This month 9 years ago, I embarked on a health journey that allowed me to gain more muscle as an adult and to let go of more than 30 pounds from my starting weight. Most importantly, I’ve kept it off.
I knew I needed something drastic to kick-start my health journey. I did a 30-day cleanse diet that had prescribed breakfasts, lunches & dinners each day. It was semi-weird food pairings and forced me to cook 3 full meals 3 times each day. (I think I grilled steak for breakfast one morning.)
I didn’t necessarily have a weight goal, I had a goal of sticking to the diet plan for the month. As the days and weeks ticked down, I celebrated each milestone. One day, two days, one week, 10 days, two weeks, etc. I was tracking and celebrating my performance goals.
At the end of the month, I committed to NOT stepping on a scale. I believed the plan would get me results, so I wanted to focus solely on the process and not get caught up in early outcomes. At the end of the month, I finally stepped on the scale. I dropped nearly 20 pounds in that one month. I certainly celebrated that achievement.
I used that month as a kick-starter. I knew that program was unsustainable over the long run and I needed a more user-friendly lifestyle to keep up my progress. I started following the “eat right for your blood type” diet and dropped 10+ more pounds over the next couple months and have stayed in that range ever since. (By-the-way, the “eat right for your blood type” is proven NOT being scientifically accurate. It did force more to eat better, more healthy foods for a few years. I’ve switched to different nutrition habits that are also effective for me.)
The key for me was not only the tracking, it was the celebration of the accomplishments. I didn’t eat cake or order champagne. I simply acknowledged my work and progress with my wife who was doing it with me. And now, I use the scale as a means of tracking. It tells me when I need to change or recommitment to my principles and when I’ve earned a personal high five for continuing the work.
Tracking lets you know where you stand in relation to your goals – both your performance goals and your outcome goals. Plus, it shows you the distance you’ve traveled between where you started and where you’re going. It provides the momentum that you have and makes the finish line seem all the more doable.
Celebrating progress keeps you wanting more and more progress while showing gratitude for the work you’ve done thus far. Regular celebration also trains your mind to do beneficial activities because you become expectant of those positive feelings.
How to use tracking & celebrating
Start with the goals that you have. Make sure that you have both an outcome goal and performance goal. An example of outcome & performance goals look like: I want to drop 20 pounds (outcome) by following a specific nutritional plan (performance).
Create a tracking system for both the performance goals and the outcome goals. If you’re in sales – track your calls/contacts. If you’re focused on health, track your meals, gym, cardio zones, etc. Find the key metrics that by doing it will lead to you achieving your outcome. Be mindful of not getting lost in the numbers and paralysis from endless data.
Of course, as you do those meaningful activities, track them. It provides the accountability and motivation to continue the activities because you’ll want to keep up with the goals.
As you track and hit those performance goals, do something to celebrate. The simple thing is taking a moment to acknowledge your work with pride and gratitude for yourself. Do it regularly and you’ll help to teach yourself that the work comes with positive feelings from the celebration. You can also create milestones with personal rewards.
For motivation that is sustainable, use these hacks to find it and keep it up so that you can get the results that you’re after.