Can you believe that January is already almost over? If you were one of the people who began 2017 with a list of health and fitness goals, and are yet to make any progress, then this is the post for you. Now, what's the best form of motivation? An end goal. Whether you want to fit into a smaller clothing size for that wedding in the spring, lose ten pounds for your summer holiday, or squat your bodyweight by the end of the year, you need to be strategic about how you’re going to achieve your target in order to ensure it happens as quickly as possible. If you're determined to be successful, you need to fully apply yourself both mentally and physically, but it's important to keep things fun. Post-it notes                Simple, but so effective. Jotting down motivational notes and leaving them by the fridge, by the scales, or even on your desk at work, is a quirky but brilliant way to make sure that you stay on track. Those goals won’t achieve themselves! You need to make it happen, and if it takes colourful daily post-its to make it happen, then so be it. Timeframes It doesn’t matter if your goal is one month away, or twelve. Break it down. Set yourself weekly or monthly targets and make sure you hit them. Why? Apart from the obvious reason of making sure that you’re edging closer to your end goal bit by bit, these individual targets give you an opportunity to see results. Refreshing your mind and methods with the help of a good old transformation photo, or a quick measure to see if you've lost inches, is a great way to continue onwards with your journey. Don’t settle for second best You want to fit into that size eight dress, but you’re not sure you will, so you buy a ten as a backup. No! If you want to fit that size eight dress, then you will. By settling for second best, you’re not pushing yourself as far as you know you can. Similarly, if you know you can lift at least 2kg more during your training session, do it. Don’t say “ah, I’ll get it next time”. If you want to squat your bodyweight, you’re going to have to push yourself every single time you train. Expect to slip up along the way If you set out on your fitness journey and you have six months to achieve your goal, in reality, it’s pretty unrealistic to think “right, I’m not going to eat anything unhealthy or miss one workout during these six months. If I do, I’m a failure”. This is so not the mind-set to start out with. It’s only human to crave something sweet because you had a bad day, or because you earned it, or because you just want to. And when it comes to exercise? There will be something that crops up and interferes with your training session, or you will get ill and have to rest up for a few days. It happens, its life, and you are most definitely not a failure! You’ll still get there, so long as you pick yourself right back up as soon as you can. Positive thoughts only Positive mind, positive vibes, positive life – as they say. If you think you won’t achieve your goal by the time the big event arrives, god forbid at all, then you need to stop and re-evaluate. Success doesn’t generally happen for those who sit back thinking negative thoughts. Find your get up and go and spread the positivity. A positive outlook on every aspect of your life is the best way to make progress. It’s contagious, try it.