What motivates you? A D-1 Scholarship? Your health? Your appearance? Playing ball with your kids as they grow up?
Whatever your motivation, it’s important to be able to remain focused on your goal. One of the biggest reasons people stray from their fitness plans is that they lose focus on their goals and motivations. It’s crucial to keep cues in sight that will remind you WHY you want to make the changes you are striving for – and that’s the first step in keeping focused on your goal.
If you’re working toward a scholarship, hang posters and pictures from the college you want to go to on the walls where you’ll see them every day. If you’re working to improve your physique, buy the bikini you want to wear on your next vacation and hang it from the mirror in your bedroom. Heck, plan the vacation and put a picture from the destination on the fridge, next to the mirror, etc. If your doctor said you need to improve your health, tape a note of the blood pressure range you’re aiming for on the mirror in the bathroom, or on the center of your steering wheel.
See the pattern here? Visual references are extremely powerful reminders of why our goals are important to us – and visual references are crucial in keeping our eyes on the prize. Now, don’t confuse visual reminders with looking in the mirror every morning. The very subtle differences that you may see in the mirror will likely go unnoticed in the short term, while seeing that bikini or college poster every day will serve as the reminder for why you’re committing to this change.
What your motivation entails is up to you. If it’s important to you, then keep reminding yourself of it, and stay the course. The most important thing is to stay committed to your goals.
