OMG, you’ve made it! You pushed yourself through, you did the boot camp, you completed that challenge, you quit alcohol for a month, and you stuck to healthy lunches. Well done!
You feel proud and show yourself that you are stronger than you thought. But at the back of your mind, there is still a pesky thought what now? How are you going to keep the momentum going? How are you going to have that lasting change you want?
I am not one to seek comfort in numbers because I like to play the odds. However, it is hard to ignore them when they are so bleak. 80% of us will give up on our goals.
I want to push you to beat the statistic and be the 20% who stick to their goals and make a lasting change. So, are you ready? Let’s go!
Why is so hard to stick to your goals?
I am not going to go back to the numbers again but be honest with yourself. Have you ever set a goal or said you would do something but haven’t followed through?
I certainly did.
I want to state for the record, you are not lazy, you are not lacking anything, and you are not …..[fill in the blank]. You have everything it takes to reach your goals. You just got off track.
I often get very hard on myself for not meeting the goal I set or not following through on the tasks. I would beat myself up for staying behind. The problem with this approach is that it doesn’t produce the results I want.
How about you?
Wouldn’t you prefer to give yourself some credit even if you moved only a millimetre on your goal? How much more productive would you be if you changed your self-talk?
We live in a fast-paced world, so it is inevitable that you get off track. There will always be moments when you can’t follow through because of a roadblock.
To achieve goals, you need to be strategic.
You need to plan and schedule when you do certain tasks and how much time you need to complete them. You also need to be realistic about the resources and capabilities you need to get things done.
There are many reasons why it is so hard to stick to your goals. It could be your motivation, lack of time, biochemistry, or even an event outside your control.
But trust me, with a little bit of perseverance you can achieve your goals and keep the momentum going. And here are six ways to do it.
But before we start, are you part of my community? Join my newsletter to get the latest action steps on how to eat a healthy plant-based diet, de-stress, manage your time better, prioritize yourself, and anything in between so that you INCREASE your energy, SAVE time and INVEST well in your wellness!
#1 Manage Your Time
First of all, you took too much on. The number one complaint is a lack of time. There are constant demands on your time and energy. Your focus is being pulled in so many directions that it is hard to concentrate on anything.
To stick to your goals and build momentum, you need to allocate time. Of course, you can use all the tips and tricks to manage your time better, but the goal here is to make the time.
As mentioned before, there will always be things to do, a project to finish at work, soccer practice to take your kids to or organize a birthday party. The one thing we can’t complain about is the things we need to do!
So unless you have a time machine and can produce more time, your time is limited. And if you don’t schedule, it won’t happen.
Have you caught yourself saying you go to the gym on Tuesday, but then Friday arrives, and you haven’t even been near a gym? Hoping that you will find the time is not a strategy.
You need intentionally make time to follow through on your plan.
I always end a week by planning what I am going to be doing the following week. I put all appointments, tasks, meetings, and so forth into my calendar. I look for any available time and block it for activities related to my goals.
I’ll repeat, hoping your calendar will open up and you magically find the time is not a strategy. So, ask yourself: do you schedule your goals into your calendar?
#2 Connect to Your Why
Behind every goal, there is a reason. As a matter of fact, you would feel the reason before you even know your goal. The reason, or as we say in coaching, your why. The why is what got you motivated in the first place.
When you know why you want to lose weight, exercise, eat healthily, or stress less, you get moving. The stronger the why, the stronger your willpower to preservere.
Your why needs to be so powerful that it gets you out of bed when it’s dark and rainy. When you sit on a couch battling between ordering in or eating a kale salad, the way needs to push you towards the kale.
If you feel like you are losing your momentum, go back to your why. If you find your why doesn’t motivate you anymore, come up with a stronger reason. Remember, you started this journey because you want to make a difference in your health and wellness.
You are worthy of going after your dreams. Think how much better you would feel if you followed through and stuck to your goals.
If you still struggle, or your why doesn’t inspire you anymore, look at the people you admire the best. Why do you admire them? What do they do that you respect? Let them be your inspiration.
#3 Take Small Steps
I always thought that I should work in an emergency room. I thrive in high-speed situations, and I work better under pressure. I am also a big fan of the one-and-done or get-it-over-with approach.
And there are moments when both approaches work great and produce the results I want. Both push me out of my comfort zone and get me into action.
