Have you ever planned to lose weight, stop drinking, eat healthier, move more, or create a new habit?
How were the results of that plan?
The number one reason plans fail is because we fail to plan.
“I’m going to eat healthier,” is not a plan, it’s an idea, a goal. What is the plan? Someone might say, “Well, I won’t eat sugar or dairy.” That’s a wonderful idea, a worthy goal! What’s the PLAN?
How do we go about NOT eating something? If we are in the habit of eating wheat and dairy, and then have a goal to not eat wheat and dairy, what WILL we eat instead? If we do not have a plan, we fall into old habits the instant we feel hungry, or want to soothe painful emotions. Often, we beat ourselves up for not sticking to our plan, but we never had a CHANCE if we didn’t make a plan!
The number one reason plans fail is because we fail to plan. The solution is simple. Write down your plan. If you want to change anything, write down what you WILL do to make the change. Write a food plan for tomorrow of what you WILL eat. Choose your meals a day ahead. Check to make sure you have ingredients. Stop by the market if needed. Write down everything you will eat, breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks – don’t forget to include snacks, or you’ll find yourself reaching for the familiar!
List all the obstacles that may come up, or that have come up in the past if you’ve attempted the goal before, and find a strategy to get around those obstacles. Plan what you will do when challenged, because otherwise it’s easy to fall into old patterns of behavior.
If you plan to move your body more, write down when and how you plan to move! Make a plan for what to do in case you feel unmotivated, or “just don’t want to do it.” Plan what to do if the sun is shining or the rain is falling.
If it’s a BIG goal, you may not know all the steps right now, but you know some of them. Write down the steps you know, and they will lead you to the ones you don’t know yet. As new steps reveal themselves, revise your plan to include them.
Planning makes the difference between failed efforts and victorious outcomes!
Making a plan can make ALL the difference between stress and success, so don’t leave out the KEY ingredient of planning! Write your plan down, and you have a 90% better chance to REACH your goals, and manifest the life you want to live!
I wish you health, and happy planning!
