MOTIVATION 1,2,3 - What' Your Source?

I’m doing the happy dance. I’m doing the haaaappy dance! I did it! I could not believe my eyes today when I stepped on the scale and I was down another 1.4 pounds. That puts me at 9 pounds in four weeks. OMG, I could hit the ten pound mark next week. I am so proud of myself; I went on a vacation, indulged, enjoyed and keep my goal in mind when choosing activities and it paid off! I felt no deprivation, I simply made better choices.

As I am enjoying my successes I have to stop and think, “What’s my source of motivation and how to do I keep tapping into it?” Getting motivated is easy. Staying motivated, well that’s a whole new ball game. The key word is NOT motivation, it is STAYING. I am a very impulsive person, getting motivated comes very easy to me. I am a very impulsive person, staying motivated is an ongoing, overwhelming challenge for me. Every avenue of my life gets it's power from my sources of motivation. It also can stop me cold in my tracks when I lose the motivation and drive to continue on. I am continually working hard on finding the balance in all areas but for now the growing awareness is key.

That old saying “misery loves company” rings true to me. Really it is not that I want everyone else to have my challenges with confidence, anxiety, fear or whatever my issue is for the week. It’s that I do not want to be the only one with issues. I want to know my issues are not unique to me. I want to know that I am normal because other people are weird too. Ha, I find this very funny as I like to consider myself just a bit different, colorful if you will, yet I want to know there are others out there with the same quirks as I. For example, like most people I was highly motivated when Oprah met Bob Greene and she made losing weight look so easy. She was looking so svelte in her new size 10 jeans. Wow she was amazing with her stamina and workouts. I wanted to be that fit too! But you can bet your bottom, nothing motivated me more than her admitted weight gain. Actually, it was not her recent weight gain, it was the conversation where she said she could not believe she was still discussing weight issues AGAIN! That she repeatedly lost, gained, struggled, lost, gained the same weight over and over again. Holy shit, I thought Oprah had possessed my mind and that it was my words coming out of Oprah’s mouth. I was so excited, if Oprah with all her power, wealth and resources still struggled with weight, then I was okay. Oprah was just like me. I was not alone in this struggle. That motivated the hell out of me.

One of the ongoing sources of motivation for my weight loss adventure (and trust me, it is an adventure) is the home page on my internet. My home page is Yahoo and I have the weather and all sorts of news. However, recently I moved, world, national, local and entertainment news lower on my page and I put two Weight Watcher posting board forums on the very top. It is the very first thing I see when I sign on the internet. The first forum board is titled: 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community – Needless to say the title alone caught my eye, loved the verbage. I am not sure when this forum was started, however, look at these statistics; Threads: 151,155, Posts: 2,539,235, Members: 78,725. Two friggin million posts. I am not alone! It’s not three fat chicks, it’s a million, plus!

As I read these titles I find comfort in knowing I am just like all the rest. It is not a secret “I struggle with my weight” society. It is a non exclusive society/club that millions belong to . Here is just a few of the post titles; Join me today to get back on track. New to this site, but not new to the struggles of weight loss. motivational tv for weight loss? struggling, need motivation. comfort food when you are sick. The second forum is a Weight Weight Watchers Forum. The lists of postings go on and on and I can relate to, or understand what the posting will be, without even reading it. I know, I have been there. I just find comfort and support in knowing I am not alone. That is an ongoing source of motivation for me. What motivates you? How do you keep it going? I'd love to hear your comments......

For me, first I define the areas that I need motivation to move forward. Second, I find ongoing sources of motivation. Third and most important, I take action!

NOTE TO SELF: Drop the misery – Happiness loves company too!