You Can't Set Goals Without Awareness (2451)

You cannot improve what you do not understand. In today’s episode, Kevin and Alan talk about why goals fail when awareness is missing. Kevin shares his struggle with a body fat percentage challenge and the uncertainty of tracking something new. Alan connects it to measurement, trajectory, percent error, and setting targets that actually make sense. With thousands of episodes, coaching experience, and client patterns behind them, they show why clear goals need more than motivation. They need context, feedback, and honest data. Press play before your next goal becomes another confident guess.

_______________________

Book Alan’s Business Breakthrough Session. Your first 30-minute coaching call is FREE. Learn how to prioritize success and let your quality of life become the byproduct. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Join the "Next Level Fitness Accountability Group" – Reach out to Kevin or Alan on Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

_______________________

Show notes:
(1:20) Why unclear goals fail early
(3:24) Accuracy matters less than trajectory
(7:27) When a measurable goal feels empty
(8:33) Building goals through experimentation
(11:50) Why big goals need real context
(15:08) When you are disconnected from the target
(17:27) Outro

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) I'm freaking out because we are doing a body fat percentage challenge and I've never done a body fat percentage challenge and I don't know what my goal should be, understanding if I'm actually making progress towards the goal since I don't have one, what is good, what is bad, off pace, on pace. (0:18) I've never done this before and if you're out there and you're setting a goal for the first time you might feel very similar with what you are doing.

Alan Lazaros

(0:25) How do you set a clear specific measurable goal when you don't have enough awareness to actually set the goal in the first place.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:36) Welcome to Next Level University. (0:39) I'm your host Kevin Palmieri and I'm your co-host Alan Lazaros. (0:44) At NLU we believe in a heart-driven but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:50) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:57) We bring you a new episode every single day on topics like confidence, self-belief, self-worth, self-awareness, relationships, boundaries, consistency, habits, and defining your own unique version of success.

Alan Lazaros

(1:13) Self-improvement in your pocket every day from anywhere completely free. (1:19) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:25) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2451. (1:29) You Can't Set Goals Without Awareness. (1:32) I know it probably seems obvious.(1:36) It's dark as shit in here. (1:37) Yeah, thank you. (1:38) Jesus.(1:39) Did you turn off your light? (1:40) So the the light over me is very yellow. (1:43) It's very like it's just not a pretty light but I'm wearing all black.(1:46) It's a whole thing. (1:47) All right. (1:47) Let's get to the point.(1:49) Okay. (1:51) Let's get to the point. (1:52) I flex for those listening.(1:53) I'm not pooping. (1:54) I'm in a weird place today. (1:56) You know what I mean?(1:57) I'm in a very strange place. (1:58) I don't think anyone thought you were pooping. (2:00) Somebody did.(2:02) One of you out there, you were like, yep. (2:04) I know what that sound is. (2:05) All right.(2:06) I'm freaking out because I've never tracked body fat percentage. (2:12) I don't care about it. (2:14) What do you mean you don't care about it?(2:16) I'm gonna fuck you up with the truth. (2:18) Brother, as somebody who is 5 foot 5, 178 pounds, all the things that people measure are way off for me. (2:31) My body fat percentage is like my scale is not accurate.(2:38) It just sees 5 foot 5, 178 pounds. (2:41) It doesn't know that I'm above average muscularity. (2:46) It doesn't know that.

Alan Lazaros

(2:46) You didn't buy one that has an app with a profile? (2:49) Yeah, but it's dumb. (2:50) Why is it dumb?(2:52) I'm not saying it's accurate. (2:54) It's definitely not accurate.

Kevin Palmieri

(2:54) Yes, I exercise six times a week. (2:56) And yes, I am above. (2:58) Yes, I am above average muscle mass, but like, you know, your age, what it needs to know is your age, your height, your weight, male or female activity levels.

Alan Lazaros

(3:12) And the algorithm calculates what it believes your body comp is. (3:15) And then the algorithms that shoot electric signals through your body, they vibrate differently for muscle mass, bone mass, and fat mass. (3:26) And then they track with the algorithm, the amount of milliseconds that it takes to it's probably microseconds, not milliseconds.(3:32) But the point is, is all that information is supposed to be in an algorithm, an equation that calculates within a certain percent error, your body fat percentage. (3:41) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:41) But it said like right now I'm in unacceptable body fat percentage. (3:44) What? (3:45) Oh, no, sorry.(3:46) Acceptable.

