IS YOUR REASON FOR SHOWING UP STRONG?
You know in my book, I said the #1 step to getting healthy and fit is having a POWERFUL WHY...I call it WHY POWER!!
This is soooo stinking crucial in your journey that seriously without it, you will fail. I am not being mean, but this is what happens every single time to people who say they have tried to lose weight but just couldn't make it work.
I want you to hold that thought...it wasn't that they couldn't...it was that they didn't want to because their WHY POWER was not strong enough!
I always say we all have story, but what will hold your head high when things get tough? It is your REASON to keep moving and not to give up!
What does that mean exactly?? Well let me give you an example:
Let's say there is a bridge and it is low and close to the ground and all you have to do is walk across it and I will give you $20 for doing it, would you? HECK YES!!! (Sure...who wouldn't want to make an easy $20, am I right?) This is you taking the easy way out and just doing a workout here and there if at all, because it really isn't convenient enough for you, but you know you should...but there is no sense of urgency to keep you going. Plus that $20 was all it took to "motivate" you for a second!
Ok now, let's up the game a bit and see if your tune changes...
So we raise the bridge about 100 ft. up in the air and the only thing standing between you and your family is the bridge and a burning building they are in...I will not give you $20 this time...BUT...are you going to take the climb and walk the bridge, even though you are "scared" of heights, to save your family?? The answer better be HECK YES!! (If not, we need to discuss some parenting issues - just saying - lol)
Why is this? You would seriously do ANYTHING to keep your family safe from harm, even if you have to get uncomfortable with it. They rely on you to protect them, do they not? That $20 didn't matter anymore...you simply did what you HAD TO DO FOR YOUR FAMILY. Like health and fitness, you will simply do what you have to do for YOUR HEALTH.
See the difference? When you raise the stakes and create a sense of urgency, a sense of emotion, on WHY you need to do something instead of wasting time (that is another topic for a later date), then you do it because the stakes mean something to you!!
That my friend, is how I am able to stick with it. My WHY POWER is strong and keeps me connected to getting healthy and fit. It has NOTHING to do with motivation...because in my past experience, motivation is crap...it lasts only a short time, but having a POWERFUL WHY to do something means everything!!
Another example is your job...we all necessarily don't love going to work, but we know we have to in order to provide for our family. You can think of health and fitness the same way. You necessarily don't like eating a vegetable or being uncomfortable in a exercise move, BUT the reward is so much greater! Your future health is at risk and unless you do something now...believe me my friend...it can start going bad quickly if you don't take care of yourself.
This part can be challenging to determine what your actual WHY POWER is, but for most of us...it is our families...they need us around, we want to be around, we don't want to have future health issues.
That was another thing that kept me going...I didn't want to turn into my grandmother. She lost both of her legs due to diabetes, and I was headed in that direction if I didn't take control of my junk food addiction!
Now I can honestly say, I have overcome it and I haven't felt this great in a long time! I might be 41 years old, but I sure as heck don't feel it!
So think about something or someone who is close to your heart, who you don't want to let down, and want to be there for...are you willing to cross that bridge and save them in a burning fire...they or that is your WHY POWER! It has the power to pull you in and make you go above and beyond what you thought was possible for yourself.
You might feel like you could never achieve your own transformation, but believe me you can!! You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You just have to go to that mental block - kick it and push it down...because on the other side my friend...is the person you have been trying to reach and become. You are in there...so go find your awesome self and get moving!!
Note: I always kept my WHY POWER in sight!! The dress for my sister's wedding was my first driving WHY POWER! Not because of the material dress itself, but how I didn't want to let my sister down. I didn't want to "look" and "feel" bad about my picture in her wedding...those are forever! So yes...go deep and figure out what will drive you and keep that gem in front of you always!
So my questions to you are:
What is your WHY POWER and WHY will it keep you moving forward on the tough days when the excuses are strong?
Are you getting emotional and/or crying over it...if you are not...keep digging!!! You have to be connected to it!
What is going to be physically in front of you? This will be a CONSTANT reminder of your goals you want to achieve!
When are going to start your own health and fitness journey?? If you are ready to begin, let's do this!!
Whatever your WHY Power, make sure it is looking you dead in the face! If you are constantly seeing it, there is no escaping it. It must make you emotional, it must give you that push to keep going, when your excuses are at their strongest! Be stronger than those excuses and fight for what you truly want...not what is easy! There is a major difference!