It's All In How You See Yourself

Hey everyone!

Weather update (wouldn't want to leave that out ; ) ... it's currently about 80 degrees here in lovely Missouri and I'm loving it!! This is one of the nicest days we've had yet this Spring and it just makes me want to be outside! Yesterday was in the 70s and I told my friends at work that I think it should be a law that one the very first really nice day in Spring we should all get off work to enjoy it. Ha ... if only!

I came home to find these seasonings and marinades at my door from the kind folks at Amazing Taste. I can't wait to try them and will be reviewing them at a later date.Now onto the real purpose of this post. Something that has been on my mind lately is motivation. How do you stay motivated to live an active lifestyle and faithfully workout?

It seems as though there are some people who are just born to be active. No matter what they do, they're going at a fast pace and they never seem to tire. At any spare moment they have, they're up and doing something. Not only that, they seem to be able to eat whatever they want and not gain any weight (and they have practically no fat on them to start out with). Last but not least, they seem to be good at every physical activity they ever try.

All this being said ... I was not born as this person.

Up until recently, I never thought I could be even close to this person and I've always thought of myself as one who isn't good at participating in any type of physical activity for long periods of time. I have never ever seen myself as an active and fit person. Also, I gain weight very easily.

And if you're like me, you're good at comparing yourselves to random strangers or even people you know and seeing yourself not "as good" as the person next to you. Or, you feel too intimated to try because of similar reasons. See this post called "Fruit & Freedom" and this post entitled "Workout Intimidation" for more info. If you're like that, too, you'll understand!

Slowly but surely, my mindset is changing. I'm beginning to realize that a huge part is all in how you see yourself, and what you believe about yourself. As far as fitness goals are concerned, here are some I have currently to keep myself motivated ...
1) Change how I see myself
I got this tip from Oxygen Magazine "Make a list of positive adjectives that reflect your ideal, fit lifestyle, such as "energetic" and "strong" and keep them on your fridge door."

Here's a list I've come up with : tough, alive, energetic, active, healthy, strong, disciplined, self-controlled, enduring, firm, daring, high-spirited, determined.

2) Be self driven
As the magazine says, "Choose an exercise that makes sense for you and your lifestyle. If you're not a morning person schedule your workouts right after work".

I do my cardio in the morning because I know that's the only time I'll do it consistently. Then three nights a week my husband and I do some weights together. (Since we're doing them together, I know I'll do them ... he motivates me too!)

3) Compare myself only to myself
I use other people's stories to motivate and inspire me but NOT to compare myself to.

Another way I stay motivated is with fitness magazines and reading articles about healthy foods, fitness, nutritional, etc. Currently two of my favorite motivators are also Oxygen Magazine and Muscle & Fitness Hers

All in all, I think it's a process. It's about taking one step at a time, doing what you can and progressing from there. If you try to completely change your diet and all of a sudden workout for an hour everyday, you might very quickly burn out! Start small and work your way up, and as you work your way up, start seeing yourself as you want to see yourself and as cheesy as it sounds, you can become that person and you can achieve your fitness and health goals!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll leave you with this quote:

"I do not try to dance better than everyone else, I only try to dance better than myself."
-Mikhail Baryshnikov-