Alan Lazaros

(3:47) Yeah. (3:48) Not a chance. (3:49) It's unacceptable.(3:51) But it's 17.4% is pretty good for a 36 year old man.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:57) It says my BMI is 29.9. Yeah. (4:01) BMI is stupid. (4:02) I know, but I think body fat percentage is two, unless you're getting it measured like very effectively because we can say the same thing.(4:09) Okay. (4:10) Your BMI is 29.9. All we're doing is trying to get a measurement of it trending in the right direction. (4:14) It doesn't matter if it's accurate or not.(4:15) When you start, you know what I mean?

Alan Lazaros

(4:21) Body fat percentage. (4:26) Okay. (4:27) Real quick.(4:29) All right. (4:31) 50 trillion cells. (4:33) Okay.(4:35) Brain cells, muscle cells, heart cells, lung cells, skin cells. (4:42) Right. (4:43) We keep going.(4:43) So you have, and then you have water mass and that what is relevant? (4:52) You want, okay. (4:53) So what's the whole point of body fat percentage anyway?(4:55) It's supposed to be. (4:57) All right. (4:58) Let's break this all the way down to longevity, longevity, living as long as possible.(5:03) Okay. (5:03) In order to do that, there's the big four. (5:05) What is it?(5:06) Heart disease, diabetes. (5:08) There's there's the big four is what it's called. (5:10) I, the, the number one cause of death in wealthier nations, heart cardiovascular disease is number one, right?(5:21) In young people, it's suicide. (5:22) That's a whole nother thing, but that's because young people don't get heart disease typically. (5:26) So let's break this down even further.(5:31) One of the reasons why body fat percentage matters is because if you get too much subcutaneous fat, you are overstressing your organs. (5:41) And if you overstress your organs for too long, your central nervous system is in overdrive too often. (5:49) And you basically might die younger than you should.(5:54) Right. (5:54) So, so why does body fat percentage matter? (5:57) It matters because, and then there's a range, everything's arranged.(6:01) Like you don't want to have no body fat. (6:04) That's terrible. (6:06) Okay.(6:06) You also don't want to have 40%. (6:08) That's also not good. (6:09) So why do you think it's dumb to measure?

Kevin Palmieri

(6:14) I don't think it's dumb. (6:15) I'm just saying, it's not about accuracy. (6:19) It's about trajectory always with everything though.(6:22) But like, I can go tell you exactly how much money I have in the bank. (6:25) That's exactly how much money I have in the bank. (6:26) It's not like it's from here to here, you know, you know what I mean?(6:31) The speedometer, you're going 67. (6:33) You're not, it's not between 50 and 75. (6:35) It's like somewhere between 50 and 75.

Alan Lazaros

(6:37) Speedometers are actually accurate. (6:39) You might actually be going 67.1, but. (6:41) Mine's two miles an hour slow.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:44) Perfect.

Alan Lazaros

(6:45) So nothing is fully accurate. (6:46) You might not actually be 5'6". (6:48) You could be 5'5".

Kevin Palmieri

(6:49) I said 5'5". (6:50) I know I'm not 5'6".

Alan Lazaros

(6:51) I could be six feet, maybe. (6:53) Maybe I'm measuring wrong this whole time. (6:54) This is just a misunderstanding of percent error.(6:56) There is nothing that's actually accurate. (6:58) Oh, this is Celsius. (7:00) Hmm.(7:00) 10 calories. (7:01) My ass. (7:01) It's 10.2 for sure. (7:03) Yeah, but that's a different. (7:04) It's the same principle.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:06) But the fucking, the, the miss, the act, the percentage error is giant in this.

Alan Lazaros

(7:12) So 17.4% body fat. (7:15) Sometimes my brain connects words into one word. (7:18) All I'm saying is, I'm not doing it for accuracy.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:22) If somebody said like, what's your body fat percentage? (7:24) I wouldn't say 70. (7:25) It's like, I don't know.(7:26) I'm not sure what it is or no, because I haven't really is 15.

