Deciding to lose weight, get fitter or healthier is one of the most important decisions we can make. When we resolve to make changes such as these, we often feel really determined and resolute.

Yet why do we so often end up failing in our efforts and reverting back to our old ways? 

The answer quite simply is that our habits are so ingrained that we have to train our brains before we can train our bodies. 

Just using willpower and self-discipline is like trying to chop down a big tree with a penknife, simply too painful and will take forever! We need a little preparation work to get our minds on our side, and by this I mean both levels of our mind, our conscious and subconscious. Since information about habits is stored in the subconscious mind  it makes sense to ensure this powerful area of our mind is working for us rather than against us.

The 9 Keys to an Achievable Outcome

These questions have been developed in Neuro-linguistic Programming, a science of behaviour change. Work through these series of questions and write the answers down. Your outcome can be anything you want to be, do or have.

Begin by asking yourself: ” How is it possible that I don’t have it now?”

 1. State in the positive

” What specifically do you want?”

2. Specify your present situation

“Where are you now?”

3. Specify your outcome

“What will you see when you have it?”

What will you hear when you have it?”

What will you feel when you have it?”

4. Specify evidence of result

“How will you know when you’ve achieved it?”

5. Is it desirable?

“What will this outcome get for you or allow you to do?”

6. Is it for self-initiated and self-maintainable?

“Is this outcome only for you?”

7. Is it in an appropriate context?

“When do you want to achieve this?”

“How do you want to achieve this?”

8. What resources are needed?

 “What do you have now, and what do you need to have to achieve your outcome?”

“Have you ever had or done this before?”

“Do you know anyone who has?”

“Can you act as if you have it?”

9. Your biggest motivational drivers

“For what purpose do you want this?”

“What will you gain or lose if you have it?”

“What will happen if you get it?”

“What won’t happen if you get it?”

“What will happen if you don’t get it?”

“What won’t happen if you don’t get it?”

Training your brain by answering these questions is powerful and will help you set and cement in your mind an achievable outcome. In combination with writing the answers down, research shows you are at least ten times more likely to achieve your goal. 

A little preparation can go a long, long way.

The mind is key to producing successful results. Everyone is in charge of their mind and therefore their results. You are in charge of your mind, and therefore, your results.

1. Lack of a compelling vision

This is one of the most striking parts of motivation which people often overlook.  Without a clear, engaging and energising vision of yourself as you want to be, you lack the internal drive to get to it. It’s about seeing a new possibility, shaping yourself in the future and being inspired to see who you are as a healthier, fitter person.  Your vision is the picture of the best that you can be. You can’t do it unless you can imagine it.

2. Lack of a compelling reason

Many people don’t identify their real reason for wanting to exercise, get fitter or lose weight, in other words they don’t ask themselves ‘Why does this matter to me?’  You may need to counter your answer with another ‘why’ several times to dig out the true reason. Your reasons are your desires and your desires are what drive you, not willpower or anything else. And your desires will sustain you when the going gets tough.

3. Lack of importance

Lots of people feel they want to exercise but they don’t do it. If you really want something then you need to make it important. People often view exercise as something they should be doing, and if they are not doing it, the more they don’t do it the worse it feels. Saying ‘I should exercise’ diminishes its importance in our minds as well as the chances of us doing it. We know we don’t always do the things we should. There are many techniques that can change how you feel about exercise so it becomes something you want to do. Even by changing the words you say to yourself, instead of saying ‘I should exercise’ say I need to, I want to, I can, I must…whichever one motivates you most.

4. Lack of enough emotional pain

People are motivated to change when they decide they’ve had enough. The pain of staying where they are is just too great. Pain and pleasure are the things that drive us. We move away from what we perceive as painful and towards what we perceive as pleasurable. This often works against us if we focus on the short term. The potential pleasure of an attractive, fit body can be outweighed by the ‘pain’ (or more rightly fear of pain) of exercising. You can reset the links by attaching pain to your old behaviour unhealthy behaviours and pleasure to the new behaviours e.g. exercising. Through repetition and getting in touch with the feelings and sensations, you can condition any new behaviour including exercise, so that it becomes automatic (Neuro-associate conditioning, Anthony Robbins)

5. Lack of a goal, strategy, plan

Having a clear goal or outcome in mind is part of the equation for success. Then it requires a plan to implement it, strategies to negotiate times when things don’t go to plan and action. A lot of the time people have an intention to exercise a certain number of times a week and just hope to cram it in somewhere on top of everything else. Before they know it the 3 or 4 times a week becomes once or not all. Those people who write down where they want to get to, when and how they are going to implement exercise are 10 times more likely to do it. Just by scheduling your exercise in your diary you create space for yourself, both physically and mentally. And very importantly plan your rewards for each success, no matter how small.

6. Lack of support

This can be a major factor in why some people give up in pursuing any goal. The right support in any form is immensely helpful for both moral support and accountability. Think of the people you know who could give you the right motivational support.

7. Lack of belief in self or goal

Lack of belief causes many people to give up their fitness efforts or never begin in the first place. Sometimes it leads people to completely sabotage themselves. It is often related to worthiness, not feeling worthy of successfully achieving your goal or being your best. There is a lot more to it and much you can do to develop an unshakeable belief in yourself, and it is certainly worth investing time to do it.

An unshakeable belief, thinking like a winner, is more than just words or thoughts, “it is the engine that drives you forward and powers you over any obstacle” (Dr Spackman, Neuroscientist).

Everyone deserves to be successful, champion yourself as you would your best friend, and stay close to people who can help you to see yourself at your highest and best.