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Summary
On episode 622 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan opens his six part series on building the best you with part one, dreams and aspirations. Instead of a New Year’s resolution, he wants you to separate what you want (the dream) from what you’ll actually have to change to get there (the aspiration).
Using his neighbors’ years-long process of turning a vacant lot into a bar and restaurant as an analogy, Allan explains why most resolutions fail: people stop at the dream and never define the aspiration behind it.
He challenges listeners to write down a specific, ambitious dream and the changes they’re willing to make to reach it, as the starting point for the rest of the series.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- Separate the dream from the aspiration. Allan defines the dream as what you want, the end goal, and the aspiration as the specific changes you know you’ll have to make to get there. Most people only ever articulate the dream.
- Most resolutions fail because people stop at the dream. Wanting something isn’t the same as committing to the behavior change required to reach it, and that gap is where most New Year’s resolutions die.
- Dreams almost never come true exactly as imagined, but the aspiration behind them still moves you forward. Allan never became a pro football player or an astronaut, but the work he put toward those dreams shaped who he became anyway.
- Dream big and be specific. Don’t settle for a vague “I want to lose some weight.” Define exactly what the outcome looks and feels like, down to the clothes size or the activities you want to be doing again.
- Write the dream and the aspiration down. Allan’s neighbor talked about his building project for years before any real progress happened. Writing it down and committing to next steps is what moves it from talk to action.
- Big goals require big aspirations, but aspirations alone aren’t a plan. Allan is upfront that dreaming and aspiring aren’t enough on their own, and that the rest of the series will build out the actual steps.
- Vague goals don’t drive behavior; specific pictures of the outcome do. Knowing you want to “be healthier” won’t change what you do today. Knowing you want to wear your old high school clothes size might.
“Dreams are your why. Aspirations are what you’re going to have to do to get there.”
Coach Allan
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 623 – Building the best you – part 2 of 6
Episode Notes
Podcast: 40+ Fitness
Episode: 622
Published: 2023-12-26
Host: Allan Misner (aka Coach Allan), author of The Wellness Roadmap
Guest(s): —, our co-host, Coach Rachel
Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube (audio only)