What motivates you?

Deborah says: Just read an interesting blog about someone who has gained weight. This person said it was because she didn’t have any motivating factors in her life right now. Hmmm. Let’s discuss. I think this goes back to why are you losing weight. I think the truth is, to be successful you have to rethink/reframe things. It’s not really just about losing weight, it’s about changing your lifestyle. Losing weight and dieting are finite things. They have an end point. Lifestyle doesn’t really have that end. Well technically it does but I’m not ready to think about that yet! So if you are “losing weight” by training for a marathon - well that’s great and that’s good motivation for sure. But then what are you going to do the day after the marathon? Other than take Advil and ice baths? I’m changing my lifestyle. I’m working toward being that fit and active person that I admire. The one that doesn’t sit around watching TV unless it’s date night. I want to be that person that is out and doing things with everyone … or anyone … and I never want to say no because I am too big to fit somewhere or I’m too heavy for something or I can’t climb/run/walk that far. I want to be included in things. I want to hike mountains, swim oceans, see the world, carry a backpack (but stay in a Hilton please). I want to camp and be able to out-run those damned bears (or at least not be the slowest runner … otherwise know as “dinner”). And that, my friends, is a goal without end. Fitness and health are something we do every day. I need to breathe deep, make my heart race, stretch and strengthen my muscles and feed myself good fuel until the day I die. So what are my motivating factors? Like Tevye says, in Fiddler on the Roof: To Life! Arlene says: It’s the internal rewards that keep us motivated. Feeling stronger or feeling the sense of accomplishment when we can do something makes us want to do it again. External rewards can help us initiate goals, but we need to feel a difference to keep going in the long run. What we don’t do enough is savour the good feelings. We don’t pay enough attention to what leads to the good feelings and what it feels like in our body/minds. I get asked a lot, “Why is it so easy to focus on the negative?” I think one reason is practice, it becomes a habit. Considering our society’s attitude to over-weight and obese, there’s a lot of reinforcement of negative self-statements and judgments too. So remember to savour the good feelings and what you did in the moment to create them.