In my last blog I committed to sharing my 5-step system to have the health and body you want. To be in better shape. Today I share step two.
I notice as women get older they tend to doubt what’s possible. There’s a sense that to be in better shape would require too much effort – or to turn back the clock – and it’s best to just accept “what is.”
So they end up with a vague desire to be healthy. And it’s never enough to get them through the grind of what it takes to be genuinely healthy and to lose weight.
Every year it’s the same thing. Get excited in January. Set out to lose weight. Do the things. Lose weight. Go off track. Re-gain weight. Repeat every few weeks or months.
And while step one is foundational to breaking the cycle, step two is equally crucial which is “Clarify.” Knowing what you want and what’s important to you. It answers the question, why bother with all of this? Life is unpredictable and messy, so if you don’t dive into what’s deeply important to you, and you’re just running on what you’ve always done, it won’t stick…
And it requires honesty about what you really want.
You see, for years I’ve been encouraged – and it seems we’re all told – to not to get hung up on losing weight, or care about how our bodies look…that it should all be for a higher purpose, like being an example for your daughter or preventing type two diabetes that runs in your family. And if that’s true for you, fantastic.
But if you want to feel great in your clothes, if you want to look hot in a dress…and I’m taking these words directly from the things my clients have told me… then own that, too. You have to claim your motivation even if you think you’ll be judged for it, even if you think it’s not good enough, even if you think it’s – heaven-forbid – shallow, own it. (You might recognize step one will come in handy if you have any of these thoughts.)
If you find yourself starting and stopping, feeling guilty for what you’re doing or not doing, or somewhat ambivalent about follow-through, then you have some “Clarify” work to do. Start by asking yourself powerful questions, like:
- If age wasn’t a factor, what would I go after?
- If I took good care of myself, what would be possible?
- What would I aim for if I believed 100% I could achieve it?
When you’re clear on what you want, you feel more naturally motivated. It feels easier to follow through. This is why my clients succeed, we dive deep. We don’t just count calories. “Clarify” is the basis of deeply rooted motivation, making everything else easier.
Invest your time and energy in getting clear. Next time we’ll move on to step three.