It’s easy to come up with a plan and some goals to meet.  The hard part is the follow through and persistence to meet those goals. If you are starting on your journey to better health, or struggling with staying on track, here are some strategies that might help.

Remind yourself why you have goals. Maybe you are striving for more energy, thinking about being around for your grandchildren, or working hard to improve self image. All of these are good reasons to continue improving your daily habits. If you are unsure of the reason why you want to be healthier, it is probably because you want to feel better in general. That is going to happen… just keep trying!

Consult with a professional, or your support system. Find someone who truly cares about your success, who will help you and not sabotage you! Ask them to be your go-to person when temptation and the desire to give in arise.

Talk positively. It is true that we say many more negative things to ourselves than positive, and when trying to make changes, this is especially detrimental. If you feel that you deserve success, you will more likely achieve it. Place yourself higher on your list of priorities and remember that no matter how hard it gets, you are in control.

Shrink your goals. This doesn’t mean you should make your final goal easy to achieve, but changing the steps you take to get there can be a good idea. Taking an easier route doesn’t mean you are weak, it just allows you to make lifestyle changes versus the dramatic changes that don’t last. Take the example of the person who wants to lose fifty pounds. Instead of focusing on weight, the first daily goals could be to drink an extra bottle of water, get at least twenty minutes of exercise, and eat an extra vegetable. Once these goals are achieved, more progressive goals can be added. While it may take longer to get the weight off, the lifestyle change that is formed is more likely to be forever.

Whatever you do, remember to make promises to yourself not to quit until you reach your goal. If you have an off weekend, that doesn’t mean you quit, it just means it might take an extra week. In the long run of feeling great and living well, what’s an extra week?