Inspiration and Motivation

"Whatever you can do or dream you can
Begin it
Boldness has genius and magic in it
Begin it now" (Goethe)

What inspires and motivates you? What gets you out of bed in the morning? Do you face each day with the attitude "oh well, let's just get this day out of the way" or do you face each day with enthusiasm, looking forward to what it might bring you?

We are all motivated and inspired by different things. For some it is a desire to be like someone else - an athlete, a leader, a celebrity, a loved relative. For others, they could be inspired simply by watching those who overcome adversity simply to get through the day. One thing I have learnt in this time of self-discovery is that your motivation truely has to come from within. If you rely on others to motivate and inspire you, you can soon lose that motivation.

So many people have said to me "your husband must be so happy with your weight loss". My response is always "I didn't do it for him". This is one thing you really have to do for YOURSELF. You can't do it for anyone or anything else - you have to make yourself number 1. Yes, you can seek inspiration from others, but use them as a guide, not as the ultimate. In the end, you only have yourself to answer to - be true to yourself.

Those around us do have an influence on how we lead our lives - if we choose to let them. We are surrounded by pushers and pullers. The pushers push us to be our best, and the pullers just want to pull us down. Generally, we can't change how people act towards us, however we can change how we REACT to them. We can choose to let it bother us, we can choose to let it fester and create negative energy (never good), we can choose to deal with the situation and try and resolve it, or we can choose to simply ignore it and not let it bother us. I am now finding things that used to send me into a spin simply don't bother me at all, and I really don't want to get involved in others' issues. It seems to be taking a while for some people to get that, however I'm sure they will soon!

Once I made that mental shift, I found my whole weight loss journey change. It all became easier, and I knew that the changes I had made would be for life. I felt at peace, and didn't feel the need to seek comfort in food. It was interesting reading others' blogs during the study, and seeing them come to the same realisation at different times - it was like a light bulb moment! Every time it made me smile - yes, another person gets it! Until you truely get it, you will struggle with your weight.

Someone I admire who has made just this adjustment is Magda Szubanski. She openly talks about dealing with the demons and having therapy as part of her weight loss journey. She is spot on - deal with it, or constantly struggle. They say weight loss is 70% what goes in your mouth and 30% exercise, however I think those figures need to be adjusted to include mental adjustment - maybe 50% mental, 30% diet and 20% exercise. Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk.

So, here endith the lesson!