Alan Lazaros

(7:33) Okay, cool. (7:34) Maybe. (7:34) So your scale says 17.4 and assuming you actually put everything into the app properly in your profile and sit on the scale and do it right. (7:43) User error is a thing. (7:44) Then most likely it's getting within a plus or minus 5% error or something. (7:49) Okay.(7:50) So if you wanted to calculate percent error, you do 17.4 minus 15, which would be 2.4 divided by 15. (7:57) That's the percent error. (7:58) So you're looking at like, I don't know, 15% or something like that.(8:03) And your percent error on a percent. (8:04) So it gets a little confusing, but basically all that matters is that you go in the right direction at the right rate over time.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:13) Yes. (8:13) A hundred percent. (8:14) And to the point of this episode, it's very hard to set a goal about what direction, at what speed, at what rate of time when you've never done it before.(8:23) And you don't know. (8:26) Yeah. (8:26) It almost feels like it's an empty goal.(8:29) I know it's not. (8:30) Yeah. (8:31) To me, it feels extremely empty.

Alan Lazaros

(8:32) Okay. (8:33) Well maybe it is empty because you don't here, because when I get to the goal, it's not real to me. (8:41) 16% error.(8:43) If you, if your real body fat percentage is 15% and it says 17.4, that's a 16% error that the scale is doing, but that you don't actually know that it's 15. (8:53) You'd have to go get a dex scan.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:55) Do you see this? (8:55) What's going on with my arm?

Alan Lazaros

(8:59) I don't know.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:00) Do you see it? (9:00) Yeah. (9:02) Your whole setup today.(9:04) Yeah. (9:04) You know what, you know what I was, I, yeah, I was toying around with a client in the stream yard and I think that's what's happening. (9:11) So on video, this episode is going to be Jeffed, but it's not going to be that Jeffed, but it's my backdrop's a little Jeffed.

Alan Lazaros

(9:17) All right. (9:18) All right. (9:18) Real quick.(9:19) So how do you set a goal when you never have set one before? (9:22) You don't know what it means. (9:22) You said it feels empty.(9:25) Let's go into why it feels empty. (9:26) You don't feel connected to it. (9:27) You don't feel like it's doable.(9:29) You don't feel like it matters. (9:30) Like, go ahead. (9:33) To me, if there's, if the goal doesn't have a timeline and a, and a measurable, like a, well, I think because to start, we didn't have any of those.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:43) Like we came on today and I was like, Hey, what's the, what's the goal again? (9:45) Like, what are we doing? (9:47) Is it, you're going to lose 3% body fat over 90 days?(9:52) Like, what are we doing? (9:52) What's the, what's the point?

Alan Lazaros

(9:54) What are we doing? (9:56) Lose body fat percent over time. (9:59) And here's the, the point of the episode.(10:01) And this is what I think you hoped came of it. (10:03) We don't know yet. (10:05) We're in the experimental phase of the scientific method.(10:07) We don't know yet. (10:08) I don't even know what mine is yet. (10:10) It could be 24.(10:11) It could be, but you have to have an idea of what you're shooting for. (10:14) Yeah. (10:15) I think, I think I'm probably around 22.(10:16) I want to get it to like probably 18. (10:19) I don't want to see how I look. (10:20) And if I have abs at 18, then I'll stop.(10:22) And if I don't, I'll keep going.

Kevin Palmieri

(10:24) Cause the real goal isn't to hit the goal. (10:26) The goal is to have abs. (10:28) I know, but my, I already have abs.(10:29) So that's my goals different than yours. (10:31) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(10:31) Yeah. (10:31) Okay. (10:31) Then what are you, what are you doing this for?

Kevin Palmieri

(10:33) I don't know. (10:34) You wanted to do it. (10:35) I was like, fuck it, whatever.(10:36) You need to have a better reason than Alan wanted. (10:38) I'm down to, I'm down to ride. (10:39) Because I get more vascular.(10:41) You want it to be, I want to lose more weight. (10:43) I think it'll help me lose more weight. (10:45) Okay.(10:45) Why do you want to lose more weight? (10:47) Cause I want to get to like, I would love to see what I look at look like at one 70. (10:52) I think if I get to like one 70 and I could, that could be like my new living weight and I could bulk a little bit every year.(10:59) And like the problem is statistically what has happened to me is we do the 10 pounds in 10 weeks. (11:05) It goes really well. (11:06) I crush it.(11:06) I'm ahead of schedule. (11:08) And then I finished before everybody else. (11:09) And then I'm like, ah, okay, now what?(11:13) Now, like I've already accomplished the goal. (11:15) Do you feel like you have more body fat than you want?

