that all of my daily goals – two of which are contributing to my rest, one involving my mental health, one involving nutrition, and three contributing to physical health and hygiene – are all contributing to my long-term goal of beating cancer!
Tip #3: Check it off
This is so much more important that a lot of people might think. I don’t care whether you put a checkmark next to items on your daily goals list when they’re complete or cross them out, just mark them as complete somehow!
Every time I check something off of my list, it gives me a sense of accomplishment. It reminds me that I am one step closer to my long-term goal, rather than one step away from it. Every time an item gets checked off, it produces a small, but very effective, instance of positive reinforcement in my head.
And what happens when something is consistent, even if each instance is small? It adds up!
So by setting daily goals, you can get closer to your long-term goals every day, you can stay on track, and you feel accomplished every time you check off an item. It is such a simple concept, but the results are absolutely extraordinary.
And remember, no matter how small the goal is, it is pushing you closer to your goals, rather than driving you away.
I really hope these tips can help some of you that have goals you’d like to accomplish but see them as too daunting or maybe even impossible. Just remember that nothing is impossible if you take it one, small, baby goal at a time. They’ll add up!
As always, please feel free to reach out to me on my contact page if you have any questions, tips of your own, topics you would like to see covered, or just feel like chatting to someone that’s been through it. I am always here for you.
-Alex
___________________________________
Do you want to be notified whenever a new post becomes available? Subscribe here.
Be sure to follow @survivorstateofmind on Instagram for post updates!
Featured image is one of my own!