As you think about your plans, are any limiting or fearful thoughts showing up? Do you have any thoughts about your plans that make you feel like you couldn’t do that, or it might not be the best thing for you, or just give you a ‘what if’ scenario that causes you to feel cautious?

These limiting thoughts point us to the places where we need to some internal advance planning. If we are afraid we shouldn’t spend so much money on that trip, then we need to go to work to make accommodations in our minds and in our hearts for the expense. We can start finding a way to be at ease with spending money on ourselves, rather than on someone else. We can start to value the work we’ve done, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and see how a celebration is a joyous way of give thanks to ourselves from ourselves. What if it’s the time off work? What if it’s someone else’s opinion of our choice of reward?

What if it’s our own doubt that maybe we shouldn’t celebrate this too loudly in case we can’t sustain the weight loss? This is where we do the advance planning every day and every week in our ongoing practice by changing how we talk to ourselves; by becoming more and more aware of our choices and making them consciously; by increasing our self-esteem and becoming comfortable in our own bodies. Every time we recognize that we are happier than we were a month ago or a three months ago or last year, we are on our way to creating a sustainable way of life for ourselves.

All of these practices build confidence in ourselves. We are learning to trust our ability to make informed choices. We are learning to listen to our bodies and honor the feedback we get from them. We are learning to listen to our emotions and also to trust the feedback we get from them. Each step we take and each change we make is the advance planning for reaching a goal, celebrating it, and sustaining it.