Entries Tagged 'Motivation' ↓

When it comes to working on losing body fat… the biggest problem I hear about is “I just can’t stay motivated.”

And in my own life… that’s certainly true!

In fact, this spring I moved to a new city… and to be honest, I haven’t been motivated at all to work on taking care of my body since I moved.

It just seemed… too hard.

I kept telling myself,

“I’ll go to the gym tomorrow.”

“I’ll go grocery shopping & start eating at home next week.”

“I’m going to start training to do a sprint triathlon next year.”

“I’m going to work on drinking more water today.”

Do you see the common word in every single sentence?

GO.

This is a crucial word… and most people are absolutely clueless about it’s significance.

Why is it so important?

Because “GO” is work.  “GO” is effort.

“GO” requires the conscious movement away from one area and into another.

It’s the easiest way to identify excuses & rationalization… because it’s always somehow too hard to do right now!

Next time you catch yourself thinking, “I’m going to ” change the words in your mind to “I am”. 

Instead of “I’m going to drink more water today”… say, “I am drinking more water today.”

Instead of “I’m going to go to the gym today,” say “I’m on my way to the gym now,” or “I’m adding time for the gym to my calendar now.”

Remove the “go” or “going” from the sentence, and just take action to DO something.

Let’s practice a few more:

Instead of “I’ll go grocery shopping tomorrow”, use “I’m making a grocery list right now.”

Instead of “I’m going to eat a healthy lunch today,” use “I’m looking forward to a spinach salad & that seasoned grilled salmon that I really enjoy for lunch today.”

By focusing on the action we can take right NOW instead of where we should GO later… we create momentum - and momentum creates motivation!
To your radiance,
Bethany

 
PS - What kind of problems are YOU facing
with motivation? 

I really care about what you’re going through
and want to hear from YOU personally.

Send me an email at
bethany@loseweightstayskinny.com.

I’m here for you!

Do you ever feel like the biggest failure ever alive…

…because of something you ate that you shouldn’t have…

…because you skipped a workout, when you totally had time & energy to do it…

…or maybe just because you can’t find something to wear that fits?

If so… know that you’re not alone.

I know how it feels to feel so bad about decisions I’ve made… to feel so bad about myself… that I just feel like a failure.

Can I tell you a secret?

I have a mistake… a temptation… that I give in to all too often.

It goes something like this:

I have a healthy lunch… and I’m feeling great about it. And as I head back home, I see the big Starbucks sign.

And then… before I know it, I’ve just pulled in and ordered a Caramel Frappucino… sometimes with extra syrup to make it sweeter!

And then I tack on an Apple Fritter just for the heck of it… even though I know the dairy will upset
my stomach and the sugar will make me crave more sugar and the whole experience makes me want to eat more.

This is my frequent tempation, in vivid detail, one I have succumbed to all too often.

What’s yours? Or what’s your most recent mistake that you felt really, really bad about doing?

Did you feel the same way I feel after my Starbucks treat?

- Lethargic
- Bloated
- Cramping
- Full
- Fat
- Guilty
- Disappointed
- FAILURE

If so… I hope you know by me sharing all of this… that you are NOT alone.

The big secret to our success, though, is NOT learning how to not make mistakes!

I know it sounds funny… but the key to being successful is learning to trust our mistakes to lead us straight to our goal.

See - we all make mistakes… and when we learn how to harness the power of those mistakes - we hit GOLD!

So here’s the BIG secret technique to do when you’ve just made a mistake and feel lousy about it:

Ask yourself WHY you did it.

See… in knowing WHY we did something… we find power!

And the WHY is usually so much deeper than our first response.

“Why did I get coffee & a fritter?”

My first response might be, “because it sounded good.”

But if I keep asking WHY… I get to the bottom of things.

“Why did it sound good?”

“Because I felt like something was missing… a treat, something sweet.”

“Why did I feel like something was missing?”

“Because I felt like lunch wasn’t fun because it was healthy… and I miss feeling like I’m treating myself to something I enjoy.”

And there it is!

I’m missing out on a vital ingredient in my life…

Treating myself to a pleasurable gift to myself!

See how a mistake can become a powerful learning tool?

Because I now understand that I’m feeling neglected in the sense of “treats” and “treating myself”… I can choose to treat myself in a way that supports my goals.

I can buy myself that awesome new fiction book that I haven’t felt like I had time to
read.

I can treat myself to a pedicure.

I can treat myself to a cup of hot tea, curled up on my favorite chair, reading that new novel, staring at my newly painted toes… and just relish in a “stolen” moment from the day.

And the best part is… if that method of treating myself doesn’t quite cut it - if I still don’t feel “treated” enough…

I can keep looking for new, special, treat-filled moments that keep satisfying that need I have.

Today - I challenge you… think about the most recent mistake you made with your goals
to a thin, radiant body…

…and then think about the powerful lesson you can learn from it.

And then share that lesson in a comment below!

