While it’s pretty well known how important goal setting is for achieving what you want, there are ways to increase the chances of you actually getting to your destination by making sure that you never give up until you actually reach your goal.
In this article, I want to talk about why a pen and notebook are probably the best tools for you to use in order to actually stick to a diet plan until you achieve your weight loss goal. This is a little trick with which you can create a powerful mindset for success that will make it easier to achieve whatever you want.
Why writing is a commitment booster
The power of goal setting stems from the commitment force. It’s been found that we, people in general, don’t like to break our commitments, even if we make them just to ourselves. Once we state our commitment, we work much harder to stick to it. If we don’t we tend to view ourselves negatively, as someone who isn’t consistent and less reliable. No one likes to think badly of themselves.
While simply setting goals and stating them out loud is very powerful in itself, it has been shown in various studies that actually writing things down creates an additional force behind your statement and cements your commitment even further. The studies I refer to, which I read about in a great book called Influence by Robert Cialdini, show how people who write things down stick by them much more strongly than those who don’t.
What can be simpler than grabbing a pen and paper and writing down your goals? It’s something that can help you achieve your weight loss goal, whether it’s to lose 10 pounds in 1 month or to get flat abs or anything else for that matter.
I recommend having a goal notebook in which you can write down your goals, in all areas of your life, and cross them out once you achieve them, immediately setting new ones.
Keep Your Goals In Sight
Writing your goals is just the first step in making your commitment stronger. You need to keep your goals in sight. Take the note you wrote and hang it where you will see it often. For instance, you can hang it on your fridge or your pantry so you’ll see it whenever you go to eat something or on your bathroom mirror where you usually look at the beginning of each day.
Keeping your goals in sight is a good way to remain focused on them. This will make them more solid in your mind and much more powerful. It’s like memorizing something by repeating it over and over. It tends to stick better.
Making Your Commitment Public
One way to inject even more power into your commitments is to make them public. Studies have shown that by sharing what you aim to achieve with other people, especially those you respect the most, you simply force yourself to achieve what you set out to. It is something you must do. The idea that you will let other people down, that you’ll be seen as a weak person, unable to stand by their commitment is simply to hard to bear. You have to do what you set out do, what you publicly committed yourself to do.
So, don’t just write your goals down, share them with your loved ones. They’ll support you and you will have given yourself an incredible motivational boost.
Remember To Make New Goals
As soon as you achieve your goals, you should make new ones. Never stop aspiring to improve your health and body. This way you will always progress. Simply write a new note with your new goals and repeat the steps I outlined above.
Bottom Line
Writing your goals is an exceptional way to create stronger weight loss goals which will be easier to achieve. So grab a pen and paper and write down your goals.
For another motivation tip read about my morning ritual for weight loss.
