Setting and Achieving Goals, Part 2
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Last week, I shared my thoughts on the importance of setting and achieving goals, one of the most important reason being:
If I don’t set goals, I can stop at any time.
It’s easy to talk yourself into quitting if you don’t have some landmarks – some milestones – in mind.
Once you set your goals, though, it’s equally important to keep them front and center in your mind. Without having some sort of method of reminding yourself of your goals, it’s easy to lose sight of them
Just like I mentioned about Tara Costa and her Kona bracelet. Having such a visual reminder keeps Tara focused on her goals.
So, what types of reminders can keep you focused on your goals?
Visual Reminders:
Signs. Handwritten or store-bought, inspiring or encouraging signs can help keep you motivated. Handwritten signs adorn my fridge.
Pictures. The picture you use depends on whether you do better with positive reinforcement or negative. If it’s positive, then a photo of you when you were at a size you’d like to be again can be great motivation.
If you do better with negative reinforcement, a photo of you at your heaviest placed on the fridge might help deter mindless eating and late-night snacking.
Objects. Maybe a bracelet like Tara has with your goal weight, a date, or a motivational phrase might help.
Perhaps buying an outfit in the size you want to be – or even just the next size or two down – will motivate you to do the work necessary to get there.
Or maybe the coolest aunt in the world might make you an awesome pillow for Christmas.
Written Reminders:
Scripture verses. Earlier this week, I shared some of the scripture verses that have helped me on my weight-loss journey.
List of Reasons. One of the best things I took away from the book, The Beck Diet Solution, was the idea of making a list of reasons why I want to lose weight. The lists can range from the deep, meaningful ones – such as feeling more confident, wanting to be around for my kids – to the more trivial, but still important – wanting to be able to wear cute shoes, wanting to look good for my husband (which isn’t very trivial to me).
It was suggested that you make multiple copies of the list – one for home, one for your purse, etc. For the first couple of weeks or so, you are supposed to read the list a couple of times a day until your reasons are firmly planted in your mind and easily recalled when you’re feeling weak or unmotivated.
Spiral-bound Index Cards. In Made to Crave (I can’t remember if it was in the book or on the webcast) Lysa Terkeurst suggests a spiral-bound index card book with – and I can’t remember exactly how she worded it – your new “go-to” thoughts.
Basically, encouraging, motivational words that will help to replace your old, negative thoughts and mindset with a new, more positive thought process. I’ve got mine and sometimes it really helps to flip through the pages and be encouraged.
Those are some of the tips that have been helpful to me in keeping my goals firmly in my mind. What are some reminders that help you stay focused on your goals?
Do or do not. There is no try.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.