Step 5 – Continue to reap the benefits!

a)   Evaluation. Work out how you are going to monitor your progress.

Using the goal from step 1, for example:

1.   If I am unable to keep to my 850 calorie diet for 3 days in a row, I will review my plan with my coach.

2.   And so forth.

b)   Maintenance. Once you have reached your goals – there’s no falling asleep! You will still need to establish a plan to help you maintain what you have achieved.

You may need to…

-     Phase out any recording that you have been doing

-     Decide on what behaviours you want to maintain from step 3

-     Decide on natural consequences and phase out artificial ones

-     Keep others involved

-     Use this technique in other areas of your life!

Using the goal from step 1, for example:

1.   All my clothes that are too big for me, I will give to St Vinnies.

2.   I will weigh myself every two weeks on a Sunday morning. If ever I go over 75kilos, I will immediately reinstate the above plan.

3.   And so forth.

And so there you have it! This is it in a nutshell. This can help get some change happening for you – immediately and you can start to feel good about yourself in the process. If any feelings of self doubt start to emerge – make sure that you record this in as part of your plan that you will immediately call your coach or friend to talk it over with them.

The rest is up to you! Hope you find this useful.

This is a step that can so easily be overlooked, after all we are all adults here, consequences are for kids surely! It’s time to trust that there has been loads of research into the influence of this step for adults, and it needs to be respected. So let’s get on with it!

Step 4 – Effective consequences!

Decide on meaningful consequences. Meaningful is the operative word here! When you honour and comply with your plan – really treat yourself and when you don’t, set something up for yourself where you won’t want to have that happen again.

Some further tips…

-     make sure you decide clearly on the steps in your progress which best suit having consequences built in…the milestones perhaps.

-     use immediate, short term, mid and long term consequences

-     use your partner or a friend to monitor you honouring your consequences

Using the goal from step 1, for example:

1.   Each day that I stick to my 850 calorie diet, I will deposit $4 into my special money box. With this money alone I will purchase myself new joggers and gym clothes. Each day I do not stick to my plan I will withdraw $6 and give this to my husband.

2.   When I reach 4 kilometres in 15 weeks as planned, I will deposit a further $40 into my special money box. If I do not reach this, for every 500m short (and part thereof), of 4 kilometres I will pay my husband $20 from my designated money box.

3.   And so forth.

Step 3 – Doing things differently!

a)   Don’t go there! You are at your most vulnerable at the start of your quest! Avoid people or situations that you know will weaken your resolve.

a)   Prepare yourself. This is about setting yourself up well to make it easier to follow through with your chosen pathway.

Using the goal from step 1, for example:

1.   Before I sit down to watch TV, I’ll prepare myself a small plate of freshly cut vegetables to munch on.

2.   I’ll prepare my lunch every evening in preparation for the following day.

3.   I won’t go to dinner at Sally’s for the first 3 months as she serves very rich foods, and I often over eat there. Instead I’ll suggest we meet for coffee.

4.   And so forth. Remember, this is about you winning!

Step 2 – Getting from here to there!

Before going any further take a good look at your goal to see if it can be broken down into several smaller goals.

Using the goal from step 1, for example:

1.   By the end of the first 2 weeks, I will achieve a 500 metre run.

2.   By the end of week 3, I will achieve a 1 kilometre run.

3.   Every 2nd week from then on I will increase my run by a further 500metres until I reach my desired distance of 10 kilometres.

4.   And so forth.

a)   The process. These include all the things you need to prepare so as to move you towards your goal.

Using the goal from step 1, for example:

1.   I will establish an 850 calorie diet of 3 meals per day. I will have 3 pieces of fruit per day as snacks.

2.   I will map out 3 different routes for the 500metre and 1 kilometre run.

3.   Each week before I increase my running distance I will map out a specific route to accommodate the increase in distance.

4.   I will run 6 days per week and I will start running on Sunday 23^rd March.

5.   And so forth.

b)   Starting Point. Record all the details of where you are now including anything you are doing that is stopping you from moving forward.

Using the goal from step 1, for example:

1.   I weigh 100kilos.

2.   I consume 3,000 calories per day.

3.   I eat a 200g bar of chocolate almost daily and also eat sugary snacks late in the evenings.

4.   I don’t exercise and am unfit.

5.   And so forth.

c)   Monitor and Record Progress. Work out how you will monitor and record your progress.

Using the goal from step 1, for example:

1.   Weight will be recorded in the presence of my sister every fortnight on Sunday morning. I will record this on a chart.

