3 Ways to Stay Focused on Your Goals
Author: Tammy Taylor, CPT
Most of us are aware of all the standard tips given on how to remain focused on our goals.
Write them down, use a journal, say it out loud, eliminate distractions, make them SMART(specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time specific), have tunnel vision, write a story, draw a picture, create a vision board, imagine the finish line, have a daily mantra. The list of tips is seemingly endless. And for the first few weeks of our health journey these strategies really seem to work. We become on fire with excitement and energy, we stick our daily mantras on the refrigerator door, we set up a SMART goal to meal prep for the week, and our vision boards are a perfect resemblance of the new reality we are setting out to create.
No distractions will be entering our tunnel of vision. We are driving full speed ahead.
That is, until… a run-away bus of temptation and social events comes crashing into us. With this crash of social events and temptations, our focus and motivation is halted. Any forward momentum stopped. A traffic jam of negative self- talk incurs. We are no longer able to see where our tunnel is leading us. We feel stuck.
So how can we begin to get motivation and focus back on track?
1. Check your confidence levels:Begin to quiet your old enemy self-doubt by slowly regaining your confidence. Relate what you are currently going through with a similar experience from your past where you have successfully handled obstacles such as earning a degree, saving to pay off a loan, a tough work project ECT. Then see if any of those skills can be applied to your new goal.
2. Delay gratification: Once you have gotten your confidence back, practice resisting immediate temptation by opting for long-term rewards instead. Take time to slow down and breath through your impulses. This will enable you to be more mindful and present in the face of temptation.
3. Create desire, passion, and purpose: Like any other long-term commitment in our lives, the romance and passion eventually begins to fade away. Reigniting that old flame you had with your health journey can be a great way to regain your momentum. In other words, start romancing your goals! Re-visit those first tools that you initially used when your goal was still shiny and new. Create a different mantra, pull back out your vision board, set up a self-care SMART goal for the week. So have fun and rekindle that fire you once had with your health journey!
