{"id":5119,"date":"2011-01-02T22:41:58","date_gmt":"2011-01-03T06:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=5119"},"modified":"2013-09-30T12:36:33","modified_gmt":"2013-09-30T20:36:33","slug":"how-to-make-your-good-intentions-stick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-your-good-intentions-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Your Good Intentions Stick"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Losing weight. Exercising regularly. Drinking less alcohol and caffeine. Developing better time management habits. Keeping up with chores. Whatever it is, I bet you’ve got plenty of good intentions right now.<\/p>\n

But however great your intentions, you might not succeed. Feeling motivated to change isn’t usually enough to get you the whole way there \u2013 as you’ll probably know, if you’ve ever tried dieting or quitting smoking.<\/p>\n

How can you make sure that those good intentions stick?<\/p>\n

Make a Plan<\/h2>\n

It’s easy to get gung-ho about a new plan; in that first flush of motivation, you feel so determined that you can’t imagine failing. The problem is, motivation doesn’t last. You’ll pretty quickly hit a point when you feel apathetic: maybe you’re tired and don’t feel like working out, or you don’t have any healthy food in the house.<\/p>\n

By planning ahead, you give yourself a much better chance of success.<\/strong> Plans mean getting realistic about your dreams. Instead of vague ideas like “I should lose weight”, you’ll end up with specific actions that get you from where you are to where you want to be.<\/p>\n

A plan doesn’t need to be complicated, or rigidly inflexible. You might, for instance:<\/p>\n