We’re at the tail end of 2017, and already are bracing ourselves for the New Year. With the possibility of starting on a clean slate fresh on our minds, obviously we start to plan ahead and set up goals towards becoming better versions of ourselves. For many of us, that’s dreaming up goals related to diet and fitness. And already this is where things start to head downhill.

Most people are setting themselves up for failure because their goals sound something along the lines of, “I want to lose weight, so my goal is to start running every morning,” or, “I want to lose 10lbs in 2 months, so I will workout this way or follow a particular diet.”

We all know the importance of being clear and specific when it comes to creating goals. Doing so helps us to plan ahead. But even the greatest plan will have the worst outcome if nothing is going to make you stick with it.

Here’s a common New Year’s resolution: running every morning for exercise. While you may think this is a worthy goal, the truth is that it’s not; it’s a habit. And habits are what we need to develop in order to achieve a goal. An authentic goal should make you feel really excited for the many areas of your life that it will impact.

Take this for example:

“I want to lose 10lbs because then I will feel absolutely amazing and confident!”

Your  response to such a “goal” should be why. Why do you want to feel amazing and confident? Perhaps the answer would be, “Because then I will always be in a good mood. I won’t avoid being intimate. I will finally have the confidence to do things I’ve been putting off.”

You have to ask yourself again- why? Your answer may continue to explain as follows:

“Because it will help me to connect with others and enjoy my life!”

In other words, your new body and the new habit of daily exercise are going to help you achieve your deepest desires. If that’s the case, then you’re going to have to imagine every scenario where both of these things come into effect. One way of doing this is writing down, reviewing, and re-living these scenarios often- at least once a week to keep yourself on track. If you truly believe this goal is worth your while, then you’re going to have to treat your motivation like a fuel source. There will be times when motivation runs dry, and you’ll have nothing left to power you through your workouts.

Don’t be at the mercy of it.

Motivation is like a muscle that needs to be constantly exercised. You can’t expect to do this once and think it’s going to last forever. You have to train the motivation as often as possible or it’s going to grow weak and die, and so too will your goals and dreams of a better life.

So how do you feed your motivation? One way is to imagine yourself what will happen if you don’t achieve your goal. Dig deep and try to feel your own pain. Pain can be a  great tool and  often a great motivator, because it will lit up a fire under your butt more than anything. Learn how to turn your pain and fear of failure into passion and drive. 

 Take note of every little accomplishment; getting started, finishing a workout even when you’re stressed out or dirty or have a million different things to do, eating a healthy meal no matter how tempting it is to go the easy route with fast food. You’ll notice that motivation can come from being proud. Just remember that failure is inevitable. You will fail, and you can’t let that stop you. Failure is nothing more than a valuable lesson.  There’s no reason to lose the drive just because  you missed a workout one day, or just because  you had one too many cookies. And again, if you feel pain, or guilt from failing, recognize the gift and turn it back into passion and positive power that will keep you going and kicking some serious ass!

Learn to stay consistent. If habits help us to reach our goals, then stick to them. Develop that mental strength to do what needs to be done every day until the struggle becomes second nature. Exercising everyday is intimidating to beginners. They think it’s torture, which is a very limiting belief. You can choose to believe whatever you want so why not decide to believe that exercise is fun? Ease into it, and celebrate every little victory. Start doing things consistently. All of a sudden, you’re going to want to exercise everyday, because it’s a habit. And that habit is now a part of your daily routine; without it, things seem off. Like forgetting to take a shower or brush your teeth. It just feels weird. Before you know it, you’ll have reached your goal.

Trust me, New Year’s resolutions have a very short shelf life. They come with a fine print that hardly anyone bothers to even read. Motivation. Determination. Consistency. Practicality. Habits. Patience.

Your mind is going to take you places you’ve never been to so long as you train it to work for you, and not against you. So this New Year’s, think long and hard when it comes to setting up goals for the New Year. Know what it’s going to take to reach them, and whether or not they’re truly going to stick with you for the long run.