Set Goals and Think About Them Daily

A lot of people that I meet have either vague ‘wish' goals or goals that are admirable, but unrealistic. I truly believe anyone is capable of achieving anything they so desire. But to achieve your desired goal takes work, both mental and physical. I know that people want to lose a certain amount of weight. I know they may want to look a certain way. I know they want to be fit, but ‘wanting' and ‘doing' are far apart. We can have the tenacity of a pit bull one day and be totally slothful the next. What is holding us back?

Insufficient Planning: You must plan on a daily basis. You can't just ‘hope' you will eat well. If you know what you are going to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you will most likely stick to that plan. If you wake up and ‘just hope' to eat well, it's unlikely you will choose good foods and proper portions. Exercise is the same. If you plan to walk between 5:00 and 5:30, no matter what, it is very likely you will do it. If you ‘hope' to go walking, it's very unlikely to happen. (So put this in your daily planner).

Unrealistic Goals: Perhaps you have said that you are never going to eat after 6 pm. This is great, but be prepared that events in your life may sabotage your desire and in turn, cause you to feel guilty and give up on yourself. Choosing to say "5 days per week I'm will not eat after 6pm, but two days I'll have a small snack” or "Or if I'm really, truly hungry I will have a small snack and not feel guilty” are much more realistic options and will avoid feelings of stress and guilt.

Fear of Failure: A lot of times we simply give up on ourselves, because we don't truly believe we can do what we set out to do. We also often perceive setback as ‘total failure', so we immediately quit. Understand that we all fear failure but ask yourself, "What is failure?” Is it having desert when you planned not to?? (That is not failure). Is it having some ice cream while watching TV?? (Again, this may not be what you had planned, but it does not mean you are a failure). Don't dramatize small eating indiscretions. Just move on and plan for the next day.

Fear of Success: This is a rare one, but devastating nevertheless. Once you succeed, people are now looking at you and depending on you, or asking how you got your courage. Now you fear you will let both yourself and others down and may even sabotage yourself. Remember that trying your best day by day is a success. Trying your best is something that you never have to fear. You determine success, not someone else.

A large part of goal setting is simply one of visualizing what you want to accomplish. You then must realize that you may not succeed every day, but that if you keep working on what you want to accomplish, you will eventually reach your goal. Never worry about tomorrow, just work on today.

You must believe, truly believe that you can do it. No matter what has happened in the past, you must believe that this time you will stick to your daily plan. As I've said so many times, weight loss is a journey; there really is no finish line, since you want to stay healthy for the rest of your life. (And this can only happen if you work on healthy goals daily, weekly, monthly, yearly)

You can do it. Just don't ever give up on yourself

Dr Doug