Thursday, May 10, 2012

Reward is its own Reward

By setting up small, achievable goals, you will reinforce the actions and behavior necessary to reach your overall goal. An even better way to help prod you along is to reward yourself. That’s right. More than just reaching over your shoulder for a pat on the back, give yourself something to look forward to in addition to reaching your small goal.

If your goal is to lose 30 pounds, don’t wait until you have reached 30 pounds to reward yourself; celebrate when you lose 5 pounds, then 10 pounds, 15 pounds, and so on. Obviously your reward isn’t a Whopper with cheese. Maybe it is a new pair of jeans or a music CD.

Whatever the reward, it is yours to choose, but please do give yourself a tangible, meaningful “atta boy” when you reach the small goals. Not only does it give you something to look forward to, it lubricates the process of achieving your goal and reinforces the positive behavior you want. It works for dogs and children, why not ourselves?

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