See, by sharing your insight about your mistake & what you learn from it, and how it’s going to help you in the future, you do three things:

1. You make it easier to forgive yourself for making the mistake by sharing the mistake & how it helped you

2. You help other people just like you realize that they are not alone… and you help them turn feelings of failure after a mistake into feelings of empowerment and hope!

3. This is the big one: by sharing what you learn, you actually learn it better!

That’s right… by telling other people about your mistake and how you’re going to use the lesson in it to bring you closer to your goals… you actually impress that solution on your mind…

It’s like by teaching, you learn!

So leave a comment below, and share your insight!

To your radiant self,
Bethany

It’s no secret that all of us struggle with will power. We try so hard to watch our food choices, we try to keep an exercise routine… we work really hard to maintain whatever goals we set up.

And, if you’re anything like me, you probably fizzle out before too long. It’s sooooo hard to make changes in our lives, isn’t it?

There’s just something about those old habits that makes new, positive, good-for-you changes hard to stick to.

And then… if we’re not careful… we start beating up on ourselves. Wishing we’d done better. Feeling like a failure… wanting to be so much better of a person than we think we are, because we got off track… again.

Sound familiar?

Well… the truth is, will power will NEVER get you through and get you to stick to new habits! Will power is designed to be a momentary thrust of strength to get us across a finish line. A surge of commitment in the face of a singular challenge…. not an underlying, steady strength that develops new habits!

So how can we tap into that?

Use will power to power your way through decisions first thing in the morning, and build a new habit that way. I’m currently learning to drink a bottle of water first thing in the morning - literally before I do anything else.

What goes into that, and why do I do it?

I’m developing this habit for a few reasons. I heard about this concept from one of my mentors, and decided to give it a shot. What I found when I began drinking water first thing, is that my body felt immediately awake… hydrated, energized, empowered. And it makes sense - I’ve gone 8-9 hours without any hydration, so of course my body needs water.

The other thing I noticed is that when I start my day off by taking care of my body in that way, it makes it easier and more natural for me to be conscious of taking care of my body the rest of the day. Pretty cool, huh?

And the best part is that I just use a tiny bit of will power each morning, to make that decision to drink the water, and one day it’s just going to be second nature… a habit.

Use the morning hours to make a GREAT decision to take care of yourself! It could be meditating, and feeding your spirit… or drinking water, and feeding your body… or maybe it’s exercising, or taking a moment to “touch base with” and recognize your significance & value in the world.

Whatever it is… by using some will power to invest in yourself first thing in the morning, you’ll create a framework of taking care of yourself for the rest of the day… and you’ll build a habit that will contribute to your weight loss efforts, easily & naturally.

Yours for radiance & health,
Bethany

During the past two calls of the eight week course Lose Weight, Stay Skinny, I’ve been paying close attention to what Jena La Flamme and Kyle Battis had to say.  The biggest thing I’ve gleaned from those two calls is the importance of finding things to do that you actually enjoy doing.

Think about it… if the exercise you’re doing is something you hate, how long do you think it will last?

Both Jena and Kyle talked about how crucial it is to find true pleasure in your life, and how important it is to find activities and ways to move your body that you really enjoy.

I’m starting to believe that this is the key to motivation and staying on track.

But what I’m starting to realize is that this change isn’t always easy to make.  I’ve realized, during these last two weeks, that I would really enjoy swimming at my gym, jogging with my dog, and bicycling.  The bigger realization is that I would enjoy this much more in the afternoon, rather than first thing in the morning.

First thing in the morning I’d rather walk over to a hill close by my house, sit on it, journal, and watch for any wildlife that might wander by.

At first, this all sounds great!  I’ve identified areas that I would enjoy… exercise that would fulfill me and keep me motivated.

The catch is that these things are outside of my normal habits, and they will require sacrifice.  I will have to leave during the late afternoon to exercise, when me and my family are used to eating dinner around 5 or so.  I will have to buy a bicycle, when neither me nor my husband were planning on buying a bicycle anytime soon.  I will have to wake up a little earlier than normal and put on walking clothes and leave before I get started on my day, so I have time to journal and enjoy nature before I start my day.

The other challenge is an emotional one for me - it feels “wrong” to take time in the morning to do something that is seemingly not productive.  I have to adjust to the idea of taking time for me first thing in the morning and not feeling guilty about it!

That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when things are normally done one way, it can be pretty tough to shake things up and change things around.

Have you identified things that could be considered exercise that you would really enjoy doing?  Have you identified the possible conflicts or challenges with doing them that way?

The first key is definitely to pick the activities that you’d enjoy; then choose the time of day you’d enjoy them most; then identify the possible challenges and conflicts that will make you want to skip.

Once you have those, you can plan for the challenges… work with them so that they become easier to push through… and you can get started moving your body in a way it loves to move!

I’d love to hear from you on your own thoughts about this… motivation is a huge subject, and I’m sure so many people (including me) would benefit from hearing from you.

Happily,
Bethany