When people get sideways with their health and fitness goals, the culprit often has nothing to do with their body.

It’s right between the ears.

Their mind … or, more specifically, their Mindset.

You could have a well-designed set of goals and the perfect action steps to achieve them … but if you don’t have the right mindset, you could be destined for failure.

Here are some of the self-sabotaging beliefs to avoid like the plague if you want to achieve your fitness goals:

“Losing weight is hard …”

“I’ve lost weight in the past, but it always came back …”

“I don’t deserve to have the body that I want …”

“I’m not good enough …”

“I don’t have the discipline to stick to a plan …”

“I always lose motivation after a couple of weeks …”

These kinds of beliefs will lead to negative thoughts, which will result in actions (or inactions) that will only confirm the original belief … and lead to additional feelings of frustration and inadequacy that will start the vicious cycle all over again.

So how do you break it?

By making a new DECISION.

“I've decided that if I follow this plan most of the time, losing weight will be easy …”

“I've decided that I deserve to have the body that I want and that I know what needs to happen to achieve it …”

“I’ve decided that I’m disciplined enough to stick to the plan and motivated enough to succeed …”

Get the idea?

Beliefs don’t really exist … they’re actually decisions. And we control the decisions that we make every day.

The first step is to decide that you can do it.

The second step? Visualize the outcome that you want.

If your goal is to look great in a bathing suit this summer, close your eyes and visualize how that will look and feel. Make the experience real by going to the store and picking out the bathing suit that you’ll want to wear … in the size that you want to fit into.

If your goal is to be strong enough to be able to run around and play with your kids without pain, close your eyes and imagine how that would look and feel. Share the goal with your friends and family members. Broadcasting our goal makes it real and helps us stay accountable.

So … to truly set yourself up for success with your well-designed goals and action plan:

• Identify and eliminate negative thoughts

• Replace them with new decisions

• Visualize the outcome that you want 

What outcome do you want? And what has to happen for you to achieve it?