How to stick to your goals

We all start the year with the best intentions. You go to the gym three times a week, toddle into work with your homemade lunches, and even manage to make a bit more time for your family. But if you’re anything like us, the Superwoman routine gets old fast. By February you’re back to buying lunch every day and skiving off workouts. Funny thing is, you know your morning spin class will give you that Beyoncé buzz – and that channelling Nigella in the evenings will make you feel you’ve got your life in order. So if we enjoy the stuff we’re trying to achieve, why is it so difficult to keep up? Truth is, staying motivated is the hardest part. That’s why we’ve come up with these four top tips to helping you achieve anything you want – seriously.

1. Break it down

It’s much easier to stick to something specific and short term than a vague, massive goal. So, you want to get fit – great. But what does that look like, and how are you gonna achieve it? Determine what ‘getting fit’ means to you, and set yourself weekly or monthly goals.

2. Put it in writing

A check list will help in two ways:

Setting out your goals will force you to work out what they are. That nagging feeling that you should be saving can be turned into ‘Save x amount of every monthly pay cheque.’ When you’ve done it, you can tick it off and see that you’ve achieved your goal.
Once you’ve made your list, display it where you’ll be able to see it every day. This will help keep your goals fresh in your mind and remind you to stick to them.

3. Sharing is caring

Family and friends can be a great support when you’re trying to stick to your goals. They can give you the extra boost you need on days when you’re just not feeling it. Sharing your goals with others also makes you accountable for them, which acts as another little incentive to stick to them.

4. Give yourself a break

Two things you need to know when trying to achieve any goal:

Nobody’s perfect (cheers for that one, Jessie J)
Everyone needs the occasional cheat day

If you cave and eat a pizza, so what? Everyone eats pizza. Don’t beat yourself up about it because tomorrow is a new day. Also, allowing yourself a cheat day might help you stick to your goals. Moderation is key. If you tell yourself you’re never gonna eat chocolate again, you’re probably gonna eat more chocolate because you’re constantly thinking about never having chocolate – mmm, chocolate… But if you limit the sweet stuff to Saturdays, you won’t feel you’ve condemned yourself to broccoli for the rest of your life, and it’ll be easier to eat healthily six days a week.