5 Proven Ways To Get Motivated And Reach Your Goals

Wondering how to get motivated and actually reach your goals? Keep reading!

Less than 10% of American’s will follow through with their New Year resolutions.

It’s a sad but true fact.

According to StatisticBrain.com, losing weight is the number one goal set by American’s in 2015.  Sadly, only 8% of Americans followed through with their resolution.

Too often sleeping in wins over working out. Pizza beats salad. Netflix overcomes any desire to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

What’s the problem? Why can’t we follow through with our goals? Why can’t we choose what’s good for us more often?

Well, besides good ol fashioned discipline, I blame motivation. If we lack motivation, we aren’t going to want to do the things that bring us closer to our resolutions.

We all struggle with motivation from time to time. Or moment to moment. Even those people who always seem to be on fire and make things happen.

Discovering what motivates you is critical for lasting change and accomplishing your goals. The following are my top tips for how to get motivated (and stay motivated) so you can crush your resolutions this year!

How To Get Motivated And Reach Your Goals

1. Actually Believe in Yourself

It may sound incredibly simple, but the belief that you can accomplish something is the foundation for motivation.

If you don’t have faith in yourself and your ability to accomplish something…we’ll you’re going to have a nearly impossible time reaching that goal.

How can you increase your belief in yourself?

Start with positive self-talk, mantras, writing down your thoughts, and if it’s in your beliefs, prayer.

Belief and faith move us to keep trying and to keep going even when it becomes difficult to do so. Tell yourself, YOU CAN DO THIS because girl, you can!

2. Make SMART Goals

SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. This is where you will put your faith into action. SMART goals assist in framing your ultimate goal and give you the steps to accomplish it.

Don’t forget to WRITE THEM DOWN.

A study done at Dominican University found that those who actually wrote down their goals were more likely to reach them and accomplish more.

3. Visualize It

Use visuals to help remind you of your SMART goals and why you want to accomplish them.

Visual cues have been proven to be powerful forces for behavior change. Visuals can be anything that will help remind you of why you want to make a change.

Here are some examples:

• Have fresh, clean, healthy food visible in the fridge and pantry. Likewise, have unhealthy processed and sugary foods out of sight! When hunger strikes motivation to eat nutritious food is often weakened and we will reach for the first thing in sight. Make sure it is healthy!

• Write down your goals and put them in a spot where you will see them every day. Having them visible will help keep you focused and on track. Something like a vision board can be fun to make and useful!

• Follow Instagram or social media accounts of individuals who have similar goals, post healthy recipes, and provide quality information. Find accounts of educated people who emphasize all the components of wellness and healthy lifestyle changes, not just having a hot body.*

*Just because someone posts pictures of themselves flexing in a bikini (and there are PLENTY ) does not mean they have any qualifications to instruct others how to live a healthy life. Find people who are educated and have spent the time to understand health and fitness. *Cough Cough like me. 😘

Beyond having reminders of your goals, visualizing yourself with that end result can be incredibly powerful.

It’s how the best marketers sell you and make their millions. If a marketer can’t get you to see what the after looks like when using their product, they aren’t going to sell.

Similarly, you need to visualize yourself with your after. What will it look like? Will it make you happier? Healthier? More organized? With more time?

Once you see yourself with the end result, your drive and motivation will skyrocket. Remember this: Begin with the end in mind. 

4. Educate Yourself

I really can’t emphasize this enough.

Most of my daily motivation to exercise and eat healthy comes from the knowledge of the benefits of doing so, and the consequences of not. This knowledge comes from taking the time to educate myself!

I am not saying you need to go back to school and get a degree in exercise science or dietetics.

Much of what I learned in school about nutrition, training, stress management, and weight management you can find in books at the library and on the internet. FREE SOURCES. (Like this blog!)

Listen to podcasts and books that inspire you. Make it a goal to learn something new every day.

This is the exact reason I created my blog so I could help educate people about how they can live healthy and fit lives. You don’t have to become an expert but become knowledgeable.

Learn the basics about your body, how it functions, what kinds of foods are best for you, what types of exercise would work best for you, how to manage your stress.

Learn how to cook healthy recipes, and how to exercise correctly. The more you know and understand about your incredible body, the more you will want to treat it like the temple it is!

5. Let Your Setbacks Drive You

Life was meant to be challenging. If it wasn’t challenging, how would we grow? The trick is to learn from your setbacks and let them drive you.

Learn to turn disappointments into motivation.

Sometimes it might feel like the world is against you. That the universe doesn’t want you to succeed.

Well, guess what. The world isn’t going to stop you. The universe can SUCK IT. Because you’re going to rise above each challenge and come out better for it.

Making a lifestyle change is not easy. It takes time, constant practice, corrections, and patience.

We are all making mistakes and learning along the way, and that is awesome!

Remember these tips:

1. Have faith
2. Make SMART goals
3. Visualize it
4. Educate yourself
5. Let your setbacks drive you

Need help reaching your goals? Comment below or email me! I want to help you!