Have you ever been feeling fabulous, cruising along with your diet when the bottom falls out in your motivation? You have lost it and sunk so low, that you don’t know whether you can pull it back up or not. You aren’t exactly sure when or how this even started because you were doing so well, but now you are thinking about quitting altogether.
In Steven Aitchison’s post, “Losing your Mojo!” he lists three steps that we can easily apply to regaining our level of motivation for our weight loss and fitness program. Below are Steven’s headlines, with my comments added underneath.
Recognize when the mojo losing feeling started.
Think back and pinpoint when the drop in your motivation began. Did you eat something that you regret, however at the time you thought it wasn’t a big deal? Do you tend toward perfectionism, and that slip has thrown you for a loop? Did a friend make a negative comment towards you and your goals, or were you expecting people to compliment your weight loss at a party, and no one did?
Go back to the last known good configuration.
(If you work in IT you are familiar with this term. If not, hopefully you haven’t seen this when booting up your computer. 🙂 )
Think back to when you were high on life and feeling great. You were excited about losing the weight, about strengthening your body, and about changing your shape. You were looking forward to the new clothes you would be buying, and how you would look on the beach. You felt empowered and you were ready to change. You had no doubt that you would achieve your goal.
Thank yourself.
Look at how much progress you have made to this point. Acknowledge yourself for the amount of weight you have dropped, and the inches you have lost. Acknowledge yourself for every meal that you have eaten that has been healthy and nutritious for you, and every bit of exercise you have done. Thank yourself for all of the positive steps you have completed so far, leaving none out. Note every single healthy action you have taken to get closer to your goal.
All change and action begins with our thoughts, no matter what the subject is in our lives. When you turn your thoughts around and focus on what you have done right, you can get your motivation back. You have determined where the downturn began, you can remember how you felt before the fall, and you are now focusing on all that you have done right. Review your goals and your original motivation for dropping the pounds that pushed you to change in the first place, and remember why you began down the path towards better health.
Whatever you focus your thoughts on will expand, so it is important to focus on what you have done right. Continue to focus on how far you have come, and what you have accomplished so far. Strive to release any negatives that are in the past. The past is over; your power always lies in the present moment.
