Motivation maintenance
So you think you have tried and failed?
So many times that you care not to remember.
What if I could almost guarantee, that you gave up too soon and there, is the failure. Not that you did not try hard enough, not that you kept giving in, not even that you just don’t know how. Quite simply you did not recognise all the small wins that were accumulating as you worked your way towards your goal.
What we find with goal setting, is that we put it out there in big bold type. It is like you have drawn a direct line and all that is important or worthy is in reaching that goal in the quickest time possible. Like an arrow as it flies from the bow to the target. Overlooking the fact that humans are more like ants than we would like to recognise! Humans can make an inanimate object fly a direct path and take it to its destination in the quickest possible time, but we need to take our journey in an indirect line. We don’t do well with sticking to the straight lines of a goal, and we need to take time to celebrate our wins as we go. This creates a meandering path that crosses over the direct line, hopefully at regular intervals, but not always.
It is at the cross over points that you will find the small wins to celebrate. It is here that you can take the time to realize that although you may feel as if you have wandered off course a little, or a lot, you have still been moving in the right direction, so keep going.
So what are small wins? As the name suggests, they are achievements that will accumulate towards the main win / goal, but they may seem completely unrelated. A little bit like the last blog post I created in discussing Key stone habits, which may seem unrelated to an objective, but give you an enormous amount of benefit in many areas of your life, including your goal concept.
For example: Using weight loss as a goal. If the goal is to lose 10 kg. In the first 3 weeks, you will lose a good amount of weight, and you will be able to rely on that for motivation, in those first few weeks. In the meantime, other ‘small wins’, will be taking effect.
Things like:
* your blood pressure may be normalising, which will be improving your ability to exercise.
* Or you could be getting better quality of sleep, which will be improving your concentration and productivity at work.
* Your lymphatic system will be reducing its stress, meaning that if you come across introduced sickness, you will be in a better position to oppose it, (nobody ever misses getting sick.).
The list of weight loss benefits is long, so these are just a few examples to show you what I mean. But as they establish themselves, they contribute enormously to the success of the
goal.
By the time you have reached week 5 or 6, your actual weight loss as is registered on the scale has reduced or stopped, and a few of your indiscretions are being put up for blame. Feelings of failure and guilt are starting to take centre stage and you are focusing on these ‘small loses’ instead of your ’small wins’, which by the way, have not even register a note!
To avoid this pitfall, take a thorough list of all your possible symptoms of your lifestyle. In this way you will be able to recall easily and celebrate your small wins, knowing that you are on the right path, and benefiting from your goal, even though it may seem at times that there are distractions and indiscretions. Take these off centre stage, and put up the small wins, you will find that your confidence in achieving your goal will grow.