Another Monday, Another Failed Diet and How to Turn it Around

I usually don’t succeed by accident, I would venture a guess that most people don’t either.

Goals can propel us forward, challenge us and teach us about ourselves.

Goals can do something else even more powerful: they teach us to trust ourselves. This gives us an overwhelming sense of personal integrity and holds us accountable, something that was sorely lacking in my life in past years, how about yours?

When you set a goal and follow through for the long haul, you are training yourself to complete what you start. You are building a foundation that is rooted on meaning what you say, on integrity.

Years can go by, one goal after another that falls away. Every Monday is a failed diet attempt, every piece of exercise equipment is a laundry hamper. This does more to us than contribute to our lack of health.

It disintegrates our belief that we can.

That is the dangerous part. When you break your word to yourself so many times, who is left to believe in?

Ever noticed how hard it is to let someone else down? How we feel so bad when we disappoint a loved one? Yet, we continually let down the most important person in our lives without a second thought: ourselves.

It takes just one thing, one small goal to turn it around. Or a big lofty one can be the ticket too. It all depends on your personality and whether you are more of a grand gesture kind of person, or prefer the subtle approach.

If you’ve ever competed in a race of any sort, you’ll know this first hand. Crossing the finish line is an incredible accomplishment, not because on that day you did it, but because of all the days before that race when you chose to take the hard way, you chose to honour an agreement you made with yourself and you trained for it. Crossing that finish line is keeping your word to yourself in a very dramatic and public way.

Each time we set a goal, work at it, and achieve it, we make it easier to do the next time. You will even get to a point where the thought of stopping short or giving up seems unthinkable.

Sure, you might not achieve every goal in grand style. Some might get ugly and dirty but you’ll try. You’ll get there, eventually.

Now that is a powerful place to live.