Yea! I did it! One of my main goals with my weight loss journey was to maintain my weight loss throughout the holidays. Anyone who has struggled with weight loss knows how hard the holidays can be to handle. After eight months, I reached my goal weight in September. While weight loss is hard, maintaining the loss has its own set of challenges. As the holidays approached – I was feeling a bit apprehensive in my ability to not regain my weight. Unfortunately, I am not a foreigner to the yo-yo dieting syndrome. One of the biggest take aways from the last 11 months is that consistency is the key to reaching your goals.
If you have been following me, you know that my weight loss was slow. I definitely was part of the turtle club. I averaged just about a three pound loss each month over the course of eight months. This, too, hammered home the fact that consistency is the key to reaching your goals. I never gave up. I just kept plugging forward.
So I have been thinking about how this lesson is applicable to my life beyond weight loss, perhaps even more importantly, how to apply this lesson across many goals whether your goal is saving for retirement, job promotion, writing a book, getting organized, travel more, participate in an athletic event, spend more time with those we love, or learn a new hobby.
Consistency is the Key to Reaching Your Goals
When setting a goal, you really need to think long term. You need to accept that it can take months or years to reach your goal. The longer away the goal is (like retirement) the harder it may be to visualize. When it really is a long term goal, we often think that we can start dealing with it later. That mentality of, “Oh, I will start tomorrow,” can be a goal killer.
Get comfortable with delayed satisfaction. Don’t let the lack of an immediate win deter your efforts. Remember the big picture. I find vision boards really helpful here!
Get back up when you get knocked down. The famous proverb, “Fall down seven times, get up eight,” says it all. Build your resilience and stamina. When it gets really tough to get back on track, lean on the support of family, friends, colleagues.
Which brings me to – share your goal with others. Find a goal buddy or build a support group with a shared vision. When I train for athletic events, I look forward to working out because the friendship makes it more fun. Likewise when I get discouraged, they cheer me on. A goal buddy helps keep us accountable. This in turn fosters consistency.
Devise your plan. Your plan is your road map to get you point A to point B and then point C followed by point D – you get the picture. You need a plan to get you there, but when you are banking on consistency – your plan can consist of many, many baby steps.
Yes, baby steps will get you there if you are consistent.
Keep record! Whether you have an app to help you track your success (there are sooo many apps, I’m sure you can find one to fit your goal) or you jot down in a journal every night before bed. Keep track of all the steps you are taking toward reaching your goal. This keeps you mindful of the steps you have taken and helps you stay focused on your goal.
Consistency is the key to reaching your goals because consistency is what allows us to build new habits. Developing new habits (saving money, reading more, learning a new hobby, exercising, getting healthier) is what is needed to make true lifestyle changes. This in turn will allow us to reach our goals!
What are your goals for 2019? I’d love to hear what you have planned!