2.   I will record my calorie intake daily.

3.   I will record which days I run and the distance I ran.

4.   And so forth.

In attempting to achieve a goal that has either been difficult in the past for you to achieve or you sense will be difficult, I highly recommend you get on board a friend or even a loving family member, or get a coach who has your interests at heart and is willing to support you. You see you need someone to be accountable to, otherwise your cunning mind can and will attempt to steer you in all kinds of directions with excellent persuasions and justifications!

It is amazing to see that even the most organised of people can find it difficult to organise themselves when it comes to doing a task that pushes their ‘fear’ button. They just can’t apply their inborn, ‘to die for’, organisational skills to the task at hand. Their minds become blank! They have allowed fear to dictate their behaviour (no loner able to organise themselves, focusing on time consuming trivial details), so as to prevent them from progressing towards their goals.

But as mentioned in the previous post, emotions do not have to dictate our behaviour. For this to happen however, we need to develop some awareness around who is in charge of dictating our behaviours? Our emotions or us?

The simple 5 step process delivered to you over the coming days, is excellent in bringing awareness to the choices you are making in response to your emotions.

So let’s get started…..

Step 1 – What is Your Goal?

As obvious as it may seem, you need to start with the end in mind! What is it that you want to achieve? While learning how to break through your procrastination, work on only one goal at a time, and write it down.

To set your goal, it needs to be:

-    Important to you. And I mean really important – important enough that you are even willing to put the time in to design a plan for yourself and implement the strategies, rewards and consequences to get your desired result.

-  Measurable and time bound. What are the indicators you are going to use that will let you know you have achieved your goal?  You may want to include something about your desired performance level or alternatively what habit you want to have eliminated. And how long will you give yourself to get there?

-    Realistic. This can at times be a difficult step for people who have a pattern of ‘failing’- proving they are no good at anything. If you think this is you, decide what is attainable and then cut it in half again by further simplifying your goal. Why? Because you are doing this to experience a win!

-    Positive. This is when you focus on what you do want, for example “I will walk daily and eat well”. A negative goal focuses on what you want to eliminate, for example “I will stop smoking”. Positive goals will help you keep focused on your positive desired results, in this case, good health.

What might a written goal look like?

I want to lose weight to improve my health and my self image so that I can be fit enough to run with my son in the next city to surf fun run, next year on 25 March 2010. I will lose 25kilos by 31 January 2010, being my ideal weight of 75kilos. I will also be able to run 10 kilometres uninterrupted within 70 minutes by 28 February 2010.

It’s about as simple as that. So why don’t you write yourself a goal. To start with, aim for something attainable by the end of two weeks. Perhaps you have a project you have been wanting to at least get started. You can decide to have certain things in place by the end of 2 weeks. This will help give you a good idea of how this process works.

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Often a very important phase too. So what is it that is stopping us from taking that next step? Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of exposure, fear of responsibility…….do we need to know the underlying causes to move on?

For some of us, the answer will be an irrefutable ‘yes’, for others ‘no, I guess not’ and still for others, ‘yes, but I just can’t stand putting it off any more and have to put something into motion!’ So where do you fit in?

However you answer, if you are waiting for any fear or angst to disappear before you can start – well you may be waiting for a very long time. Do you have that much time? In fact as time progresses, you may find that your fear only intensifies. Ouch!

Have you ever considered taking your fear for ‘a ride’ with you, as you systematically progress towards your goal? I mean that quite seriously. Don’t fight your fear, as your resistance merely intensifies and feeds it. Your emotions, you know don’t have to control your behaviour at all. Have you ever felt angry at someone and still managed to get on with the task at hand with just as much skill and patience as ever? Or been nervous before an exam and passed with distinctions?

You can still successfully progress towards your goal despite any degree of angst or fear you may be feeling along the way. “Not much fun!” I hear you say! Well, things do change, and as you progress, the intensity of your fear will not be able to have such control over you simply because you have proven to yourself you can manage very well despite it. And guess who gains control of their life in the process? You do! So, recognise your fear is there, just let it be…and get on with doing what you know has to be done.

Over a series of 5 posts, I will outline a very simple and useful way for you to take a single goal that you have been avoiding and progress through the necessary steps until you get there. Those difficult emotions of fear are more than likely to emerge as you start to implement change in your life. Avoid resisting them. Take them along with you as you get along with the task.

Keep a watch on this post for the first step coming soon!

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I hope to be able to serve you in useful ways whether you are a current client, potential client or just a visitor to this site looking for quality information.

Krysia

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