Reach Your Fitness Goals Faster
Jun 09, 2023Where are my high-achievers at?!
How often do you find yourself thinking about how much more productive you might be if you weren't such a perfectionist?
Or what more you could do if you didn't get sucked into other tasks, procrastinating until you literally can't anymore?
(And don't try to fool me with the "I operate best under pressure" crap.)
Perfectionism and procrastination are two sides of the same coin.
On the one hand, perfectionism can make you feel like you have to get everything just right, leading you to spend an excessive amount of time on even the smallest tasks.
On the other hand, procrastination can cause you to put off important tasks until the last minute, leading to stress and anxiety.
Whether you find yourself getting tripped up in perfectionism or procrastination, it often ties back to the same underlying issue: a fixed mindset.
A Fixed Mindset and Your Goals
A fixed mindset is the belief that your abilities and traits are fixed and cannot be changed.
Your fixed mindset can make you feel like you have to prove yourself constantly and that any mistakes you make are a reflection of your inherent flaws. This fixed mindset can lead to a fear of failure and a reluctance to take risks.
No one is exempt from this struggle, but high-achievers are most susceptible.
High achievers have often been praised for their natural abilities and achievements, which can reinforce the idea that their success is due to their innate talent rather than their effort.
You're likely procrastinating because of your perfectionism. If you’re a high-achiever, you may be reluctant to take on challenges that might expose your weaknesses.
It's easier not to try and not put too much effort forth than it is to face the possibility of failure or inadequacy.
This sneaky "failure avoidance" reflex will, at the least, keep you from feeling your best (cue anxiety and stress), but at worst, keep you from living to your full potential.
But what does this have to do with a fixed mindset?
If you find yourself caught up in perfectionism and procrastinating, I hate to break it to you — but that's a sign of a fixed mindset.
Instead of doing everything you can to do your best and accepting failure as a potential outcome, you try to avoid it at all costs because of what failure might mean about you as a person.
Ouch.
This is the opposite of a growth mindset.
Adopt a Growth Mindset
To overcome the pitfalls of a fixed mindset and avoid falling into the trap of perfectionism and procrastination, high-achievers like you need to adopt a growth mindset.
A growth mindset is the belief that your abilities and traits can be developed through hard work and dedication. It can help you embrace challenges, learn from your mistakes, and, ultimately, achieve more.
A growth mindset is our specialty here at KJO Coaching.
If you have a growth mindset, you might welcome failure because it will provide you with the information you need to adjust, learn, and improve for the future.
This is just one of the many indirect ways having a growth mindset will help you be more successful.
Think about it.
What are you keeping yourself from doing because you're worried you won't be good enough?
What opportunities are you missing because you can't fathom failure?
How are you holding yourself back from feeling and BEING your best?
If this resonates with you, we want to help you work through it.
How to Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Here are some strategies that you can use to develop a growth mindset and overcome perfectionism and procrastination.
Note: it’s not easy to go from fixed to growth. This might take specific strategies for your personal situation. At KJO Coaching, we help clients change their minds, bodies, and lives with these kinds of strategies!
1 Embrace Failure
You likely fear failure because you feel like it reflects poorly on your abilities. However, failure is an inevitable part of learning.
By reframing failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, you can become more resilient and less afraid of taking risks.
Think about it this way, if you were to try to hit a new PR on your back squat and you couldn’t get back up, you wouldn’t put the barbell away forever and never try again.
You would slightly reduce your weight and keep working until you could hit that PR.
2 Enjoy the Growth Journey
You need to focus on the process, not just the outcome.
High-achievers often get so focused on achieving their goals that they forget to enjoy the journey.
By focusing on the process of learning and growing, rather than just the end result, you can find more meaning and satisfaction in everything you do.
3 Set Moderately Challenging Goals
Chances are you often set lofty goals for yourself, which can be overwhelming and lead to procrastination.
Say you want to run a marathon, but you’ve never run more than a few miles at a time. You won’t set a goal to run a marathon a month from now; you’ll give yourself plenty of time to work up to the 26.2 miles.
You’ll likely enter other races, such as 5 and 10 Km runs, and even a half marathon before you attempt the full marathon.
This goes for any goal. You don’t want to set goals that are too easy (you’ll get bored) but you also don’t want to shoot for something that seems nearly impossible (you’ll give up). Setting moderately challenging goals is best!
Ready to Ditch the Procrastination?
At KJO Coaching, we specifically work with high-achieving, busy women on nutrition, fitness, mindset, and so much more.
We work with women like you because we are women like you.
We know what it’s like to juggle working full-time, raising a family, going to school, and a hundred other responsibilities.
We also know how important it is to make time to care for ourselves and our health because that impacts how we show up in every aspect of our lives.
Click here if you struggle with perfectionism and procrastination and want the guidance of a fitness coach to help you embrace a growth mindset and learn how our incredible coaches can help you overcome these roadblocks in your health and fitness journey.
You can also get started with our FREE self-sabotage workshop series, which will help you discover the why behind the barriers that are getting in the way of achieving your goals.
Access the free workshop here.
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