Why oh why is motivation so elusive?
One minute you have it and you feel like you can take on the world. The next minute you feel like a balloon that has been deflated.
For months I have been waiting for motivation to hit so I could get back on track with my weight loss journey.
Week after week Monday (my magical start day) would come and go and motivation was nowhere to be found. After talking to friends about what I needed to do, writing in my journal about my desire to get this weight off and detailing my “plan of action” every other day, motivation would make a brief appearance and then poof it was gone. For the life of me I couldn’t stay motivated long enough to do anything…and then it hit me…
In order to get motivation…you have to take action!
I know I know…that doesn’t make any sense. How can you take action when you’re not “motivated” to do so? I had the same question and operated under this erroneous mindset for months. But what I discovered is that once you’ve decided to make some changes in your life and take even the tiniest first step…like presto, motivation shows up!
Motivation follows action and not the other way around
It’s like Newton’s Law…a body at rest stays at rest while a body in motion stays in motion. The reason I haven’t been motivated for months now is because I wasn’t doing anything. Sure I was expending a lot of energy “thinking” about what I needed to do, but hadn’t gotten off my duff to “act” on anything.
Over the last few days I’ve come to know that this is not just a theory…it’s true. Once I decided to do something about my situation with each step that I took my motivation meter went higher and higher and I no longer feel like I’m sinking in quick sand.
I took some action and now I’m “motivated” to do more!
Here are the “action” steps that I took:
- I decided that once I returned home from my business trip that I was going to set some things in motion.
- I weighed myself to assess the damage. The number almost blew me away, but I kept it movin….
- I had an epidural shoot to relieve my back pain. (It’s hard to do much of anything when you’re in pain).
- I cleaned out my refrigerator and kitchen cabinets of junk and other unrecognizable foods.
- I had my refrigerator serviced because it hadn’t been keeping as cold as it should have been.
- I thought about and came up with a solid plan on what I could do to get started.
- I went grocery shopping for food for the first time in months. I was careful about my selections and did not bring any junk in the house.
- I cooked for the first time in many many months and I ate from my own kitchen. Can I just say this…with each meal I prepare I’m getting better and better…and I actually look forward to preparing my own meals now.
Each of these steps as stand alone’s aren’t that impressive but collectively they have led to some big results!
- When I stepped on the scale last Monday, August 15th I weighed in at 340.2lbs! Yes I clutched my pearls too. This past Monday, August 22nd, I weighed in at 333.8lbs. That’s a 6.4 lb weight loss! Talk about feeling motivated. With results like this there is NO WAY I’m stopping now.
- I’m not feeling as heavy and bloated. Trust me I realize that the decrease in the number on the scale is water weight. But you know what, any reduction, water or otherwise has led me to feeling better and feeling better is a definite motivator to keep going!
- My outlook has shifted. I’m more optimistic. Less cranky and irritable. Mainly because I feel like I’m back in control.
- I’m not as lethargic. My energy levels have increased and I don’t feel like I can barely make it.
I’m now “motivated” to do the work…one baby step at a time! Imagine that!
5 Steps For Activating Your Motivation
- Decide that you are ready to make some changes in your life.
- Make a list of the things you can do. There’s always something you can do to better your situation!
- Put some action behind your decision. Do something…anything…just get started.
- Do the next right thing. Continue to build on your momentum. You can’t do everything at once, but you can keep things moving in the right direction by doing the next best thing for you! You’re the one who decides what that is.
- Focus on your actions and not the results. The more action you take the more results you’ll experience. You can’t control the results but you can control your actions.
Your Turn To Share
Need motivation? What action can you take (today) to get you moving towards reaching your goal?