When I Feel the Need for Inspiration: Staying Motivated

*Tim McGraw

Ok so I have a confession to make. I haven't used my food journal or done my exercise video in days. And the crowd gasps! I know. I'm getting lazy. All my motivation from the excitement of starting the new program and whatnot has worn off. I'm in desparate need of inspiration to keep me going. I have a few ideas I think I'll start to implement tomorrow. For today, I'm just going to feed my laziness with some Cake Batter ice cream and brownies from Cold Stone, and watch a movie in my sister's bed.

Here are the ideas. If you have any input, please let me know. I need all the help I can get. Thanks!

• Inspirational quotes. Because they just get me pumped. I've listed several at the end of this post.
• Music. Knowing that I don't have to hear Jillian Michaels give me the same directions she's given me every time I've followed the 30-Day Shred should help cut down on monotony. Especially anything upbeat that'll keep me charged.
• Goals. In her book Winning by Losing, Jillian says that no goal is too small. I've just been looking at the big picture. The end result. Perhaps I should set out some smaller, more short-term goals for myself. Something to track my progress.
• Non food-related rewards. In America, we tend to reward accomplishments with food. We celebrate everything with food. At least in my family and circle of friends. So as of tomorrow, I'll be thinking of other things to reward my diligence...like a mani-pedi, a movie, or a new outfit for my new slammin' body.
• Accountability. I should get my sister, or another buddy, to hold me accountable to reaching my goals. If it's not just me, it'll be harder to be lazy.
• Keep a visual image of my ultimate goal where I'll see it all the time. Like a picture of my IBW (Ideal Body Weight) self, or an outfit I'd like to wear when I reach it, stuck on the bathroom mirror.
• Find other activities to keep me busy. With no set schedule and no demands on my time, other than feeding my niece when she's hungry and the like, I've become lazier. I'm not required to do anything, so I do nothing. This is a trait of my personality. I'm just more productive in my free time when there's little free time to be had. I must make myself busier.

I hope my backslide can help you stick to your goals, whatever they may be. And if it's too late, I hope it can help you get back on track. We're in this together, right? So, do you have any other ideas?

Here's a little extra inspiration to perservere...



"Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor." -Brian Tracy

"This one step--choosing a goal and sticking to it--changes everything." -Scott Reed

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins--not through strength, but by perserverance." -H. Jackson Brown

"Perserverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." -Walter Elliott

"I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature." -John D. Rockerfeller

"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to." -George E. Allen