Finding The Motivation to eat well and exercise can be tough….
We all want to create an abundant life for ourselves-physically, financially and spiritually. To create such a life for ourselves involves setting and achieving specific goals. Working in the fitness industry for 36 years, I’ve noticed that there are certain things that those who are successful at achieving an abundant and fulfilling life do on a regular basis. I’ve narrowed it down to a few commonalities. Over the next number of weeks, I will share these tips with you and help you breeze through the holidays and into the New Year with some powerful motivation! My goal is to help everyone I meet to create a higher quality of life.
I read a very powerful quote from one of my mentors yesterday“ It’s not who you are that holds you back. It’s who you think you are not”, Denis Waitley. Bare this quote in mind while you read through the read of this article.
One of my top tips is to take care of your physical body. Your body is your vehicle to take you through this life. Like a car, once your body starts to rust (age) the ride is not as smooth, in fact your car will start to give you trouble . Exercise, sleep plus great nutrition on a micro and macro level will make you feel fantastic. To have a high quality of life and live your dreams you need a fit and healthy vehicle (body).. Giving yourself the time to take care of yourself positively impacts and effects every aspect of your life. So as you start to plan your health and fitness plan for 2014, how can you challenge yourself to meet your goals? It takes a lot of discipline to work out three to five days a week, eat healthy foods and take your vitamins, minerals and essential fats but you are worth it. –
If we care about and respect our body (the temple that houses your mind and spirit) –achieving other life goals will be easier.
Taking time for ourselves physically says that we respect ourselves enough to want to be at our personal best health.
Did you know that
- Each time you make yourself go to the gym when you don’t feel like working out , your self esteem grows a little stronger and you strengthen your character
- Every time you choose a balanced meal over a fast food option you give yourself love.
- When you make it through a tough run, bike, workout or class, it gives you the endurance to make it through other life challenges.
Spending the time to improve our physical conditioning gives us , not only a better quality of life but makes a better person in whatever roles we play in life-as a parent, spouse, employee, business owner or friend.
Exercise gives us back far more than just a body that looks good!
There are 168 hours in a week. Think about all the great things exercise does for us when you are trying to carve out 4-5 hours in your busy schedule. Once you have made those workout appointments for yourself in your day planner –yes, put them into your calendar, remember if miss a workout, you don’t just stay at the same level you were at – you actually take a few steps back mentally and physically. Here’s how that works:
. Every time you miss an exercise session, you have actually strengthened the habit of not exercising. When you miss a couple workout sessions,( after you have made a promise to yourself), you start to lose trust in yourself .
After a few missed workouts you start to lose your self confidence and wonder if you have what it takes to stick to a program to reach your personal goals. Miss 2-3 weeks of workouts (unless on a self imposed restful holiday), and the negative habit of not working out will replace the positive habit of exercising.
Every time you fail to what we know we need to do we further the person who we don’t want to be. Remember Denis Waitley’s quote at the beginning of this article? The next time you are tempted to sleep in or do an extra errand instead of the workout your body needs,think about how good you are going to feel when you are done. For most of us the biggest challenge is not the actual exercise itself but overcoming our negative, self sabotaging thoughts that try to reak havoc with your great intentions. You can do it! You are worth it!
Yours in health,
Carolyn
P.S. If you have come up with any tricks to keep yourself motivated to exercise, I would love to hear them. You an email me at livewellconsulting@shaw.ca or northridgefitness@shaw.ca
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