Most everyone who sets foot in the gym has a goal in mind of what they are looking to achieve. No matter what one’s individual goals are, it is important to remember that it’s going to be done in steps. When you actually hit a step, it’s the time to reward yourself. This can be going out for a drink, eating your favorite food, or even taking a small vacation. This will keep up your motivation for hitting goals and generally moving forward. It also lets you sit back and enjoy hitting small goals on your way to the larger ones.

If your goal is to lose 50 pounds, you have to be happy with losing 10 pounds first.

Once you have rewarded yourself, next comes the most pivotal time, getting right back into gear, and working towards the next step. You should look at the reward as being “all part of the plan”. This means to NOT reward yourself when the time isn’t right. If you like having a drink or eating cookies, just a regular day of work does not warrant rewarding yourself. Maybe you should hold off until you have achieved a step, and you will enjoy that drink or cookie a lot more, instead of having it just make you feel guilty.

Delayed gratification is an important concept when it comes to achieving the results you want, and can also help keep you motivated. Think of your quest towards a goal as steps on a graph; although there might be some dips along the way, it is still always trending upward!