Goals and Making Rewards That Help and Not Become an Obstacle

We are all pumped and motivated to improve ourselves and have set some New Year's Resolutions of some kind.  So how to make our goals and what should we use as rewards or motivation?

 

With all goals you should make them obtainable but still a challenge. 
You know yourself best and know if you are someone motivated by a challenge or if you are the person that throws in the towel early.  Knowing yourself is a vital part of change.  You want to give yourself the tools to help you make those changes.  Some people are motivated by a huge challenge while others see that same challenge as an un-climbable mountain.  Take this into consideration when making your goals. 
Here is an example for someone who wants to lose 30 -50 lbs. 
I am going to lose _____ lbs for this year and will meet half the goal by June. 

List the reasons you want to obtain better health and wellness.  This is your accountability tool, and means to motivate you for success.  You need to know what your goals are so you can rejoice in the accomplishments and make adjustments on the areas still requiring further development. 

Rewards are a great motivation to keep you on track and to inspire you onward.  Sometimes these rewards can be negative and hurtful to us.  Say you are trying to lose some weight; you don't want to reward yourself with a night out at your favorite restaurant.  The next morning you might get on the scale and see 5 lbs back on that you worked so hard to remove.  Something you need to remember about weight loss is that your body is set at what it thinks is it normal weight, a set point.  When you lose weight your body might think that it has been in a fight or flight scenario and will look to put weight back were its set at.  When you lose weight you have to maintain that weight for a few months, to a year, for your body to reset its set point.  Frustrating I know, but true none the less.  This is why you NEVER reward with foods, desserts, or things that you have been omitting from your diet.  These are not rewards you need to look at them as SETBACKS.

 

What can be rewards?

I will share with you a few of my personal rewards I have set for myself. 
These are rewards that I have set for different times through the year with a larger reward in December. 

• Pedicure
• New Cook Books
• Movie night
• Golf
• New Jeans
• Hairstyle makeover
• Massage
• Shopping spree $$
• Wrap and Massage
• Spa Weekend:  This is my huge December/January reward.  A weekend at one of my favorite hotels with a spa package, facial, message, pedicure, and healthy dishes.  A time of relaxation and reward for the hard work of all year.  I am someone who likes to visualize my goal.  I also have all year to save up for it, slowly. 

I work my body hard and am sore a lot.  I like rewards that pamper my body, there are many rewards you can chose that are better for you. 
Movie, workout DVD, workout outfit, new running gear, a RACE (love this one), any workout gear, books, makeovers, jewelry, adding to your backyard garden, you get the idea.  These are things that you want to have, but you will work hard for them with not setbacks. 

 

Don't go making these too easy to obtain. 

If you are someone who needs smaller challenges then think about weekly rewards with a bigger monthly reward.  You can get really creative with this; just remember to keep it positive and a challenge. 

 

New Year's Resolutions That Work

You should be working on your food journal.  Remember to look back and evaluate what you have been eating the calorie amounts and how it is affecting your weight gain or loss. 

What is Negative Self-Talk and Does It Hurt Me?

Have you made your positive affirmations to repeat and motivate you?  Here is an awesome example of a friends workspace she made to keep her motivated and strong.  Make your own this weekend!

 

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