I am about to give you one of the most important keys to success in any area of life. It will keep your motivation high and help you to stay on target.
Reward yourself.
Reward yourself for achieving your goals, every step of the way. When you take a step forward, reward yourself. When you hit a milestone, give yourself a bigger reward.
When you complete the final step, have a huge personal party!
Let me break this down for you so you can apply this in your own life:
Each year I set a number of goals which are meaningful to me. I would recommend everyone do the same.
Some goals are a reward in themselves. For instance, taking your wife to Hawaii for our anniversary is a goal AND a reward.
Some goals are good and meaningful, just not much fun-like losing 50 pounds. Huge goal, important, but not much fun (at least, not until you get there.)
For goals which are not in themselves rewarding, give yourself rewards each step of the way, in proportion to the effort needed to accomplish that piece of the goal.
First, take the annual goal-lose 50 pounds-and decide on a reward for accomplishing it: A trip to the mountains for the weekend.
Next take the annual goal and decide what you can accomplish this quarter and set up a reward for that as well: When you lose 13 pounds this quarter and you will reward yourself with two new outfits.
Then take the quarterly goal and break it down into what you will accomplish THIS month, creating a reward for that: When you lose 5 pounds this month, you will get a subscription to that magazine you want.
Finally, each week set a goal for that week and give yourself a reward for that as well: When you lose 2 pounds this week, you will reward yourself with a "movie night."
Then keep pictures of the rewards in front of you all the time-on your computer wallpaper, around the house, in your car. Focus on the immediate reward: Losing 2 pounds and getting a movie night.
This method helps me and thousands of others to stay motivated and focused toward succeeding with our goals.
If you would like more information on how you can be more successful in every area of life, put to work this free download: http://www.All-In-One-Business.com/getdirection
Copyright 2004 by Kevin Bidwell All-In-One-Business.com
Kevin Bidwell is owner of http://www.all-in-one-business.com
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