Keep Your Goals Alive

(Even When Life Goes Bananas)

Adapted from James Clear's article: How to Plan for Chaos

Ever feel like life is playing whack-a-mole with your goals? One minute you're crushing it at the gym, and the next minute your cat's stuck in a tree, your WiFi's dead, and somehow your car has turned into a pumpkin. We've all been there!

The "Train for Chaos" Philosophy

This wisdom comes from a college baseball player's response to teammates complaining about tough training: "Train for chaos." In other words, stop whining about circumstances and start preparing for them. (Spoiler alert: Life rarely goes as planned!)

The Secret Sauce: Reduce but Don't Quit

When chaos hits, don't abandon ship – just grab a smaller paddle. Example: If you can't do your full one-hour workout, do 10 minutes of jumping jacks in your pajamas. Hey, it counts!

The Magic "If-Then" Strategy

Think of it as your chaos emergency kit. Fill in this blank: "If [chaos strikes], then [here's my backup plan]"

For example:

If my morning meeting runs late, then I'll take the stairs all day
If Netflix auto-plays another episode, then I'll do push-ups during the intro
If aliens invade during my meditation time, then I'll meditate while running from them

Pro Tips for Keeping Goals Alive

Plan B is Your Friend: Always have a backup plan (and maybe a backup for your backup)
Something > Nothing: Doing a tiny bit is infinitely better than doing zero
Roll with the Punches: Flexibility is your superpower

The Bottom Line

Life's going to throw curveballs at you – that's just how it works. But with a bit of planning and flexibility, your goals don't have to get knocked out of the park. Remember: Even a small step forward is still moving in the right direction!

P.S. If all else fails, remember that even Superman had bad days. He probably missed a few workouts while saving the world, and that turned out okay.