How to Stay Motivated Long Enough to Reach Your Goals

Motivation is a funny, or rather, sometimes not so funny thing. Although it can start strong and solid when you’re first working toward meeting your goal, it doesn’t take long to fizzle out and leave you feeling lifeless and out of control. This can weaken even the best of intentions, and make you wonder if you will ever be able to lose the weight you want. Luckily, by doing a few fairly simple things, you will likely find it easier to stay motivated long enough to actually hit your weight and fitness-related goals once and for all. However, this first requires that you understand the big myth that exists when it comes to motivation. 
 
The Motivation Myth
A lot of people assume that the loss of motivation is a personal defeat. In fact, you may even be guilty of chastising yourself for your lack of willpower a time or two. However, the reason motivation dwindles over time isn’t because you’ve done something wrong. It is simply a sign that you’re not tending to it enough to help it support you fully. You see, in order to get and stay motivated, you need to work at it often. It is kind of like going to get regular haircuts to keep up your appearance or seeing your doctor annually for a checkup to ensure that you are in good health. Essentially, it requires that you continue to take care of it on a continual basis or you’re risking that it is going to fail you when you need it most, lessening the chance that your dreams are going to come to pass. What types of things can you do to keep yourself motivated then? Fortunately, there are quite a few options from which to choose.
 
 
Motivation Boosting Options
If you are a visually stimulated person, it may help to create some sort of object-related system by which you can log your progress, constantly reminding you of how far you’ve already come. One way to do this would be to get a jar or glass and add a beautiful colored stone to it every time you lose a half pound or a pound. As you see it fill, it is a visual reminder of the efforts of your labor, motivating you to fill it even more. Another motivation boosting option is to use other types of visual cues to help you adopt healthier behaviors. For example, you could put a red “X” or a smiley face on the calendar for every day that you monitor your portions using the SlimPlate System. This encourages the development of actions that support your goals, removing the focus from the things that can detract from it and ultimately making it a more positive experience.
 
Some people find motivation in learning from others who have succeeded at meeting the same goals. Therefore, if this is you, it may benefit you to follow these types of people on your social media sites or to search out success stories that are similar to your own. It also helps to keep your goal in the forefront of your mind, which you can accomplish by creating a Pinterest board with your most inspiring quotes or by subscribing to magazines that contain helpful advice when it comes to reaching your goal. Reading various weight loss and motivational blogs will help remind yourself that you are not alone and that there are people out there that can help you, even during times when you are feeling weak. Additionally, make sure you celebrate your successes as this is critical to getting and staying motivated. Don’t wait until you’ve hit your final goal to give yourself a pat on the back either. Give yourself credit for all of the positive changes that you are implementing on a daily basis, whether it is monitoring your portion sizes, eating healthier foods, or increasing your physical activity.
 
 
As you already know, change can be very hard, and losing the motivation to make it stick can make it even harder. However, if you do one or two of these rather simple suggestions, you’ll most likely find that your motivation is stronger and more effective because of it. What type of things do you do to help yourself get and stay motivated until you reach your goals? Please share your suggestions in the comment section below so that you can help others who are looking for ways to keep their motivation stoked!