Setting and keeping a New Year's resolution comes down to three things working together: a clear, written goal with a real why, the discipline to do the work, and an intelligent plan — because motivation and discipline alone will not get you there without the right plan to channel them.
On the last Physical Friday of the year I talk to a goal-oriented audience about how to actually reach the things you write down. You can have all the motivation and discipline in the world, but without a plan built for your specific goal, you are working hard adrift. Find a coach or a program and point your effort at the target.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Start by making time to sit with a journal and figure out what you actually want from the year — to lose weight, get in shape for an event, run your first marathon, complete a GoRuck selection, or get ready for an elk hunt. Write the goal down. Then attach a real why, a genuine reason you are chasing this particular thing, because a missing why is where many unsuccessful programs fall apart. Discipline and motivation matter, but a written goal with a why is the foundation everything else is built on.
Because no matter how disciplined or motivated you are, you still need a plan. I have seen highly motivated, disciplined people who are ready to do the work but are not doing the right work for their goal. A plan makes sure the effort you put in is the effort that actually moves you toward the target. Motivation and discipline are the engine; the plan is the map. Without it you can grind hard and still end up adrift, doing work that will not make you successful at whatever you set out to do.
First identify the goal and be honest about your time and how much work you are willing to put in, then find a plan that fits your life. For a marathon there are hundreds of plans — some heavy on running, some hybrid with weightlifting. For weight loss there are countless approaches; for the CrossFit Games there are many coaches and programs. I will not tell you which is best for you, and I would not dare. The point is to find a coach or a published plan so your discipline gets pointed in the right direction.
Right now I follow Matt Fraser's Hard Work Pays Off program for CrossFit — I get up, the workout is there, and I do not have to invent it. I have also used Comp Train Masters by Ben Bergeron and Rich Froning's Mayhem programs, all put together by some of the fittest people in history. A good program has built-in structure: a week that builds, then a deload week, repeating, with rest planned in. That lets me apply my work ethic and discipline to intelligent programming instead of staying up late making my own.
Because disciplined people are already going to do the work — the risk is doing the wrong work. Take GoRuck selection: if you only run and you are a great runner, then they strap a 45-pound backpack on you for forty-eight hours, it can crush you. You have to train specifically with a 45- or 60-pound ruck. When I prepared for it, I found a Military Athlete program built for that event, and the right training is what made the difference between success and failure. A plan ensures your effort matches the demands of your goal.
Organize your day, week, month, and year around the event you are training for, and let a plan lead you up to it. Write down the couple of things you want to accomplish next year, figure out how you will get there, and develop a plan — build it yourself, hire a coach, or use a prepublished program. Then do the work. The audience I am talking to is already hardworking, disciplined, and motivated, so the missing piece is usually the intelligent structure that channels all of that toward the goal.
New Year's is an exciting time when it comes to physical things — a lot of you are goal-oriented people with things you genuinely want to do, and you can absolutely do them if you navigate your goals correctly. I wanted to close the year by getting ahead of the most common failure point I see: plenty of motivation and discipline, no plan. I walk through how I have done this for my own events in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here is the process I lay out for reaching your goals this year. I share the stories behind each step in the episode.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
GoRuck selection taught me this the hard way. If you only run, then they put a 45-pound pack on you and expect you to carry it for forty-eight hours, it can crush you no matter how good a runner you are. I found a Military Athlete program built specifically for selection, and training with the ruck is what let my work ethic actually pay off. The lesson is that the right plan beats raw effort pointed in the wrong direction. I tell the full story in the episode, so press play in the player above.
For years I made my own workouts, and there is nothing wrong with that — but I decided I would rather wake up and have the work already laid out by someone who knows what they are doing. Following Matt Fraser's program means I do not waste willpower deciding; I just execute, even when it is cold, wet, and early. A well-built program with deload weeks and planned rest makes consistency far easier. I get into why that switch helped me in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Next year you are going to be at your best — so write down the couple of things you want to do, figure out how you will get there, and put a real plan behind your discipline.
If you want an accountability partner, text me your goals and I will keep them to myself — and tell me who you want to hear from this year. Press play in the player above.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
New Year's resolution · goal setting · training plan · discipline · motivation · Matt Fraser · Hard Work Pays Off · Ben Bergeron · Comp Train · Rich Froning · Mayhem · GoRuck selection · Military Athlete · marathon · elk hunt · Physical Friday · Tom Rowland Podcast
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong enough to do the things they love — hunting, fishing, hiking, and more — for life.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.