The start of the year is a great time to map out new goals and habits and practice sticking to them. Then February comes and turns into March, and New Year resolutions start falling by the wayside.
Most reasons I hear from someone who has given up on pursuing their goals is, “I got bored”, “It’s more work than I thought it would be”, “I don’t think those goals were meant to be mine”.
What this means is that the motivation and commitment to stick with and achieve those goals is no longer there. The excitement has fizzled out, and sadly, this happens more often than not. This is exactly why you need to stay motivated and committed to reaching your goals. Here are 6 tips and tools to help you do just that.
• Plan: Yes, you created a plan to reach your goals, and this is why that plan exists: to remind you of what you need to do when you need to do it. Set timelines and benchmarks for everything you have planned to do because these will force you to stay committed. So, if your goal is to lose weight, the plan should be ‘to lose 10kg by March, and I will do this by working out an hour every day for three days every week, and drink 3 litres of water every day’. Yes, you need to be very specific.
• Write it down: Write down your goals and plans to achieve them, and put them somewhere that you will see them. Anytime you feel like giving up, look at them, and remember why you made those goals in the first place. You thought they were worthwhile to make, so why shouldn’t they be worthwhile to achieve?
• Be Accountable: Tell some friends about your goals, and let them be your accountability partners. Everyone needs some encouragement from their hype-men every once in a while, and they will be your hype-people and take you to task when you slack. And truth is, you may slack a lot. But the solution to slacking isn’t to give up entirely, but to pick up where you left off and continue pushing towards those goals.
• Create a Mantra: Your mantra could be anything someone wrote or said that inspires you. A few examples are:
➢ Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’ – Audrey Hepburn
➢ It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop – Confucius
➢ When you think of quitting, think about why you started
Whenever you feel low or feel like quitting, look at your mantra. Set it as your phone or desktop wallpaper, where you will be getting motivation throughout the day.
• Think of Your Sacrifices: You will sacrifice a lot as you work towards achieving your goals. This shouldn’t make you feel sad but should motivate you. Think of your sacrifices as stepping stones towards the grand vision you have, which you must achieve.
• Reward Yourself! : Reward yourself after every milestone that you reach. As you check it off that large board you have created to track your progress, do a dance and treat yourself to something good. You deserve it, and this will boost your motivation and commitment to meeting your goals.
