Writing down your goals on paper is crucial in determining how successful you will be with your weight loss.
By writing down what you want to change about yourself, whether it’s deflabbing that flabby stomach or substituting candy for fruit, you can give more meaning to your weight loss.
By writing down your goals…
1.) You can’t forget them
Newsflash – we forget stuff! We’re only human. Sometimes we forget what our goals are including the way we want to accomplish them. By writing down your goals, you now have a tangible document to conveniently refer to. Life becomes much more hassle free when there is a list of perfectly well-thought out goals ready for your perusal. Don’t risk losing your goals by being forgetful – write them down.
2.) Your objectives become clearer
Minds are electrified with thousands of thoughts everyday. The insanity of having to examine every intricate detail of your weight loss objectives in that active mind of yours alone. By putting pen to paper, you have room to elaborate on the minutia.
The minutia I’m talking about are methods you’re going to use to carry out your weight loss goal. You need to know both what the goal is (obviously) and the manner it will be accomplished – the how - in order to successfully carry out a weight loss goal. It’s unrealistic to follow through with a goal if it isn’t fleshed out in some detail beforehand.
Example of an undetailed goal: “I commit to drinking more water everyday.”
This is an easy goal to remember but only because it lacks substance. We have what the objective is but there’s no direction in how to go about it.
Example of a detailed goal: “I commit to drinking 8 glasses of water per day by drinking two at breakfast, two at lunchtime, two before dinner and two at dinnertime.”
In the detailed goal, not only do we know the what the goal is but we fully understand how this will get done. We’re able to better understand how the goal will be accomplished because it is coherently spelled out on paper rather than being boggled in our mind.
3.) Seeing is believing
We all know the cliché “Seeing is believing”, and this is the case when it comes to writing down your goals. If your goals are on paper to read, you will believe in them more. The goal is given more credibility and meaning because you were compelled to write them down to see for yourself.
4.) Your mind is free
You probably have a lot on your mind as it is. Your job, work, school, taking care of children or running errands can be mentally exhaustive. It would be mind-numbing having to remember the list of goals and steps involved for accomplishment verbatim at the end of the day.
By writing down your goals, you have freed yourself from having to needlessly think about the steps it will take to accomplish them all over again – the minutia. You implement a clarity of thought by jotting down the goals and the master plan. Peace of mind resides.
5.) It’s in your face
Your goals no longer just exist in your head – it’s on a sheet of paper, too. You can’t physically ignore the goals if you tape them on your bedroom door or stick them on the fridge. You can’t ignore what stares you in the face.
Imagine being confronted with your weight loss goals every time you open the refrigerator. Having the constant reminder upon opening the refrigerator door that Goal X and Goal Y needs to be completed by a specific time may be what the doctor ordered. The choices you make will change for the better having this list show up in your face.
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It’s much easier to sit and ponder your goals idly, but when you write down your goals, you’re putting in the extra time and effort which gives them higher importance. You are able to go into more detail answering “what” the goal is and “how” it will get done on a sheet of paper. The chances of completing the goals skyrockets.
If you have tried every diet out there or spent a good portion of your life trying to lose weight, give writing down your goals a try. If you can’t merely write down a goal, which takes little energy to do, what makes you think you’ll follow-through with it?
