People are notoriously bad at keeping their eye on the longterm goal. When it comes to motivation, if we don't get results soon, we feel like giving up.

Sometimes, we get good results soon, and then they taper off. And when the going gets tough, our desire for results isn't met, and our ability to commit tapers off as well.

While health and fitness are about perseverance, there are ways of thinking about your goals that make them easier to reach.

If your ultimate goal is weight loss, you can't feel closer to that goal every day. Our bodies simply cannot burn pounds of fat that quickly, so if you are measuring your daily achievements with a scale, you are going to be disappointed.

However, with a little mindfulness, we can measure how we feel after we workout. We can pay attention to how our body feels, and how our energy level is, and how well we sleep. Those things all happen within hours of our workout. If those feelings are your goal, and you pay attention to your progress toward them, then you will feel rewarded every day that your exercise.

Focus on the immediate rewards that come with working out. If you value those results more and more, you will be motivated enough each day to stick to your routine. And when you stick to your routine, you lose weight. It just takes a while.

Happy stretching!