Making Your Goals Stick

If you’re already a Sound Medical Weight Loss patient, you’ve likely already set goals for yourself that excite you and have given you a big dose of motivation.

One thing that often stumps patients along their journey, though, is how to make their goals STICK.

How many times have you given yourself a New Years' resolution, only to give it up weeks later?

How many goals have you had to re-start in your lifetime?

Research shows that only 8% of people who set goals actually achieve them. Fear not, though -- with today’s blog post and the support of Sound Medical Weight Loss staff, you're going to be part of that 8%.

There's a reason goal achievement is so hard. It's because setting goals is not enough -- we have to also do the work to make them sticky.

Here are my FIVE GOLDEN RULES to making your goals STICK, and achieving them like a boss:

1. Feel the _____... and do it anyway.

There may be a multitude of feelings holding you back -- fear, discomfort, worry, tiredness, etc. Any number of thoughts, sensations or emotions may come up. Feel them... but do the hard thing anyway. Let this be your guiding principle throughout your goals journey.

Feel the fear... and take the next step anyway.

Feel tired... but head to the gym anyway.

Feel nervous and silly... but introduce yourself to that new person anyway.

You'll have thoughts, but you won't feel obliged to do what your thoughts say. You'll feel -- but you won't be beholden to acting on those feelings.

2. Create a mantra.

Having a personal mantra is a powerful way to remind yourself of what you’re capable of, how far you’ve come in your life, and how strong you are. It is especially powerful as an ally through big personal journeys like weight loss, and when setting big, bold goals. Your mantra is the ultimate positive reflection of your spirit. It feels, in many ways, like an uplifting affirmation and a massive confidence boost. Here's my favorite exercise to help you come up with a personalized mantra you'll love.

3. Do some visualization.

Visualization is powerful, and not just in a woo-woo way -- it actually helps us adopt the mindset required to go after big, bold, difficult goals with confidence and resilience. Some tools include meditation (guided future-self meditation especially), vision boarding, and journaling.

4. Create a sense of urgency.

Too often, our focus is dominated by "urgent" tasks -- things with a defined deadline and a sense of emergency (e.g. emails awaiting a response, deadlines given by your manager). Urgent tasks are sometimes also super important, but not always. On the other hand, our goals are often incredibly important, but lack a sense of urgency, so they often get pushed to the bottom of our to-do lists (for example – getting in a workout). Adjust this by creating a false sense of urgency for each of your goals. Create deadlines; add your goals to your calendar; create reminders that you'll see frequently; get an accountability buddy (see #5 below). The more you create a sense of urgency for your important tasks, the more balanced your focus will become.

5. Get an accountability buddy.

Hire a coach or find someone who has a set of similarly ambitious goals to keep you accountable. Commit by sharing your goal, and then sharing progress toward that goal weekly or monthly. Get and give feedback with an open mind. Schedule meetings with your accountability buddy and commit to not canceling them - ever! Also remember, if you’re enrolled in the 3 or 6 month package with Sound Medical Weight Loss, one mindfulness coaching session is included – FREE. Take advantage of it!

If you'd like more support getting your goals to "stick", contact us - we approach your journey holistically, with a comprehensive, mindfulness-based toolkit. We're here for you.