Goals can be a very empowering and motivating tool to use in life.  Have you ever set a difficult goal for yourself and achieved it?  And how did you feel after?  Yeah, now there’s something money can’t buy.  I read something the other day that said we should set small goals for ourselves to achieve, even if it’s several small goals that add up to one huge one.  The reason being that our brains do not know the difference between almost achieving a goal versus giving up and the feelings associated with that.  Our brains only register success and failure.  So to feel productive and successful at whatever it is you are trying to accomplish, small goals are worth trying. 

I have found that concept to be very true for me in my weight loss efforts.  When I first started, I had two goals.  One was to reach 140 pounds (I have since moved it down to 130 now that I am closer) and to lose the initial 20 pounds.  At the time, 140 pounds looked like it was years away but 20 pounds felt doable.  Once I reached my 20 pound goal, I set a new one to lose another 20.  And this continued for awhile until I’ve reached the point where I am now 26 pounds away from my goal weight.  Go me!  That’s my blood, sweat, and tears right there.

So as I approach my goal weight, I have begun to set new goals and motivations for myself.  One that I am really super excited about is that once I reach my goal weight, I am going to treat myself to either a kickboxing or a yoga class!  I figure by the time I get there, I am going to be darn sick of staring at the walls where our treadmill is and I’ll be ready to workout in new ways.  I also find it highly motivating knowing that I’ll be in the best physical shape of my life and ready for what I’d consider to be some challenging classes. 

Now these are just my goals pertaining to my health and weight loss but this line of thinking is in other areas of my life as well.  I also have goals (albeit very small) for this blog, for my education, and for my spirituality.  That’s about the span of my challenges for now, I mean really, there’s only so much time in the day! 

So tell me, what are your goals?  How do you go about achieving them?  Is it more motivating for you to have one large goal to focus on or breaking it into smaller ones?  I’d love to learn what helps keep other people motivated.