Motivation

You either have it or you don’t.  There’s no grey area.  So how do you balance those days where you feel like a rock star and accomplish entire lists of projects into the days where putting on a bra just seems like too much? This has been my biggest challenge lately.  Maybe it’s the weather?  Being cooped up indoors has never benefitted me.   Obviously sleep and eating healthy play a huge part in my momentum, so I’m trying to make those a priority every single day.  But what about those nights when your son is up every hour because he doesn’t feel well and his ear hurts?  Or your day was just so jammed packed with meetings, errands and sports that you’re up until midnight doing laundry?  Or those loathsome office food days?  Let’s face it, obstruction is there every day so how do you hang on to that New Year’s resolution when the weight of ‘real life’ is pulling you down?  I think this is where we have to focus on conditioning our most complex muscle, our brain.  Just like all of our other muscles, it has to be pushed to be stronger.  It has to train, it has to be conditioned to the point where it’s capable of doing things that weren’t always possible.  You can’t just wake up on January 1^st and expect a miracle.  Just like a first time runner can’t lace up their running shoes and take off and do a marathon.  It takes practice.  I’m where I’m at today because I’ve been training my brain for years, but yet I still struggle.  You can’t be too hard on yourself.  You can’t just throw in the towel because you devoured an entire box of Velveeta shells and cheese by yourself (true story).  Accept that you slipped and start fresh tomorrow.  Break it down and focus on one day at a time.  I’ve never really been a fan of a scheduled ‘cheat days’ because I’d rather allow myself to practice will power on a daily basis and just take the temptations as they come, but to each their own.  I know it sounds ludicrous, but you can actually train yourself to like carrot sticks =)  And I’m not talking about smothering them in Ranch dressing.  It’s going to take effort to change your way of thinking but I’m living, breathing proof that it’s possible.  Baby steps.  Just like finding the motivation to get out and exercise when it’s 28* outside.  Sure I love to run but I don’t always feel like sacrificing the feeling in my fingers and nose just to do it.  However, you don’t have to have fancy high-priced running clothes, you can still layer up and get out there for 10 minutes.  That is better than nothing.  And I promise you will feel better!  Sometimes when I’m really dragging I will just push myself to aim for 5 minutes of exercise.  Sure, that’s not a goal that’s going to burn a lot of calories, but it will boost up how you feel and help build your willpower.  And getting going is the hard part.  Once you start, it’s going to be less difficult to stop.  But if you do, just be happy with yourself for doing those 5 minutes.  By the time warm weather comes back around you will have already trained yourself to get past that first step, and you’ll be able to use the sunshine as motivation to go even further!