What's Your Reason?

What is your goal?

What do you want?

What drives you?

What motivates you?

What is your reason?

So often people begin this type of journey because of a weight issue. It is a motivating factor for most people. But truth be known, wanting to be a certain size or number on the scale will NOT get you out of bed at 5:30am or get you off of Facebook to go for a walk. Don't get me wrong, it works in the beginning. It gets you started and it is great when it is all fresh and exciting and fun. But after about 3 weeks the novelty quickly wears off and the warm bed and cuddly spouse or the vacation pics from your old high school frenemies are far more appealing.

I have blogged about this before but it bears repeating. Goalsetting is the KEY to success. How can you get somewhere when you have no idea of your destination or when you need to get there? It sounds simple but it is true and it is something that I too continue to struggle with.

We do not want to get too excited and set ourselves up for failure by setting lofty goals that are unrealistic for us. But we can't be too soft and not challenge ourselves either! There is a fine line. It is best to set a bigger, long term goal then you will make the smaller goals along the way seem so much more attainable but they will keep you on track for your ultimate prize!

But truly it comes down to deciding exactly what you want and why. Like I said, a certain weight or size or even a trip or a wedding won't be enough to drive you to push yourself past your comfort zone.

Personally this all came to me again as I carried 5 jugs of water downstairs to be put away. It just hit me that it is pretty cool that I can grab those 19L jugs and carry them around without any pain or difficulty or having to depend on anyone else. I am incredibly grateful for that, but I am also aware that I work hard to maintain the healthy, strong body that I was blessed with. I can pick up my 30+ and 40+ lbs kids mid-tantrum and carry them away. I can get up on my own two feet early in the morning to go for a walk/run. I have the ability and I choose to view it as both an obligation and a pleasure to nurture and grow in both my body and my spirit.

Knowing that I can feel good in my clothes is a nice added bonus but it is not what drives me. For me it is about being healthy, active, fit, being a role model for my children, taking care of my husband's wife and my children's mother and honoring God by honoring my body, mind and soul.

Now I ask....what drives you?