Alan Lazaros

(11:18) Yes. (11:19) Always. (11:19) Never not.(11:21) Okay. (11:21) Then, but I, will that ever change? (11:24) What percentage would you be like?(11:25) Okay. (11:26) Cause there's an optimal stopping problem here. (11:28) I start, I already feel lanky.(11:30) I lost hardly any weight. (11:32) I've lost like five pounds since the 10 pound in 10 week challenge I lost. (11:36) So at the bottom of the 10 pound in 10 week challenge, one 99.6. Now I'm two Oh one. (11:42) Cause I did a refeed, like a pretty hefty little mini bulk. (11:45) I already feel lanky. (11:47) I hate it.(11:48) I hate it. (11:49) Dude, for you, what percentage would be like, all right, I got to really get some, I don't think there is a, there is no percent. (11:57) No wonder why you had issues in the past.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:00) No percent. (12:00) Because I look, when I was training to fight and I was like 155 pounds, my good God, sir. (12:10) That's what happens.(12:11) There's a benefit to being short. (12:13) Yeah. (12:13) Yeah.(12:13) When I get lean, it just, it doesn't, it just looks like I get bigger. (12:16) Don't look smaller at all. (12:18) No, it just looks like I get bigger.(12:19) It's awesome. (12:20) Tiny. (12:20) When I get lean now, it depends.(12:23) Like, yeah. (12:23) Well, if I showed you bodybuilding pictures with no context or nuance, you'd be like, Oh my God. (12:29) But I was tiny.(12:30) Yeah. (12:31) 152 pounds or something. (12:32) I was not a large human.

Alan Lazaros

(12:34) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:35) I agree. (12:35) I was very strong.

Alan Lazaros

(12:36) Even then I was like, so because I want to bring this to the listeners at the heart of it, but I do love that we're talking fitness. (12:43) It is what it is. (12:44) So how do you set a goal?(12:47) This is one of the reasons why I think people say, I want to be a millionaire. (12:49) I want to be a billionaire. (12:50) It's like, you have no idea what that actually means.(12:54) And you, that's what I'm trying to avoid until you get closer. (12:57) I wanted to tell the story briefly. (12:58) We interviewed someone way back.(12:59) His name was Josh. (13:00) And in hindsight, I do wish we didn't interview him. (13:03) He's not a bad guy per se.(13:04) He just was delusional. (13:06) And on his whiteboard, his vision board, he said, I want to, I want to gain 25 pounds of muscle this year. (13:11) And we were like three months into the year.(13:13) And I was like, what? (13:17) He's like, yeah, 24. (13:19) I'm going to really dial it in.(13:22) Natural or hop it on, hop it on something. (13:25) Even with all the drugs, you can't put on 25 pounds of muscle in one year.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:29) I mean, yeah. (13:29) But if that, if that was the strategy, that would be the first thing I would do. (13:33) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(13:33) But it turns out he's just ignorant to what that means, right? (13:38) He just doesn't know. (13:39) So his goal is way off.(13:41) Yeah. (13:42) The problem with goal setting is you have to set optimal goals and then you have to measure optimal, but I feel like most people are doing what you say, where it's like, well, just fucking set a goal.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:51) And then like, you'll figure it out when you get far enough in like how accurate. (13:55) And I think what happens is it's like, I've been doing this for two months and now I'm realizing like I have to, the goal has to be way bigger than it's been. (14:03) It's going to be worse.(14:04) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(14:05) If that, I think that's an issue. (14:07) Okay. (14:07) When it comes to goals, let's talk about that moment that comes.(14:10) It's like you decide you want to be a millionaire. (14:12) Okay. (14:12) 7% of the U S is millionaires.(14:14) There's, I don't know what the percentage is globally, but it's probably around one or 2%. (14:17) Um, and it depends on the currency and all this stuff. (14:21) So it's doable.(14:22) It's doable. (14:23) That's a doable goal. (14:24) Okay.(14:24) Not in two months, but in 10 years, for sure. (14:27) So let's say you set that goal. (14:30) Okay.(14:30) Some people are setting that goal and undershooting and some people are overshooting. (14:34) How many people, most people are probably underestimating what that will take. (14:39) Really?(14:39) Of course. (14:40) I don't know if anybody like some people are like, Oh wow, that was easy.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:47) Do you have a fair, fair?

Alan Lazaros

(14:49) Yeah. (14:50) Cause you tend to undershoot. (14:51) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:52) So you're like a lot of, a lot of things. (14:53) It's like, Oh, that went, that went better than expected.

