Getting in shape is not just about getting a gym membership and throwing out all your snacks...

In any process of achieving a long-term goal, there can come a period of stagnation. Unsurprisingly, most of the questions I get from our readers are due to a stagnation phase when the scale isn't budging. It's easy to rely on visible progress to motivate you, but what about when your progress isn't readily visible? How do you stay motivated during the tough times? Well, you get your mind aligned with goals that you know are easily achievable.

Getting in shape is as much about your vibes as it is your effort. When your mind isn't aligned with your goals doubt can slowly creep in and make you question all of your effort. What is worse is that doubt make you give up entirely. You have to know without a doubt that you're going to achieve your goals and that if you just follow the necessary steps. Otherwise, when you can't see your progress you may get swept up in all sorts of negative thoughts like:

Why aren’t I losing weight?

This diet sucks...

My workouts are boring...

I’m sick of this…

If I have to drink one more protein shake I’m gonna friggin’ puke…

When your motivation wavers everything about losing weight suck. Lack of motivation can cause you to unintentionally despise your goal, despise yourself, or despise whatever gurus you follow. You may get pissed off whenever people ask you how things are going or you don’t want to talk about it. Then, you just give up, you say “to hell with this” and move on to the next thing. Which, frankly, isn’t the worst thing to do once you’ve built up that level of negative momentum.

When you feel sure about your eventual success you don't weigh yourself obsessively. You don't feel nerve-wrecked if you have to miss a workout, you don't beat yourself up if you ate one too many sausage links and you don't lose hope when your progress stagnates.

At night do you ever wonder if the sun is going to come up the next day? Do you wonder when it’s going to come up? The answer is "no" because you just KNOW that it will and the rest is irrelevant. That is the level of certainty that I want you to apply to your intentions. You should be able to think "It's not even a question that I'm going to accomplish my desire." Then, if your progress isn't what you're expecting you don't get upset and lose your motivation. Instead, you think "oh well, scales are dumb, let me keep going."

The way to ensure your motivation remains consistent is by focusing on the right goals. Believe it or not, the right goals are those that feel easy to you. I know, I know, you've been fed all this stuff about "no pain no gain" but the statement should really be "no belief no gain."

How to make sure your vibes match your goals

Figuring out where your focus should be is easy. All you need is a pen, a slip of paper and five minutes. Ideally, you should really do this exercise when you’re in a good mood so that your answers aren’t swayed…

First, grab a pen and paper. Next, think about losing weight or achieving other body goals and imagine all the possibilities. Your task is to think "I will xyz" or "I want xyz" and write down how you feel about those statements. Make any goals that feel easy or simple to you the ones you choose to focus on.

Here is an example of my thoughts about losing weight:

I will stick to my diet – doubt or absolutely?

I will work out consistently every week – doubt or absolutely?

I will lose these last few lbs– doubt or absolutely?

I will drink more water – doubt or absolutely?

I will fit my old jeans – doubt or absolutely?

Now, here are examples of my categorizing my thoughts:

I will stick to my diet – okay that feels good = yes

I will work out consistently every week – okay that feels good = yes

I will lose these last few lbs– Hm, I felt a little unsure when I said that. = doubt

I will drink more water – yep, that’s definitely doable = yes

I will fit my old jeans – yeah for sure, I’m already almost there = yes

In this example, when I made myself think about losing my last few pounds I felt a little doubt about whether I could. Sure, perhaps I was hopeful, but I didn't feel absolutely certain. Focusing on that as a goal didn’t make me feel empowered or at ease. Therefore, that's not going to be a goal of mine. Rather, I'm going to make my goals things that sound easy to me like “sticking to my diet” and “drinking more water." Even without focusing on the pounds I'm going to lose, if I focus on sticking to my diet and drinking more water I'm going to lose the weight anyways.

In my example, the focusing on the pounds as a goal gave me a bit of anxiety. However, there were many parts of the process of losing those pounds that I felt sure I could easily achieve. The mental hack is to focus on the goals that I feel easy or sure about. Rather than allowing the scale reading to give me anxiety I can pat myself on the back about all the water I'm drinking and how I'm sticking to my diet perfectly.What we're working towards is a shift in perspective that feels better. Instead of clawing and trying to get to your goal, allow your goal to come to you.

I hope you enjoyed this post and that it resonated with you. If you haven’t seen the buzz already my I AM affirmation cards are available for order in the store. They’re beautiful, they’re powerful, you’ll feel really amazing about yourself and that’s the key to achieving your goals, feeling good first. Mentally you have to go places that feel good to you.