It is one thing to get motivated to do something. It's another thing to keep up the motivation, particularly if you reach a plateau, suffer a setback, are getting fed-up with the time it's taking, or any other one of the numerous factors that can try and de-rail our plans and stop us from reaching our goals.

It is often said that the hardest step to take when embarking on a new challenge is the first one. Taking the plunge and getting started happens only after you have a compelling reason to take that first step. It might have taken some considerable time to finally become motivated enough to do something and take action. There may have been a number of attempts on the way, and successes that have been reversed over time. Giving up smoking is one of those examples that comes to mind. Losing weight and keeping the weight off is another. I have personal experience of both!

When I finally gave up smoking, 28 years ago, it was after a number of attempts to quit. Each time I succeeded for short periods of time, and then would start again with renewed fervour!  Eventually I found the trigger - I had to stop kidding myself. I would tell myself that I was a 10/day, non-addicted smoker, who could give up if I really wanted to. Once I accepted that this was simply nonsense, that I really smoked  20/day most days, and of course I was addicted to nicotine, I had found my motivation to let go of the habit. I had no intention of being controlled by an addiction. Furthermore, I don't like telling lies to anyone including myself. 

I well remember the Friday morning in July 1983 when I accepted the truth. I was going to a dinner party that evening and knew that I was going to be the only smoker present. I checked my packet of cigarettes - there were 16 in it. I thought I had better stock up - I always smoked more in the company of friends. However, I then had a reality check. I was to be the only smoker, therefore I should smoke LESS that evening. Also, I was "supposed" to be a 10/day smoker - so I told myself. So, why wasn't 16 going to be enough for the day? And,  I was not addicted - I could give up at ANY time.  And, that was the challenge. I decided that, when the packet ran out I would give up. Tomorrow I would be a non-smoker. I had found my final motivation - I did not like being controlled by a habit, I did not like fooling myself and I'd call my bluff. 

I worked out a strategy to help me maintain my motivation. In the past, when I had tried to give up and had succeeded for a few days, I would panic when I thought that I couldn't smoke anymore. After a short while, this would play so heavily on my mind that I would just have the "odd one" - cadged from a friend. Soon, I would have to buy a packet in order to return the ones I had taken from others. I did not think well of people who only smoked "occasionally"  - all OP's of course (Other People's in case you are wondering) - and I was not going to be one of them. With this experience, I was able to learn from it and use it to my advantage.  

Part of my strategy, therefore, was to allow myself the option of buying more cigarettes in the future and smoking them. At any time should I wish to smoke, I would buy a packet of cigarettes immediately and not let the craving play on my mind. I would not tell myself that I had given up for life and could never smoke another cigarette. This was important because our brains seem to be hard-wired to dwell on the things we tell it not to think about. "I don't want to think about cigarettes" translates into obsessive thinking about what we are missing.  Rather, I would say to myself that I had chosen not to smoke that day but that I could change my mind if I wanted to. However, there was to be a penalty for doing so. 

I decided to save the money that I would normally spend on cigarettes. The plan was that, each Monday morning, I would put £8 in my desk drawer and I would continue to do this for a year. This was the amount of money I thought was a realistic estimate of the weekly cost of my habit. I would spend this money on quality items that I would not normally be able to afford. This was my reward strategy.   If I wanted to buy a packet of cigarettes, I had to take the money from this drawer and literally watch myself burn money. It would be a powerful message.

The third part of my strategy was to call myself a non-smoker. If anyone was to offer me a cigarette I would simply say "no thank you, I don't smoke". I was not going to draw attention to the fact that I had "given up", not even to my friends who knew that I used to smoke. There was a good reason for this. At an unconscious level, people mirror the langauge and behaviours of the people in their company whom they like.  If they are smokers, they may try and persuade you to have a cigarette with them if there is any chance that they will succeed. The congruity will make them feel more comfortable. However, if you are a non-smoker, people do not usually try and persuade you to start smoking!    

I broke into my first £8 after 3 days of placing it in the drawer. I almost goaded myself into it, curiously, but was nonetheless disappointed in my decision. It was in the evening, after dark, and I had to drive to several places before I found my favourite brand and purchased a packet. I went back to my flat and decided to smoke outside on the stairs - I liked the fresh smell indoors and didn't want to contaminate it with smoke. I lit up and had my first cigarette in five days and it was disgusting. I knew from experience that this was going to be the case, and that I had a choice - persevere and go back to smoking, or put it out. I remembered my reasons for giving up and chose the latter, stubbed the cigarette out and went back indoors. 

About 20 minutes later I found myself back on the steps for a second cigarette. I did the same again - lit up and stubbed it out after about 3 puffs. A third cigarette was the final repeat of this performance. I took the remaining 17 cigarettes out of the packet, broke them all into half and deposited them in my bin. I reflected on the fact that I had literally burnt my money. It was a powerful image and I did not earn enough money to be burning it. Since that evening I have never bought another packet of cigarettes, smoked a cigarette, or missed smoking. I saved my money for 8 weeks and spent my £63 (minus £1 for the one packet I had shredded over 7 weeks previously) and spent it on a gore-tex jacket and walking gaiters which were a huge luxury for me. They cost me £80, which meant that I had to go at least another 2 weeks without smoking, because I had an IOU for £17 in the drawer. One thing I would not do was to cheat on that IOU.       

I had got used to going to the drawer regularly, counting my money, planning on what to spend it and congratulating myself for going another day without smoking. In the two weeks that I had no money to count,  I finally got to the stage when I stopped thinking about smoking and I put no more money in the drawer because I forgot to. I was truly a non-smoker and it was a non-issue. It was some considerable time before I remembered that I hadn't saved my money weekly throughout that first year!

Changing our behaviour is difficult, especially when it involves breaking an unhealthy habit. Most people these days are aware of the long-term consequences of their actions. For example, there is enough information around for people to know that smoking is strongly linked to lung cancer. However, that is apparently not reason enough to deter some young people from starting to smoke. Despite knowing logically that nicotine is addictive and that smoking has nothing healthy to commend it, people continue to smoke.  

Each one of us has a personal reason for behaving in a certain way. If we decide to change our behaviour, we must create our own reasons for doing so. We respond to the feelings we experience rather than simply to analytical, logical thoughts. Knowing about consequences is not nearly as powerful as feeling them. If we decide to set a challenging goal that is going to require motivation to achieve and maintain, there are a number of things that can be done to maximise our success.         

Today's Key Points:

• Be clear about WHY you want to change your behaviour.  Each person must have their own compelling reason to act differently.
• This compelling reason is the prime motivation to change.
• Build a strategy to help you remain motivated from the outset. 
• Ensure that rewards are built in to reinforce the success of behaviour change.
• Be prepared for setbacks and don't let them stop you from keeping on track. 
• Motivation to change behaviour is the result of a "feeling" rather than a "thought". Think how you will feel if you give up on your goal and how great you'll feel when you achieve it and maintain it. 
• Engage support of friends and family to keep you on track.
• If you feel tempted to give up, get in touch with your prime motivation to change.
• If you go off track for any reason, get back on it as soon as possible. Get in touch with your prime motivator and your positive feelings.     

And finally, if you are setting out on something that is going to require a lot of personal motivation,

 Good Luck!