87 | What's Your Motivation?

So, here's today's question...

Why do you want to change?

No...really.  WHY?  Why would you do this 90 day challenge?

Why do you want to improve your health?

If you answered "to feel better" or "to look good" I have unfortunate news for you.  Your change will likely not be lasting.  

You might make changes at first, but soon one of two things will likely happen:

1) You'll have some measure of success and soon you will start to doubt that you need to continue and you'll go back to your old ways.

2) You will not have the success you're looking for, or at least not have it fast enough, and then you'll want to quit and return to your old habits.

Unclear motivation leads to a very predictable cycle:

• You take action steps
• You feel start to look and/or feel better
• The pressure to take action now lessens
• Your emotional conflict diminishes
• You don’t see a need to continue taking action
• Your original behavior returns.  

Be specific about all the thing you really WANT.  Grab onto something you can CREATE.

Here are two short stories to consider:
STORY #1

When Fear Comes Calling

Once upon a time you were lost in a dark forest.  The night sky was wrapped around you like a foreboding, menacing cloak.   You couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you.  With heart pounding, you put one step in front of the other in hopes to get out of the dense, dark wood.  And then, just when you thought it couldn't get worse, it does.

Wolves!

Despite your lack of clear vision, you begin to run.  The rhythm of your steps is keeping time with the pounding of your heart.  You can hear the beasts creeping in on you, so you look back to see if you can guess their distance.  THUD!  You trip over some vines and branches.  Your ankle twisted, your hands scuffed and your face bleeding, you find the strength to get up and keep on running.  Now you're stumbling, praying to God that you will get out alive, when suddenly a large fallen tree is in the middle of your path.  With hands throbbing in pain from your fall, you can hardly even think of how you can overcome this impossible obstacle.

Now you can hear their footsteps, almost feel their breath.

You throw your leg up over the tree, but you fall and miss your hurdle.  Don't stop now! you tell yourself, and despite your pain, you try one more time to get over the obstacle before you.  It seems impassable, and one more time you fail to clear the obstruction.  OH GOD, NO!

In hopeless surrender, you curl up in a ball and cry.  Tired.  Weak.  Injured.  And wolves...about to bear down on you.  There seems to be no escape.  You lay down and accept your fate.

Your last thoughts are of your family and how you never planned for this to be the end.

STORY #2

Where Treasure Awaits

You read the note again.

All the riches to sustain you and your family for the rest of your life await you under the Golden Gate Bridge.  You, your children, and your grandchildren will never want for anything.  The treasure chest has your name on it.  It's waiting for you to claim it.  All you have to do is get to it.  Oh, and you may not use any form of transportation other than your own two feet.

Would you go?  Of course!

You're out of shape, and it's a very, very long walk--so you better take some friends.  Make sure you have the proper clothing and all that you need for such a long distance.  Grab a map and...you're off.

It's a hard journey.  Much harder than you expected.  First, it's blisters on your heels.  Then pain in your thighs and calves.  Your back feels like you've carried bricks all day and your lips are chapped and dried from the sun.  You've hardly begun.

"Don't quit!  I'm with you!  Get up, and let's keep going.  Rest a day or two if you need to, but let's keep going," your friend says.

You cry, but know it's worth the pain.  You rest a few days and get back up to walk.  You limp, but others hold you and help you.  You rest when needed and walk when able.  At some points you even find the energy to run.

The Golden Gate Bridge is close now, but you begin to doubt.

"What if the treasure isn't actually there?  What if this isn't what I want?  I'm a total fool!"  You turn back and walk miles backward toward home, crying.

"You've come so far!  Please--don't go this way!  C'mon," your friend says.  "Just go look.  Go see if it's real.  Go see if it's really what you want."

For days you sit and think.  And then you get up and you keep walking toward the bridge.

There it is!  A treasure box with YOUR name on it, just like the note said.  You open it and begin to weep.  The journey was worth it!  You found exactly what was promised.

What's the Difference in These Two Stories?

A running from.
vs.
A running toward.

When fear motivates you--you will eventually lay down and give up.  It's too hard.  The inevitable will simply happen and you will be devoured.

When vision and hopes motivate you--you will press on at all costs.  When you see a treasure before you, you will find motivation to keep going even on the darkest most painful days!

So--what is motivating you?

Let's go back to today's question...

Why do you want to change?

Tomorrow we're going to starting talking about vision boards.  If you have some magazines handy, start flipping through them today...looking for images and words that inspire you!   My friends, we are all here together.  Not all of us will find it's worth it to go on this full journey.  But for those of you who can really find your "why"--we can be those friends that spur one another on when the trip gets difficult, when there's pain in our joints, when we doubt that what we want is really possible...

More on this tomorrow!