Happy Friday! I’m getting ready for my 12th half marathon this weekend. The training plan called for an easy 3 miles today so I did that after going to Group Power at 5AM! My biggest motivation for getting up at 5AM to work out is really not having to do it in the afternoon!
I’ve been trying to talk to blog readers about their struggles with weight loss and lifestyle change and motivation keeps coming up. Most of the e-mails I get about the weight loss are about my motivation to lose weight and how I stuck with it. Willie and I also talked about this in the car the other day and our motivations were completely different.
mo·ti·va·tion noun \ˌmō-tə-ˈvā-shən\
: the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something : the act or process of motivating someone
: the condition of being eager to act or work : the condition of being motivated
: a force or influence that causes someone to do something
“Motivation.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motivation>.
The thing about motivation is what works for one person doesn’t work for another! You have to find what will MOVE you to MAKE A CHANGE!
If you’ve read any story on us, you might know that Willie’s motivation to lose weight was our god daughter Emmy. For me it was something totally different and it changed many times over the course of a the journey and still changes now. There doesn’t have to be one thing to motivate you. When you go through the lifestyle change, things change, people change and our thoughts change!
When we first started, I wanted to lose the weight because I was happy. Willie and I finally were married and I wanted to live a long life with HIM. I feared our weight would end our happily ever after sooner than it should. My love for Willie was my FIRST motivation.
And then I started going to the gym and I met some nice people. Two people in particular became my friends, and those people happen to be fitness instructors. Going to their classes made it easier for me to keep going because I liked them and they were supportive. Diana and Dedra helped me by motivating me to stay consistent!
Then I got frustrated because every 10 pounds Willie would lose, I lost two. He was seeing results and I saw NOTHING! Talk about a motivational killer. Willie was getting all the attention and feedback to keep him going but I wasn’t losing weight the same way he did and I saw no physical differences but I did feel the differences in stamina and endurance. Feeling it wasn’t the same as seeing it.
So I began to picture myself when I lost the weight. I had to start beginning with the end in mind. It took me back to graduate school when we had to study The 7 Habits for Highly Effective People! Begin with the end in mind was one of those habits and it truly worked for me. I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted but I know that if I kept pushing the end would soon come! (If you have the time, I think everyone should read this book. It’s kind of a pain but it really is true!)
This is the motivation I still use to this day. I have so many goals and new things I would like to try and this REALLY helps me. I do this when I run, when I’m going through a hard time…and in my training for something new. Can we say half Ironman? Nothing is impossible, you just have to find your path to get there. Find your inner strength and the thing that will push you to that point!
The thing about motivation is it will be different for every person. Someone’s motivation might to be able to see their kids grow up or just to turn up fabulous at a friend’s wedding! You will have to find what pushes you to want to be a better person…or find several things.
Sit down and really think about what it is you want and why you want it! If you’re honest with yourself about why it’s important to you. Write it down your goal to make it real and put it somewhere you will see it every day. When you look at it, it might just remind you of your reasons for doing what you’re doing it…and maybe it will change over time. I keep my goal half marathon time on my desk at work (because I’m there 8 hours a day) and it’s a great reminder of why I do all the things I do. I will reach this goal!
What is something you are trying to work toward? Why do you want it? What is your motivation for doing it right now?
