Tempted to Give Up?

If you have ever set a long term goal and are struggling through it, please read this post. So applicable to the weight loss or weight maintenance journey.

When You're Tempted to Give Up

Hang in there!

Thanksgiving

I came across this cartoon today...

As we enter into a beautiful Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, I wish you a very happy and peaceful holiday.

May you keep this feeling of gratitude and carry it with you each day throughout the year. 

"In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy." ~ Brother David Steindl-Rast

Worry

I sat down to write today and was going to start with a favourite quote of mine:

"Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its trouble - it empties today of its strength"

Then I had an inkling that maybe I had blogged about this before so I searched around and found a post from last February: The Kids Are Alright. As I read it I laughed to myself as I was going to write the exact same thing yet again.

So, the journey of worrying about my kids remains. An older and dear friend of mine told me “Honey, you don’t stop worrying about them until you are six feet under”. Her kids are my age.
 

As the mother of two sons, I have been the only female in our household all these years. Over the years, when I worried about our sons or my husband I felt I was the only one who could see the reasons why to worry.

I will admit there were many instances that I worried for no good reason. But there have been times where my gut did tell me the right story and I was happy I listened.

The thing with males is that they are hard-wired to hunt, gather, fight or flight. So, in the same situation I will lay awake all night worrying and my husband will be snoring. He will go off to work and be able to focus, I will be a mess.

I had a beautiful call with a dear friend and life coach who helped me see a whole other element to my worrying that I did not recognize. I feel guilty for worrying. OMG, talk about salt on a wound.

I can see how that happened as I have many times been the only one who worried as the other three males in the house went on with life seemingly unaffected, telling me to stop worrying.

Do you realize telling a mother to stop worrying is like yelling at the sky to stop raining?

As I grow older I have learned to be more discerning about what/who I worry about and how much I let it affect me. Having said that, I have also learned to trust my gut instincts when I feel it deeply enough to lose sleep.

Sorry guys, but the reality is I will worry about you whether you like it or not. That’s what good mothers do.

The Right Stuff

How many of you out there have looked at someone succeeding at a goal and thought, well sure they are succeeding, they have the right stuff. I don’t have that in me. She/he was born with that ability or maybe a certain genetic disposition to succeed. It skipped me.

Working in the weight loss industry, I see this kind of self-doubt in the people I work with every day. If could do one thing for them in the little time I have with them, it would be to help them see the potential that lies within them. That they do have the “right stuff” to succeed in creating a healthier lifestyle.

I truly believe that we all have it in us to make the changes in our lives we want to make. There is the key word right there – WANT.

I had a conversation with a member who recently joined and it went like this.

MEMBER: I don’t know if I can do this. I have tried many times before and I always give up.

ME: What do you want?

MEMBER: Well, I SHOULD do this because my doctor told me my knees won’t get better without losing some weight.

ME: But, What do you want?

MEMBER: Well, I SHOULD do this for my boyfriend. Even though says he loves me the way I am, I SHOULD look good for him.

ME: But, What do you want?

MEMBER: You know what I really want? (shyly) I would LOVE to be able to wear funky clothes again. I am too young to wear over-sized, frumpy clothes.

ME: So how would it feel to get into those funky clothes?

MEMBER: (with a big smile) Oh, it would be so much fun!

ME: Hold onto that feeling the next time you wonder if you can do this? What will feel better? Giving up or getting into those clothes?

Creating sustainable change to your lifestyle will take a long time, actually in order maintain those changes is does take a lifetime. In order to stay committed in the long term we have to hold onto what we want. Willpower takes a lot of energy and can be short lived. Wanting is where the power is to succeed.

So, what do you WANT to change in your life? Be careful, don’t SHOULD all over yourself…tell me what you really WANT. I know you have the right stuff in you…we all do.