Before you say, "What?!? That's an awful thing to say!" Give me just a second to explain. Your friends and family play a huge role in your life. The things that they say motivate you to act in a certain way--whether good or bad. Do their words lift you up? Make you feel good? Make you angry (sometimes)? Make you decide to do something differently than what you had originally planned? Well, that's proof that what they say can influence you. Learn to use that for your motivation.
Have you found that getting a small word of encouragement or even a compliment from someone makes you want to repeat the behavior that created that experience? For example, you have been watching what you are eating and exercising for two weeks. Suddenly, your BFF who hasn't seen you in a couple of weeks says something like, "Hey, you look like you are losing weight! Are you doing something differently?" Doesn't that give you motivation to keep that behavior going for another two, four, six weeks--maybe even longer? OF COURSE IT DOES! What about that time that you are giving a presentation at your job. You prepare, have all of your visual aides ready, have all of your key topics memorized and you nail the presentation. Your boss says, "I can tell you really prepared for that presentation. You had examined it from every side and anticipated each question that was asked. Great job!" Doesn't that make you want to prepare at that same level, maybe even give a little more, the next time you are given that opportunity? SURE! I believe that, in most situations, we all want to do well and want others to believe that we do well. We need to use that to our advantage when it comes to getting healthy.
If you have a circle of friends and family that you know will encourage you, share your experience with them. Let them know that you are trying to get healthier, you appreciate all of their encouragement and kind words. This does two things. First, it will create a source of constant encouragement for you. Let's be honest. There are days that we won't feel like making the "healthiest" decisions. We won't feel like working out, taking an order of fresh veggies over the greasy potato chips or saying no to the huge piece of chocolate birthday cake. (We are human and, to some of us, those things taste great! I'll admit that I still enjoy the "bad" foods from time-to-time. That's not what this about though. Stay tuned for a future post about that.) It's those days that you look to the encouragement that the group can provide you. A compliment or a boost can be the very thing to help keep you on track. The second thing that this will do is build accountability. If you know you have told someone that you are making some changes to get healthy, you've made yourself accountable to that person. Whether they ever say anything to you or not, you know that they are watching and looking for results. That can also be a HUGE motivator to make your decisions stay in-line.
Another thing that you should be aware of is that there are support groups available to provide this motivation and accountability. I have a team called Team Restored for Purpose (thus, the name of this blog) that does just that. I allow only positive feedback to be given. It's a safe environment where you can express your thoughts, frustrations, concerns, goals, achievements and questions about health and fitness. We help keep each other accountable and moving in the right direction. Although I'm considered to be the coach, I'll say that people on the team probably motivate me more than I motivate them. That's the beauty--we all work together to help each person achieve their goals.
Do you need that extra motivation and accountability? Would you like a "safe place" to talk about your fitness goals, frustrations and successes? If so, email me at darren.r.cline@gmail.com and tell me that you would like to be a part of the team. It's all completely free and the team would love to meet you. Use your family, use your friends and use the resources available. Meet your goals and become the healthier you that you have always wanted to be!
