The Way Back

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and slap myself for not doing this sooner.  We all have those "shoulda, coulda, woulda's" lurking in our past whether they're big or small.   Motivation is a funny thing. I used to hear all the time "you should do this for yourself."   That is totally true.   But in the beginning, when you have this huge of a task ahead of you, doing it for yourself isn't motivating enough.   The odds are if you have a significant amount of weight to lose or a bad behavior to kick, odds are that you don't think of yourself that often and when you do, odds are that you may not think enough of yourself or be motivated enough to do yourself the favor. So whatever it is, whether it's a spouse or a child or grandchild or parent or friend or your pet or a trip you want to take - use whatever motivation you can find to push yourself forward because I promise that eventually you will be doing it for yourself.   A friend that I was so excited to see in the gym during the time that I go told me that she started back working out this week for her baby son.  She feels that motivation to be a healthy mom and that's what stokes her fires.   For me, I didn't want to back out on my word that I would give this program a shot. That was the only thing that put my feet on the path to the gym the day that I started. That motivation was tangible.  I knew all the other reasons, and they were very important to me, but they weren't tangible.  After that first workout, I cried a little bit because I was proud of myself in a way I hadn't been in a long time and from that moment forward, I started doing this for me.   So whatever it takes, whether it's a dress you want to wear, to lose more weight than someone you've made a bet with, or whether you look over and see that your dog's overweight and you want to do it for him, use it.  You'll find your way back to yourself.