We are in the home stretch for this series! This is the final post in our series talking about practical things you can do maximize your success when setting goals that matter.
To review so far….
1. Choose a Replacement behaviour that is incompatible with the one we want to eliminate or that helps us focus on our values (the reason it is important to complete this goal in the first place).
2. Rehearse following through on successfully living our values and do this regularly by pairing it with something we do every day (any established behaviour)
Today we are focusing on creating meaningful reminders (the fancy term is External cues) to help keep our commitment to our goal high.
3. CREATING MEANINGFUL REMINDERS
This is where we get to be really creative! The idea is that when we are trying to change our behaviour, we do best when we use external reminders of what our goal is or why it is important.
Finding things to put in our environment to remind us of our goals and/ or values can be a lot of fun and inspiring.
EXAMPLE #1: If I want to save money to go on a trip to Paris,
putting a picture of Paris on my phone, in my wallet and /or stuck to my credit card may help me stay motivated to save money.
EXAMPLE #2: If I want to loose weight, I could place encouraging or inspiring quotes on the kitchen cabinets and a the fridge and/ or in my wallet.
ie. “There is a revolution inside of us and we have a CHOICE everyday to wake up and ask ourselves, am I ALL IN today?”. I have had some people tell me they put post-it notes around their house saying “All in?”.
EXAMPLE #3: If I want to start being nicer to myself, I might create a SUCCESS JAR, where I put a marble into a clear jar in a visible place, for every time I do something that is good for me (ie, making healthy choices for breakfast, not eating junk food when it was available, not beating myself up when I made a mistake, taking the stairs instead of the elevator etc)
EXAMPLE #4: If I want to practice being assertive or saying no, I might put reminders on my phone about why that is important, set an alarm for me to do Power Poses (see Permission to be Powerful post) or find a few songs that remind me that I am powerful and strong.
These are just a few ideas, basically anything that will remind you of your goal and its importance will help you stay motivated!
Please feel free to share your questions and comments by emailing us or sending us a message on twitter @DrAdrianaWilson. See you next week with a whole new topic!
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