Alan Lazaros

(14:55) I don't know. (14:55) When I say 3% body fat, you're going to lose 3% body fat.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:58) I bet you, you're going to be like, Oh, that was fucking easy. (15:00) It very well. (15:01) Maybe.(15:02) I just don't have a lot of confidence in it because I don't know how to with, again, I don't, this isn't an arrogant thing. (15:12) I don't mean it that way. (15:13) The 10 pounds in 10 weeks is not hard.(15:15) Like, is it a hard thing for me to do? (15:17) Right. (15:17) I can cheat.(15:18) Just do the same shit. (15:19) Yeah, but I don't have the measurement. (15:21) So what?(15:22) It's the same exact thing. (15:23) It's not because I lose 10 pounds. (15:25) You'll probably lose 3% body fat.(15:26) That's the thing is that's why my thing to Alan was like, dude, I think I'm just going to track the weight. (15:30) I don't even think I care, but the body fat percentage will be a byproduct. (15:33) You can't, you don't really lose body fat without losing weight.(15:36) I mean, did you not know what I meant by byproduct before?

Alan Lazaros

(15:40) No, I know what that means. (15:41) No, no, but this is the first time I've ever heard you use it in a real life context where it's like, I'm just going to track my weight. (15:51) I think that's just as long as I lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks, 3% body fat will be a byproduct.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:54) It's because I'm not connected at all to the thing. (15:58) I mean, maybe it's this, sorry. (16:01) And then we got to go.(16:02) Maybe we'll do a part two. (16:03) If we need to, I don't, I don't care. (16:07) I don't care about the experience of this.(16:10) It's like, Oh, I learned so much. (16:11) No, no. (16:12) I want to hit the fucking goal.(16:13) I just, I want to hit the goal. (16:15) I don't care what I will in this case, I don't care what I will have to become in order to don't want to hit the goal. (16:23) And I don't know what the goal is.(16:25) And I don't know how to reverse engineer the goal. (16:27) So to me, it's like, why wouldn't I just set a different goal?

Alan Lazaros

(16:31) That's, that's, that's the way my brain is. (16:32) That's how you're going to deal with mathematical uncertainty is just not try it by that. (16:38) You should try, but this won't be better.(16:42) It's probably not going to be based on it's not going to be, but you don't know that. (16:47) I don't think you're like, you're like someone who's like, ah, I don't really want to try sushi. (16:51) It's like, well, you never know.(16:52) It might be awesome. (16:54) It's not okay. (16:55) Fine.(16:56) But at least you tried it.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:57) Yeah. (16:57) Yeah. (16:58) So can't you, can't you pull on other experiences and other, of course, like if we're running the math, wouldn't it just be easier to track calories than track weight than to assume like, well, every pound I lose, I'm going to lose 0.1% body fat. (17:11) So if I lose 10, that'll be 1%. (17:13) It just feels overly complicated.

Alan Lazaros

(17:16) So you just go right back to the simple, keep it simple, baby, keep it simple. (17:20) Keep it simple. (17:21) That is interesting.(17:22) I do think that there's something in it for you to try to get outside of your comfort zone for 90 days, where you track body fat percentage and optimize for that. (17:30) And then you'll be like, you will learn something you didn't know before, even if it's how dumb this is. (17:35) And then you won't, you know, that's how you expand.(17:37) I feel like you, how else are you going to know if it's going to matter? (17:45) Is there, am I so developed?

Kevin Palmieri

(17:50) I got to go.

Alan Lazaros

(17:51) We'll do part two. (17:53) I want to talk about byproducts and I want to talk about measurements and I want to talk about setting optimal goals. (17:58) And I want to talk about what this all means in a part two.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:01) All right. (18:01) We're going to do that in part two. (18:02) Alan's coaching is getting off right now.(18:04) Cause he wants to make sure he's there for a client who is going to be waiting for him in a minute. (18:07) That is the type of commitment you get with Alan. (18:09) Next level of fitness, counted data group.(18:10) Obviously we're talking a lot about fitness. (18:12) Reach out to Alan or I free WhatsApp group. (18:13) As always, we love you.(18:14) Appreciate you. (18:15) Grateful for each and every one of you. (18:16) If you are as committed as you say you are to getting to the next level, make sure you tune in tomorrow.(18:19) Cause we will be here every single day to help you get there. (18:21) Keep leveling up to reach your full potential.

Alan Lazaros

(18:23) Next level nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:25) Thanks for joining us for another episode of next level university. (18:29) We love connecting with the next level family.

Alan Lazaros

(18:31) We mean it when we say family. (18:34) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (18:37) Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes.(18:40) Thank you again. (18:41) And we will talk to you tomorrow.