Bonus July Goal

I know we’re already a third of the way through July, but I’m adding an extra goal this month: FUN.

Things were getting a bit too serious.

I could feel myself starting to stress out and then I was like WAIT A MINUTE. Goals are just for fun!

So fun is my highest priority this month.

How do you inject extra fun into your goals?

I Joined a Gym (Again)

Today, I joined a gym (again).

On March 1st, 2020, I joined a gym in Brighton, UK. We all know what happened in March 2020 (if you’re reading this like, waaaay in the future and have forgotten – the COVID-19 Pandemic hit enough of the world for a global lockdown). So the gym closed (although, more to the point, I moved back to New Zealand a few days before lockdown).

But something else happened around then. I developed what I thought was chronic shoulder and back injury, but turned out to be something called TMS, which is SO curable. You can read all about my journey here.

I’ve never felt so blessed to have the movement of my body.

I did a 40-minute spin class today that 3 months ago would have had me on the floor in terrible pain 10 minutes in. I completed it without any issue AND did an aerobics class an hour later.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you might know that each week, I rate myself on eight different areas of my life and then work on how to improve each area. Health & Fitness has been a solid 8/10 since I healed my chronic pain, and now I want to push it to a 10. I’ve always resisted going to the gym because I never really know what to do, but recently I found a gym with some fun classes (and it’s only a 7-minute walk from my house, which helps a lot!).

I’ve already found a gym buddy on my first day, and I’ve got high hopes.

Of course, the classic issue with the gym is that most people don’t go as much as they say they want to.

We all think “this year will be different.” But don’t actually change anything to ensure that it is.

So I’m taking on the identity of someone who goes to the gym.

Someone who LOVES to exercise.

It’s who I AM now.

Future Self Exercise

Think about your future self.

Who do you need to be TODAY for that version of you to come alive TOMORROW?

What do you need to do in your 20s to have the life you want in your 30s?

Action Is A Skill

You’ve got a BIG goal. You know what you want. 

But you haven’t taken the action to get it… yet.

So many of you have told me that fear, anxiety and lack of motivation hold you back from taking consistent action towards your goals.

I hear you so deeply because THIS WAS ME.

My own brain used to always be in the way of me getting what I wanted.

I was the queen of having two super motivated days and then falling off the wagon again.

Until I learned the skill of taking action and started hitting my goals every time.

(And I say skill, because taking consistent action really is a skill, and I can teach it to you.)

I’m holding a How To Take ACTION Masterclass this weekend on Zoom.

You don’t want to miss it.

Email me at sarah@saraharnoldhall.com if you want in.

Keep Going

When you know DEEP inside that you’re meant for something HUGE, it’s the most frustrating thing to look around and see your life not where you want it to be.

When your goals are still just goals.

When you feel like you’ve been at it literally forever.

When you’ve told your entire extended family about your dream and they kinda doubt you and you want to prove them wrong and you’re STILL not there.

It’s exhausting.

I used to be there, in 2018/2019, before my business took off.

But that’s why I’m qualified to tell you that it’s worth it to keep going.

When you’re not there yet, it doesn’t mean you won’t ever get there, I promise.

No matter what your goal is, if you’ve started, you’re in the middle of achieving it.

You’re in the middle of being a full time entrepreneur.

You’re in the middle of writing a best selling book.

You’re in the middle of becoming a world-touring speaker.

You’re in the middle of becoming the healthiest version of you.

You’re not lost, you’re not stuck. 

You’re just in the middle.

The only ones who make it are the ones who keep going.

Keep going. It’s so worth it.

My Style

I’m a go go go, push your limits, do whatever it takes, go all in, hustle-coz-you-love-it kinda girl.

But that’s not the only way to go after your goals.

Some of my closest friends and mentors are much more "Go with the flow, let it be, breathe into it” kinda people.

There is no right way to achieve your goals.

There is only the way that resonates with you.

I publicly share my ideas and philosophies on the internet because it might be the vibe that helps you.

But if it doesn’t, I totally invite you to ignore everything I say and go and crush your goals anyway.

If your way works better for you, DEFINITELY do that.

We can have different views and still all crush our goals.

Certainty When There's Zero Evidence

I have zero evidence that I will hit my July Goals, but I'm still certain I will.

We don’t need evidence from the past to know what we're capable of in the future.

We just need the simple decision that we're willing to do whatever it takes to make our goals happen.

When you know you'll never give up – you already know the outcome.

Sprint + Rest

It might sound counter-intuitive, but the most effective way to hit an impossible goal isn’t to view it like a marathon.

It’s much better to view it as a series of short sprints and rests.

Sprinters don’t experience burnout the way marathoners do.

Sprinters don’t need days and days to recover the way marathoners do.

Sprinters don’t struggle with focus, the way marathoners do.

It’s particularly important with impossible goals because they might be lengthy and could take weeks, months or years to achieve.

Sprinters run FAST.

Marathoners run HARD.

So if you’ve been hard on yourself recently for not being as focused or productive as you’d like to be – it might be because you’re treating your goals like a marathon.

Instead try this: Sprint, then rest.

Here’s what that could look like in action:

• 25 minutes of work, followed by a 5 minute break (the pomodoro technique). Repeat.

• A 7 day mindset journaling challenge.

• 4 coaching calls with an hour break in between each (rather than 4 back-to-back calls with the rest of the day off).

• Giving 100% effort to a task for a quarter of the time.

How could you break your impossible goal down into sprints and rests?

100% of 30%

I felt myself running out of energy this evening.

But then I remembered the most helpful rule about energy: Even if you’ve only got 30% to give, give 100% of that 30%.

So instead of opting out entirely, I'm here, giving 100% of my 30%.

Some helpful thoughts I had this evening:

“Okay, I don’t have the capacity to go crazy with it right now. What could I do to move closer to my July goals anyway?”

And I found small, impactful ways to move forward, by reposting something I had written a while ago.

So the moral of the story is: Give it everything you’ve got, no matter how much you’ve got.

What if we showed up like every day was the last day?

What if we showed up for our July Goals like every day was the last day of July?

That’s 31 opportunities to make bold, gutsy, last-minute moves.

31 chances to try our crazy “it’s-a-long-shot-but-it-might-just-work” plans.

31 openings to sprint through airport security for a first kiss, or make a risky phone call, or ask a favour from a friend’s sister’s old roommate.

Because if it doesn’t work, all hope is not lost.

We’ve got time on our side. We can try a long shot again tomorrow.

But only if we act like it’s the final moment before it really is the final moment.

It crossed my mind today: what if July 2021 has already happened – and we didn’t hit our goals – and the time lords are gifting us a do-over?

That means every morning this month it’s our job to wake up and decide “Today is the day.”

And then take ridiculous, wild action that only a main character in a romcom would be fearless enough to try.

We’ve been given 31 last chances to hit our July goals.

LFG.