Tobi Karim, RN, BNSc
Have you ever wondered why at the beginning of the year it is normal for you r morale to be high in wanting to do the right things, carve new goals, remember old abandoned and unaccomplished health goals of the previous year to , and promise yourself that this is the year you get them accomplished?
Have you also noticed only a couple of weeks into the “new” year, you recline into your normal ways of doing things and leave your goals unachieved?
Health goals amongst many other goals you might have set will only be achieved if these questions are answered honestly by you.
I will be outlining 5 reasons people don’t stay motivated to their health goals. And here’s how this would be beneficial for you, genuinely answer which one of the 5 is coming in the way of achieving those goals.
1. Goal setting technique
If your goal setting technique is wrong then you have failed before you even started at all. Some people set their goals in their head and go “I got this! I will do this and that before the end of 202X”.
This is not the best way to set goals and this will not keep you motivated in the long run.
Research shows that the human mind aids humans to remember more when they write things down, and more when they write it in a place where they can always see it boldly every day.
Write your goals in a spot where you will surely see them every day and watch how motivated you will be to pull through with them.
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2. Habits
Some people are great at sticking to their set goals and plans without deferring, but others have the habit of starting and stopping halfway through.
This is normal, as it’s in human’s natural build to do the easy and fun things rather than the hard and long-term rewarding activities.
Yet the power to unlearn this habit is also in humans! The trick is to start with the easiest health goal you have set. Start small and you will soon grow the habit of achieving all your health goals.
3. Lack of specificity and measurability
When your goals are not specific enough or measurable, there are high chances of slacking off on them. You start and then stop at some point because you feel like you can always achieve the goal at a later time.
If the goal is not specific enough it is easy to slip back into old routines. For example
I. ” I should lose some weight before the year ends.”
II. “I will work towards losing 5kg between 1st of January 2022 and 1st of March 2022”
It will be much easier for the second goal to be achieved than the first goal. Set goals with specificity so that you can monitor how far you have gone and how far you still have to go to achieve your goal.
4. Unrealistic goals
“I will stop eating carbs tomorrow”, “I will lose this extra weight this week”, “I will start eating a balanced diet so that I can grow into a figure 8 in 3 months”. These are examples of the goals some people are hoping to achieve at some point this year and the simple truth is IT IS NOT REALISTIC.
When you head into the year with these types of goals you will only frustrate yourself and stop setting any more health goals. To stay motivated, you need boldly written down realistic goals.
Get a health coach to help you if you feel stuck at this point, you can have control over your health too, you just need a little help.
5. Accountability
To stay motivated to your goals, you need to be accountable to yourself or to someone that you respect and must heed.
We all need the push every once in a while and having someone that can keep you accountable will boost your morale to smash your goals and get your allotted rewards at the end of it.
While some people have health-related issues that stop them on track to achieving their goals, some others belong to the above-listed categories and they lose the motivation they started with.
Don’t beat yourself up for already falling off the wagon, there’s still plenty of time in the year to smash some goals.
You don’t need a new year to set health goals, you just need a new day and a new mindset, take another shot at it! Remember, you only miss a shot you don’t take.
Do contact us @renomaholistichealth on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, If you need a health coach to tailor your goals.
