About three months ago, we started potty training our little boy. We were set, we had a sticker chart, we had potty treats and we had school (Pre pre-school) progress reports for our fridge. We had it all! As a parent, you hear so many different things that work and sometimes you feel like just trying everything. We even wrapped the potty treats up in wrapping paper to build up the excitement.
So our boy started out with so much excitement, every time that he used the potty. It was a huge ordeal. We would first go and get a sticker, then over to the potty treat jar and then over to the fridge to admire all the "Accident Free Days" he had. About a week later, he was set. He had his routine down packed. He started to have an "Accident Free" report every day. Our fridge was covered in these papers. We were so proud.
About two weeks later, we felt like he was fully trained. His potty sticker chart just got it's last sticker, we ran out of potty "presents" and his school teacher stopped creating accident reports. All three of these things happened in a span of three days.
The next day our boy went to school as usual. Then came the accident. His teacher said that he was just playing and looked down and wet his pants. This happened twice in the same day. He felt so bad, he called me from his school office sobbing. He knew something went wrong. So what happened? Hadn't he done this over and over and over... and over again? Would this kid need potty presents every day of his childhood? So why is this fun potty story on Goal Scale? Hmmm?
I don't want to over analyze my two year olds habits, but it was interesting that the moment his motivation was removed. He didn't find it necessary to keep moving forward. It could have been just one of those days or maybe he lacked the motivation.
Working on our goals, at times we fall into a cycle just like my son's potty training experience. We start working on our goals and we are so motivated. Maybe we are going to lose weight. We get up early and work out every day, we start eating healthy and we weigh ourselves every day. We get so excited when we lose a pound or two. About two or three weeks later we find that every time we stand on the scale, we are the same weight, sometimes we even weigh more than before. Unfortunately, this is when we get discouraged. We no longer feel like there is a point to completing our original goal. Just like my son saw that he no longer got a reward, we stop seeing our initial reward.
When you feel that you have lost your motivation, try adjusting your view point. Although you have not lost any weight, perhaps you feel better inside from all that healthily food, perhaps your grocery bills have gone done with less sugary food, perhaps your stronger than ever before. There are so many things that you can dissect to motivate yourself again. Try and stay motivated and look where you will end up. Good luck!