However, they are not very effective when it comes to building momentum.
You may relate to it if you completed a challenge of some sort. You had the momentum, and now the challenge finished, and you can’t find the motivation. You were going strong, giving your all, but now you feel tired.
As a high achiever, you thrive on adrenaline. But when it wears off, you feel depleted. That is why taking small steps or a one-step-at-a-time approach is much better for building momentum.
Have you noticed how you always go for the easiest solution? Neuroscience teaches us that our brain will always go for what’s easy. Make it work to your advantage!
Take small but consistent steps, and you will soon see momentum. This approach is fantastic for monitoring your progress. If you miss a day it is not a big deal. Also, if you find you are getting off track, you can easily correct your course.
And remember taking small steps is still better than not taking any.
#4 Track Your Progress
It goes without saying you want to see the progress you are making on your goals. If you are putting in all that effort and sweat, you want to see real results. To do that, you need to track your progress.
I don’t mean to check how much weight you lost every hour. It will not only drive you and everyone around you crazy, but it will plummet your motivation.
You want to track your progress in justified increments to celebrate!
I know you have a noble why and your goals are world-worthy, but at the bottom of your heart, you want to be recognised for your achievements. Don’t feel bad about it! It is normal to feel that way, and frankly, it is part of being human.
By celebrating your progress, no matter how small, you are activating the reward system. Every time you celebrate, your body releases dopamine. Dopamine makes you feel good, and in return the reward system motivates you to take action.
And the easiest way to activate it is by appreciating the hard work you put in and how far you’ve come.
Because guess what? The more often you celebrate even the smallest wins, the more motivated you will be to keep going. It is also a form of incentive. You will be looking forward to smashing your goal to reward yourself.
So, how can you celebrate your milestones?
#5 Your Lifestyle
You have already learned that to keep the momentum you need time for daily practice. Only if you schedule your tasks they get done.
Have you noticed how easy it is to relax when on holiday? How does the time slow down, and you shift your focus? But when you come back you are thrown into a deep end, and it feels like you haven’t been on holiday for years.
I love learning about new tips and hacks. I love coaching you on new tools and strategies. But a tool or strategy will only work if it fits around your existing responsibilities and commitments.
One of the best strategies to beat depression, burnout, stress, and overwhelm is developing a morning routine. It took me a few attempts to make it stick, but the more I refined it and fitted it into my lifestyle, the easier it became.
I made several changes to my lifestyle to create space for my new routines. I had to adjust several areas of my life because my previous lifestyle didn’t reflect the changes I wanted to make. As long as my lifestyle clashed with the goal I was pursuing, I couldn’t get the momentum going.
To make anything last you need consistency. And to get consistency with your new goal or the change you want to make, it needs to fit within your lifestyle. So, do you have room in your life for your new goal?
#6 Make It a Habit
Do you know the number one reason why diets don’t work? Most diets work for a short amount of time, but in the long term, almost all participants gain the weight back. Sometimes, they gain even more weight than what they started with.
Why does this happen?
You followed through, you stopped eating certain food groups, you exercised like a crazy person, and you got the result you wanted. But none of it was long-lasting. You had a clear carrot on the stick in front of you, and you were moving towards it every single day.
The secret to making a lasting change is building a habit. You followed through on a plan, but none of the activities turned into your default way of acting. So, when the diet finished, you went back to your old way of doing things.
To build the momentum you need to turn behaviours into habits. A habit is an activity to repeat over and over until it becomes automatic. There is art and science to building a habit, but the core of it is to take small steps consistently.
What daily actions can you be taking to create a lasting change? What healthy habits can you develop to keep you moving in the right direction?
How to Keep the Momentum Going
They say that the first step is always the hardest. And this may be true, but the real work starts after you set your goals and hit your first dip in motivation. So, what do you do to keep the momentum going?
First, look at your calendar and schedule the activities associated with your new goal. Check if you know why you are pursuing this goal. What is the reason behind your hard work? Then take small but consistent steps to build momentum.
Celebrate every small win and track your progress. Make sure you fit your goal into your existing lifestyle and you are on track to building a new healthy habit.
Join my newsletter to get the latest action steps on how to eat a healthy plant-based diet, de-stress, manage your time better, prioritize yourself, and anything in between so that you INCREASE your energy, SAVE time, and INVEST well in your wellness!
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