Make a List of Reasons to Create and Stick to Your Goals

Take a look around you.  What is great about your life?  What is absolutely wonderful about today?  Why not write it down!  What do you have to look forward to?  Write that down, too. 

Now take a good, hard look inside and examine what you want to do with your life.  Many people, after looking at what they have and what they want to do with their lives, feel the pressure of time.  It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 or 80, time can affect each and every one of us.  We have things we want to accomplish in our lives and each day slips by without us taking steps to accomplish our goals.  This is one of the reasons people decide to try to live a more healthy life.  They know that when we take better care of ourselves, our lifespan increases.  We get more time.

Besides the pressure of time, there can be many reasons people decide to live healthier.  Some other reasons might be that you:

• Want to be around to enjoy family
• Want to be more active
• Want to have more energy
• Want to feel better
• Want to look better
• Want to be a good role model
• Want to prevent disease

These are all fantastic reasons to create and stick to your goals. 

Another way to create and stick to your goals can be rewards.  Sometimes when all else fails, tangible things can motivate us to reach our goals, even when the reason we’re striving for those goals has nothing to do with tangible rewards and everything to do with getting healthier and living a better life.

So what kinds of rewards motivate you?

• New shoes?
• A vacation?
• Music for your MP3 player?
• A massage?
• Makeover?
• Haircut?
• New wardrobe?
• Dinner out at that restaurant you’ve been dying to go to?

Make a list of the things you might be motivated by and see how they fit into your goals.  It’s a good idea to choose rewards that won’t sabotage you reaching your goal.  For example, if your goal is to lose weight then a food reward may not be the best solution.  However, a goal that makes you feel good about yourself, like a new pair of jeans to fit your new body, might be an excellent motivational tool.

What inspires you?

Many people are motivated by inspiring words, quotes or images.  If you have a favorite quote or inspirational phrase to get you through the tough times, you could post that inspiration somewhere where you can see it often.  Keep it on you so you can refer to it when you need it.  Above all, stay motivated.