How many of us have started something – a diet, fitness regime, study course, etc. and never finished it. In lots of cases never gotten past the 2nd or 3rd week?

Plenty I would guess.

Why is that?

We started for some perfectly good reasons:

• We wanted to look/feel better;
• We wanted to know something more;
• Get a better job, or improve our career prospects;
• To feel better about ourselves
• etc

Yet, we stopped. Why?

Good question that why!

Mostly, it is because we started out with a great reason or reasons, yet we didn’t do it with feeling. We aren’t emotionally connected with the outcomes we started out to achieve.

Think of the difference between something where you are passionate and emotionally connected to the outcome and something where you just think its a good idea, or someone else puts you up to it – so you aren’t connected emotionally. Invariably, you will get much further down the path, if not all the way in the first case, whereas you probably end up in the scenario described at the start of this article in relation to the second example.

So if we know that is the case, how can we use that knowledge to stay the course?

Spending time reminding yourself about the reasons why, and I mean getting into the emotional state that is the reason behind your effort. Thinking about how you will feel when you get there; what others will say about you; what difference it will have on your life. We can also set up reminders throughout the day and in your various environments to make sure we don’t go off course and spend time focusing on the end result.

If you are really serious about achieving something, then it is up to you to make sure that you give yourself the best chance of achieving it. Not feeling bad when the first obstacle presents itself – maybe someone offering you some chocolate – but feeling good when you resist it and stay the course.

The more you can use your feelings (in a positive way) to keep you on course, the easier it will be. It is generally, getting past the first 21 days that is the hardest. Knowing that, set yourself up to win, by limiting opportunities to go off track in that time frame.

Keep on keeping on

All the best