Adventurer Alison Levine’s 5 Tips to Achieve Your Goals
The time is upon us.
Time to reflect on our successes and failures of the year, and begin making plans for the future. Time to set new goals and reevaluate old ones.
It’s an exciting time with endless possibilities.
Still, despite all the end of year enthusiasm, these aspirations are easier said than accomplished. As soon as a major hurdle appears, many people quickly lose the drive that once guided their good intentions.
But your dreams don’t have to succumb to detours. There are certain things you can do to give this year’s efforts a better chance at success. Today I’m looking to Alison Levine, author of book On the Edge: The Art of High-Impact Leadership, for advice on making your resolutions stick.
To say Alison is a successful goal-setter is a monumental understatement. The history-making mountaineer, polar explorer and best-selling author sets goals most people have never dreamed of, and against all odds, achieves one after another.
Alison is one of the only women to complete the “Adventure Grand Slam,” climbing the highest peak on each continent and skiing to both Poles. She was also the Team Captain of the First Women’s Everest Expedition.
Drawing on her experiences conquering treacherous terrain, Alison is sharing her 5 tips to help us overcome physical and internal battles and achieve our goals in the upcoming year.
5 Tips to Achieving Your Goals
- Find your voice.
“Dig down deep and find your determination and willpower – that voice in your head that says, “Alison, get your sh*t together now—get your head and your body back in the game. Just…keep…going.”
- Push past pain and discomfort.
“My experiences in the mountains have taught me that when I get to the point where I feel like I cannot take one more step, that I am going to have to continue to push through the pain and discomfort. Resilience can often get you up a mountain when your strength is failing.”
- Focus on the journey.
“Focus on the enjoyment of the journey up the mountain rather than focusing on the summit.”
- Remain flexible.
“Remember that just as there is always more than one route to the top of a mountain, there is more than one way to accomplish a goal. Sometimes you may have to move in a different direction vs the path you initially started out on. Don’t let that bother you.”
- Be able to change.
“I know this advice is going to sound very contrarian to mainstream thinking about goal-setting, but my advice is to be able to change your goals as other aspects of your life change. You have to be able to take action based on what’s going on around you at the time, rather than taking action based on your original plan. Because at the rate life changes these days, whatever plan you came up with last year, last month, last week (or whenever) is going to be outdated as soon as it’s finished. So I say forget about being hell-bent on sticking to your plans, and focus on what’s realistic based on your environment at the time.”
Alison’s goal this year is to return to the 16,000 foot Rwenzori Mountains in Western Uganda. She runs a nonprofit organization there that trains jobless women to work as porters and trekking guides in the mountains, so that they can earn a sustainable living wage. If you’re interested in joining the trip this March, you can find more info here >>
And for inspiration all year long, follow Alison Levine on Twitter.
I’ll be keeping Alison’s advice in mind as I work toward my own goals this year, and I wish you luck doing the same!
Photo Credits: Claude Shade; Harry Kikstra
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says:
Hi Whitney! Thanks for introducing me to Alison. Sounds like she is one powerful woman. In 2015, I want to continue to be active, but also work on learning some new skills. While I teach group fitness classes and do a lot of working out, I’d love to branch out a bit to a different physical activity. Dancing? Biking? Who knows what I’ll set my mind to. :)
Whitney English says:
That’s awesome Ashley! Dancing for exercise is such a blast. Trying a new dance-fitness class in my area is definitely one of my goals for 2015 too!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner says:
Those are great goals. I am still working on mine. Stay tuned!
Whitney English says:
Yeah, Alison is pretty impressive right?! Looking forward to hearing what you’ve got in store for 2015! xo
Dale Janee says:
Such a great interview and tips especially pushing past that point when you think you can’t go any further. :) Thanks for sharing and I have some ideas for my goals next year including business and blogging, but I need to actually sit down and decide what I really want to try and accomplish.
Hope you’re having a great trip!!
xoDale
Whitney English says:
Thanks Dale! Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday as well. Good luck with the goal-setting! xo
Grig Woods says:
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