Why Do Some People Succeed With Their Fitness Goals Where Others Fail?

Image courtesy of Pixabay. 

 

We all know them …. those friends or family members who set a goal for weight loss or exercise or a diet plan and actually see it through. The ones you no longer recognize from their old photos. The ones with boundless energy and motivation that seems to radiate from nowhere.

What makes them different? What sets them apart from the countless among us who abandon our fitness goals before we finish the first batch of ultra expensive diet food we bought or the first month of our gym memberships? Is there something different about them?

As it turns out, yes. But it’s something we can all tap into if we’re willing to muster the right mindset.

They Value Long-Term Goals Over Short-Term Comfort

How did you force yourself to stay in school for years? You thought about that diploma and what it would mean to hold one. How do you manage to care for your children for decades, even when things are tremendously difficult? You realize that producing a well-adjusted young person is worth years of sacrifice. How do you stay at your job? Because the income, retirement plan, social security savings, health insurance, and other benefits you’ll need down the road are worth what you suffer through now.

It’s the same with a diet and exercise plan. You have to be able to conjure the image of success to justify the means of getting there. It has to be worth it to you to eat reasonable portions and do your exercise now, knowing that in the future it will mean looking in the mirror and liking what you see.

They Set the Right Kind of Goals

How ya gonna know when you get there if you haven’t clearly defined that goal? 

The ones who don’t meet our goals are usually those who don’t set reachable goals and define them to begin with. Successful people set goals like, “I want to be able to wear my wedding dress again,” or perhaps, “I want to be able to fit through the turnstiles at the amusement park.” It’s easy to see where these goals lead you and to know when you get there.

Ill-defined goals like, “I want to get healthy,” or “I want to lose weight,” don’t give you a road map for getting there, nor a definable way to tell when you got there. Set goals that are both realistic and that have a clear finish line.

They Keep Track of Their Progress Towards Those Goals

A fitness journal can be many things, but it is important to have one. Some people keep exhaustive diaries of what they eat, how they exercise, when they’re tempted, and when they cheat. Other people simply log a date and jot a note or two about how far they walked or how many pounds they lost. Any way that works for you is fine, but having this journal keeps you motivated.

First, a journal keeps you accountable, because you know you have to make an entry this evening and you don’t want to log a failure. Second, it helps you identify what triggers you to do better or not do as well as usual (did you overeat after another fight with your bf or gf?). Third, it’s a success story of where you were, how you made positive changes, and where those changes led you in terms of health, confidence, how you look and feel, and a sense of achievement.

They Don’t Let Us Hold Them Back

Are you the friend offering up ice cream instead of iceburg lettuce? Or serving up pizza instead of peas? The shame. 

We’ve all got that one friend — the one who always invites us out for pizza or to the ice cream shop when she knows we’re trying to watch what we eat. The one who begs us to watch Lifetime movies instead of walking around the block, or the one who surprises us with a birthday cake even when she knows the doctor told us to lay off the sugar.

Are you the one standing in the way, or the one somebody else is trying to block? If you’re the one stopping someone else from keeping their commitments, shame on you. If you’re letting someone else block your healthy goals, shame on you too. Successful people politely but firmly tell the naysayers to take a hike and go about achieving their goals despite the temptation. Don’t be the road block. Be the support system.

Can you muster what it takes to be a fitness success? I believe you can. I’m trying my best. Stick with me, and share what helps keep you on track. Heck, share what stands in your way, too, because identifying the obstacles is part of the battle.

All love, Christy D.