Maintaining Motivation: Determine Your WHY!

WHY do you want to lose weight and/or get healthier? 

While this sounds like an easy and obvious question, it can be like pulling teeth to get someone to truly sit down and dig deep into their WHY.  I’m not concerned about the WHY of ‘I need to lose 30 pounds,’ or ‘ I want to look good at my high school reunion.’  These are transient goals.  I want the WHY that brings tears or emotion up when you write or talk about it.

THAT’S the WHY you can post on your mirror, touch every morning, and read out loud.  If you only have 10 pounds to lose, and are fairly healthy, you may not need to dig deep; however, for the increasing numbers of obese people in this country, I know your WHY is in there!

It may be you were just diagnosed with diabetes, and don’t want to end up like your parent who lost a limb from it or died prematurely.

It may be you’re not feeling well, are on many different medications, and want to keep up with your grandchildren and attend their graduations.

It may be you want to REALLY like who you are and what you see in the mirror.  You want to look good in a bathing suit for the first time in your life.

These are the WHY’s that will be there to look at when the alarm goes off at 5 am, and you REALLY don’t want to get out of bed to workout, or REALLY want that piece of pie in the fridge.

Take 10 Minutes To Determine Your Why

Set a timer for 10 minutes, and complete the following sentences in writing.

1.  I want to lose weight and/or get healthier because ____________________.

2.  When I lose weight and/or get healthier, I will be able to _________________.

3.  I will lose weight and get healthier by making the following changes in my lifestyle: ______________________________________________________.

4. I will lose weight and get healthier by _____<Date>_____.

5.  ______<Name>__________ will hold me accountable.

Now take these and tape them to the fridge, pantry, and bathroom mirror.  Actually touch them daily so they don’t just become wallpaper you don’t see anymore, and READ THEM OUT LOUD!!  As I heard T. Harv Eker once say, ‘Where focus goes, energy flows, and results will show.’

When Motivation Is Low

There will be days when your motivation may be low.  If so,

• READ these out loud again and really go into the emotion of your WHY again.
• Call your Accountability Partner
• Reward yourself if you stay on track
• FORGIVE YOURSELF if you fall off the wagon.  Do NOT throw the whole day under the bus if you do.  What I mean by this is don’t binge the rest of the day or stop working out for weeks because your plans went sideways.  We all have days like this.  The KEY is not to give up.
• Build splurge days and activities into your journey so you don’t have a tendency to binge.

Remember, consistent, healthy actions will create positive lifestyle habits that will last a lifetime.  START NOW!!  It’s NEVER too late!