Lose 5-pounds in 5-days!

Make $500 in just 5-minutes from the comfort of your couch.

Have a flatter stomach by Thursday.

Fix all your problems in 5-minutes!

It all sounds too good to be true…and it is.

But we buy into it. We all want the quick-fix.

Just the thought of getting more for less, doing more in less time, and losing more weight in less time… and of course, with no extra effort.

Logically, it makes no sense. You and I both know that you don’t get “something for nothing.”

But hope springs eternal.

So, did you just fall for some “click-bait”?… a gimmicky scheme that promises the solution for all your problems and pains?

Not really.

But you also know that there has to be some catch to the idea.

So let your inner skeptic loose, and let’s talk about how 5-minutes could fix you.

My last blog was about writing down your goals for 2019, and breaking them down into smaller sub-goals… LASER-focusing them.

How have you done with your New Year’s Resolution goals so far?

According to statistics, 34% of you have already fallen off the “cliff.” And by the “cliff,”, I mean you already:

• Can’t find the time
• Lack a track-able sub-goal
• Ignore why you started
• Fall into old patterns
• Forgot what your goal was

So how can you get the 5-Minute Fix to all your problems to work for you?

It’s not by making another promise to do what you set as your goals…that has already proven to not work for a third of you. And the rest of us? Half of us will fall off the cliff by Valentine’s Day. That’s a harsh reality.

So if writing down your resolutions has failed, and you haven’t been able to stay on task toward meeting your goals, here is the simple 5-Minute Fix.

1. Write a new sub-goal. It should be something like this (maybe verbatim). “I will do 5-minutes of work toward my goal.” Maybe it’s walk for 5-minutes, or do push-ups and squats, or do the exercises my physical therapist taught me. Maybe it’s pray for your day, or friends. Maybe it’s write for 5-minutes for that blog you wanted to start three years ago. You choose what activity will help you make the sub-goal attainable. My personal goal: Do 60 counter-top push-ups.
2. Attach your 5-minutes to something you already do regularly. I like the “If/When-Then” statements to help there. My recommendation…”When you brush your teeth, Then you do your 5-minutes of work on your goal.” Guess when I do my counter-top push-ups…
   
   
3. Start DOING IT. There is a difference between “knowing” and “doing.” You already “know” what needs to happen. But you probably have been having difficulty with the “doing.” Like Nike said in their most famous tagline…Just Do It. Get moving!
   
   
4. Track your “doing.” Make a mark on your calendar for each day/ time you get your 5-Minute Fix done. The power of seeing the calendar dates connecting that show your consistency will help you to see your progress. Even if you haven’t lost the 5-pounds in 5-days, written a NY Times Bestseller, or attained the body-builder’s physique, you can see your progress taking shape.

Okay, so this sounds like I just repackaged the last blog…but have I?

You can get a lot of work toward your goals done in 5-minutes.

However, I have sort of duped you. I said 5-Minute Fix…and if you’re like me, you brush your teeth twice a day. So…that means if you attach 5-minutes to something you do twice-a-day, you get 10-minutes work toward your goals.

You just doubled your effort toward your goals without adding much to your day! I do my counter-top push-ups every time I brush my teeth. Does this substitute for my other exercise, like walking or using a stair-climber, absolutely not! But it has enabled me to keep my right shoulder moving after having a rotator cuff problem that prevented me from being able to raise my right arm high enough to wash my hair.

And it doesn’t take me 5-minutes to do those push-ups. It is more like 80-seconds. It didn’t take much for me to improve a nasty shoulder problem. That simple focus of doing an exercise (an easy exercise at that, although at first I could only do 8-10 because of the right shoulder) has made a large difference in how I can manage a day. It has the added benefit of drilling in another healthy habit because it is done so frequently. It’s almost automatic that when I brush, I do some push-ups.

You can have the same results with working toward your goals. It doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does have to be done in order to make those goals a reality.

Try to implement the 5-Minute Fix… You are worth it!