You will not find a more motivated person than the one who has just started working towards a goal. From a guy who wants to drop 20 pounds and is avoiding every Oreo he sees, to a gal who is bound and determined to get out of debt and is being uber-careful with her money, those first few days are usually chock full of inspiration, high hopes and fantastic intentions.
A week or two later, the story is often decidedly different. People lose interest in their goals, they feel they are too hard or time-consuming to achieve, or they have hit some bumps in the road and are feeling discouraged. As a result, the guy will start binge eating Oreos and the gal might bust out the Visa to pay for dinner out with her friends.
Fortunately, there are ways we can overcome these obstacles to our life goals and stay on track until we reach the proverbial finish line.
Write down your goal
There is something magical about putting your dreams and goals into words on paper. In addition to letting the universe know your intentions, seeing the goal in print will allow you to modify it and make it as succinct as possible. For example, once you write down “I want to eat better” or “I want to save more money,” you might realize how vague these goals are and change them a bit to “I will eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day and limit myself to one sweet treat” or “I will put $50 a month into savings.” These more specific goals will be a lot easier to work towards and achieve.
Use technology to help you succeed
In some cases, you can use fun gadgets and devices to inspire you to succeed. Many Fitbit wearers can attest to that—there’s something motivating about having an innovative device on your wrist keeping tabs on how many steps you are taking to help you reach your goal of 10,000 steps a day.
Another example where technology can help is in regards to punctuality. If you find you are chronically late to appointments and/or work, striving to be on time is a reasonable and important goal. To make sure this happens, check traffic on Google Maps before hitting the road and allow yourself more time if need be. It also helps to be proactive about your car’s maintenance and repair. Download an app like RepairPal that will help you to keep track of your vehicle’s repair schedule, and visit a website like TireBuyer.com to purchase name-brand tires for your car at an affordable price. It will be a lot easier to get to your destinations on time if you have a literally well-oiled machine to help you.
Educate yourself
The people who overcoming their “goal obstacles” the best are well-educated and informed about the situation and what they are trying to do. In the case of the person who wants to lose weight, reading up on calorie counts of favorite foods, how many calories are burned during an average two mile walk and which foods can help us feel full longer can be really helpful. In the case of the person who wants to say goodbye to credit card debt, calling each credit card company to ask for a better rate combined with writing down every expense to see where she can cut back will really help reach the no-debt finish line.
