Whether you are trying to learn something new or trying to make positive changes in your life, things don’t happen overnight. Things don’t even happen in a short amount of time. Most things require time, commitment, and practice. It takes baby steps.
Everyone is always looking for the magic bullet or shortcut to getting what we want. As a dietitian, people frequently ask me, “What’s the best diet to help me lose weight quickly?” As an instructor teaching handstands and inversions, people often want to skip a few steps and go straight to trying handstands without first learning the fundamentals. Sure, there are some drastic diets people could follow to make them lose 20 pounds in a month, but I can pretty much guarantee that they would regain that weight and probably more on top of it. And sure, I could try to teach an absolute beginner how to do a handstand without first developing some core strength, upper body strength, or coordination with being upside-down, but they would likely get injured or learn bad habits that are really difficult to undo later on.
Research has shown that new skills and new behaviors are best established and maintained when people set small, achievable short-term goals instead of lofty, less-than-reasonable goals for themselves. Creating motivation for yourself is a huge factor in making continued progress in whatever your long-term goal is, and you are more likely to stay on track when you feel accomplished in the smaller milestones along the way.
One acronym that dietitians, personal trainers, health coaches, etc. use frequently to assis their clients in achieving their long-term goals is to set short-term goals that are SMART: that is “Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely”. In other words, goals should be:
- as SPECIFIC as possible instead of vague
- something that you can MEASURE or quantify
- something that you actually can ACHIEVE
- something that is REALISTIC given your current situation/resources
- and be set with a finite but realistic deadline for you to reach this short-term goal
So, with making changes to your diet, for example, rather than saying “I’m going to cut out all desserts and eat healthier!” a better, more SMART-oriented goal would be: “By the end of next week, I will substitue a piece of fruit instead of my usual cookie for dessert for five out of the seven days.”
Or with adhering to a new exercise regimen, rather than saying “I’m going to go to the gym more often!” a better SMART goal would be: “For the next two weeks, I will go to the gym four times a week.”
Or with trying to learn a handstand when you’ve only ever tried (unsuccessfully) a headstand a couple of times in your life, instead of saying, “I’m going to learn a handstand by myself in one week!” a more realistic SMART goal would be, “For the next week, I am going to focus on trying to get into a headstand by myself and without kicking!”
As in the photo above, I encourage my students to learn headstands using this progression with the knees on the elbows first – first being able to balance in this position, and then SLOWLY lifting the hips and legs from here to a fully extended headstand. (And then learning to do this same controlled lift without the pole or the wall.)
Most people trying to do headstands try to get into it by kicking to get themselves vertical upside-down, and then hope that they don’t kick too hard and fall over onto their backs. Yes, this is one way to do it, but it does not teach you how to use your core muscles to control the hips and legs, and it also does not teach you how to find balance. But if you are able to master the knees-on-elbows version of the headstand first, I guarantee that being able to balance in a headstand without the help of a pole or wall is going to be SO MUCH EASIER.
Try it!