Hope is not a strategy
- 16 hours ago
- 2 min read
Recently someone asked me my age. I told them. They went on to say, ‘I really hope I’m in good shape when I’m your age’.
I took it as a compliment. It might have been a critique. 😂
My immediate reaction though was to point out that hope is not a strategy that should be relied on for anything important in life. This person is a senior leader who would never dream of relying on hope to achieve success at work.
In their professional life they spend time setting the agenda and devising strategies and systems to take control of future outcomes as much as is realistically possible.
The same process can be applied to future health, performance and happiness outcomes.
It’s simple, it takes very little time or effort and not only does it massively increase the chances of you ending up with the results you want in the long term, it also increases your enjoyment of each day, starting today.
1️⃣ Pick a time frame to work with. It could be a year from now, 5 years, 10 years or 20.
2️⃣ Visualise what you want to look like / feel like at your chosen future moment.
3️⃣ Design a system that will produce the results you want, when you want them
Chances are that your systems will get modified over time based on what’s happening at various stages of your life, but your desire to look and feel at your best will likely not change.
Keeping these desires in clear line of sight will guarantee that you MODIFY your behaviours as time goes by, particularly during challenging periods of your life, rather than parking positive habits when things get tough with the hope that you’ll get back to them at some point when things are calmer.
Some people like quite detailed systems with checklists of things they should do and shouldn’t do each day or week, or should do more of or less of each month.
A simple checklist could be:
✅ Stay hydrated
✅ Get outside every day
✅ Average 2-3 workouts a week
✅ Avoid long gaps between meals / snacks
✅ Prioritise sleep and recovery whenever possible
Others have very simple, top line systems that will drive all other behaviours and decisions.
An example of a top-line system is to look in the mirror each day and answer honestly:
👉🏻 Are you happy with how you look and feel?
👉🏻 Do you want to live like this forever?
👉🏻 Is this how you want to present to the world?
✅ If yes, continue as you are.
❌ If not, make a change, starting with something small but immediately actionable.
Anyone can HOPE for a result in the future.
Not everyone is prepared to take the ACTION necessary to guarantee the same result.
Identify the SYSTEMS that will support your chosen outcomes, and immediately replace hope with control.
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