March Weight Loss Goals – Get motivated with your Destination Postcard

Since today is March 1, the start of a new month, it’s easy to talk about fresh motivation for reaching our weight loss goals.  So I thought I would bring up this idea of a “destination postcard”.  Ever heard of it?

A “destination postcard” (as defined by Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard) is “a vivid image from the near future to show you what’s possible.”

They say that in order to make lasting changes we need to know how our minds work, that our brain has two independent systems, the emotional side and the rational side.  The rational side needs crystal clear directions (for example, “Stay within my Calorie Target” or “Measure everything before you eat it” or “I cannot watch t.v. longer than I exercise”) but the emotional side needs inspiration to stay motivated.

A “destination postcard” can be a very powerful motivation if it becomes a “place” you visit whenever you’re faced with a temptation to overeat or avoid exercise, etc.

My destination postcard at the moment has something to do with a new bathing suit I’d like to buy, how I’d like to look in it and the confidence I’d like to have taking my kids to the neighborhood swimming pool this summer.  Kinda silly, I know, but a powerful motivator for me since, with four little boys, summers and swimming pools, bathing suit season is not an option, it’s a given!

Visualization and positive thinking can be powerful tools of motivation in our weight loss strategy.  What is your “destination postcard”?

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Tagged as: destination, Motivation, postcard, visualization