C.A.A.R. or Car, the vehicle used to get you from point A to point B formula.
Clarity + Action + Activity = Results Formula
Between running multiple businesses, new born, another baby on the way, team management, accounting, fitness and all the relationships I had to keep up with I was beginning to feel the toll of busy-ness. I had no idea what I was doing, banging my head against the wall of course was not an option although time to time I considered doing so. With enough pressure I had always notices my mind would always find a way to get things figured out. This busy phase of my life took a bit longer than I wanted but once I got clear things got allot easier. Just winging things weren’t working as well as they did before as I had too much to “wing” and with too many moving parts all falls apart. After being clear I came up with this formula and I combined it towards my 4-F formula which is Family-Fitness-Friendship-Financial.
Below I will use the Fitness example and it will be more clear of how the CAAR formula worked towards the 4-F individually towards a common goal of my well being.
This was my way not to let the million things in my head get in the way of what I was looking to accomplish and focus on, with enough practice I could apply this formula to just about anything.
Clarity- Are you clear of the measured step that needs to be executed on daily basis that will lead towards the goal? This is the process of having clarity and understanding. Let’s use exercising as an example. I want to look better, well what does look better mean? Let’s say we put a number to that, which is losing 10 lbs. You need to try to see how this works for you, if you jog or walk 2 miles per day, 5 days in a row and track your results and if you lost 1 lb then you know for every 10 miles you lose about 1 lb while keeping same diet. This is a rough number I’m using which can be different for anyone, generally the heavier you are the more you will lose front the exercise as the number is a smaller percentage of your body mass index. With knowing the measurable number comes a clear picture of exactly what needs to be done, what the required change measure is to achieve the goal. This leads to the next crucial step of the formula.
Action- This is the most important step to any plan or goal and I will try to explain it as simple as possible but it will also be the longest explanation out of the 4 step formula. You start and repeat the process over and over. Since you lost 1 lb from 10 miles, you now jog 2 miles per day for 10 days, that’s 20 miles and 2 lbs, then you are on track to lose 3 lbs on average of every month. In about 3 months you will achieve your goal of 10 lb weight loss if you do nothing else than the same thing over and over assuming no additional exercise or diet change. Sounds easy but unfortunately it began with the hardest obstacle ever called, change. Imagine how this number can be influenced if at the same time you incorporate a good diet program, the results can double. It’s very common not to achieve any realistic goals when there are too many goals or too difficult of a task. It’s always easier to start off small, with 2 or three daily goals. I have seen countless people get on ridiculous workout programs which exhausted their body with shock of discomfort and pain which discouraged the person to feel any stability or long term perspective about this new uncomfortable change. Or the person starts a hardcore diet right away and the body has hard time adjusting to the dramatic change and breaks down under intense pressure. It’s always best to start gradually, in my case when we had our first child David I had gained 25 LBS during the first year. My body broke under the pressure, I went form 8 hours of sleep on average per night to 4 if I was lucky, no more evening workouts, no more coming home to relax. The change was drastic, sudden, uncomfortable and my body fought back. My body was so stressed out that my mind was misinterpreting the signals my body was sending. It thought I was always getting ready to make a sprint as I was as stressed on daily basis as I would be if I was being chased by a tiger, therefore it stored all the fat, toxins and vitamins while shutting down my metabolism which had many adverse effects only body. Naturally my body would hang on to all possible energy generators due to stress as it thought I was always getting ready to run for my life which was never the case. I confused this feeling as pressure and as other motivated individuals I assumed this is the pressure that will bring out the best in me so I went with it. Most new parental, new business venture or other intense pressure related scenarios can have similar effects on the body and mind. The way I got back in shape all started with clarity of the needed change as doing the same thing over and over was insane, I would have been obese by now. I would wake up and run 2 miles each morning before I went to work, the above numbers are not made up they are my numbers. Later with a better diet program where I would fight off my biggest craving which was sweets I stayed away from any possible sugar 6 days per week and every night I would not eat past 9PM as I always had cravings late at night. It all started with 2 miles per day 6 days per week. Rest on seventh day and that was my cheat day to have any one desert I wanted. Then I incorporated not eating after 9 consistently, then I started training longer and the 25 LBS was gone in 5 months in a very healthy way and it never came back. This didn’t only improve my health and new weight but it positively influenced my discipline to make similar tweaks to business and my relationships. The habit coming from this process is so much more important than the 25 lbs I lost as the positive mental tweak and adaptability to change followed me everywhere.
Activity- you repeat the action plan as this is your activity plan, you don’t stop as you know you need to run 10 miles per week to lose 1 LB. You do this for 10 weeks and get back on the scale. The program doesn’t have to be built around running, it can be elliptical, stairs, walking, jumping jacks etc. just as the saying “you can skin a cat in many ways” there are many approaches to getting healthier bodies, relationships and careers.
Results- you are 10, 20, or 30 LBS lighter, or you got to become more efficient at work so you now get allot more done or you have more time left at the end of each project, whatever the initial goal was what matters most is that you’re there. Don’t forget, this was a short goal, set more as you go but always have clarity before action, action before activity and activity before results.
This can be used towards improving your health, relationship, career, faith etc. as we discussed discipline and regimen earlier, it applies towards CAAR in every way. You can read that as Car, memorize it as it’s the vehicle used to get from start to finish of any goal.