Finding your Why?
So it’s a Tuesday, two days into a fresh new week ahead, you over indulged at the weekend. And so you are going in to the new week with great intentions to exercise and eat right because you feel guilty and bad about your weekend antics and want to remedy the damage done. Is this a valid Why? Will this Why see you through to next week? Next month? Next year?
Highly unlikely.
When we make a conscious decision to eat better and exercise more the commitment needs to be there, the drive needs to be there, the motivation needs to be there (even more so on the days that you’d very much rather go home and eat chocolate on the couch for the evening!)
Healthy living is a choice. A decision on your part to lead a healthier lifestyle. A choice you make somewhere along the way, usually a decision that’s fuelled by something. Something that has ignited your desire to live healthier, get fitter, move more, eat better etc. But most importantly your main reason for wanting to lead a healthier life needs to be stronger than your excuses.
Your Why might be that you want to be able to run around with your kids without getting out of breath, it might be because you recently went for a check-up with your doctor and got a wake-up call regarding your current health, it might be a snide remark or a jibe from a family member or friend, it could be that little black dress that’s been hanging in your wardrobe that you promised yourself a year ago that you’d fit in to or maybe it’s that family fun run coming up that you’ve always wanted to do but have always been too scared to out of fear you’d be too unfit to do it or it may simply be that you just want to feel good about yourself again!
Whatever your Why is, it’s got to set that fire in your belly to keep you strong, driven and motivated. Remember a healthy and balanced lifestyle isn’t just about exercising and eating fruit and vegetables – having a healthy mindset is of more importance! And in order to successfully accomplish your Why, your mental health needs to be nurtured and protected at all times.
I think the quote below simply sums this up.
‘You can eat the kale, drink the water, do the yoga, hit the gym. But if you don’t deal with the stuff that’s going on in your heart and head, you’re still just as unhealthy.’
While it’s easy to think of ‘body’ and ‘mind’ as two separate things, your body needs a healthy mind to function well and vice versa. Your Why should always serve a purpose, it should be sustainable over the long term, it should be realistic, achievable but most importantly it should make you feel good both inside and out! So really think about your Why, don’t use having a ‘bad’ weekend as your Why, think beyond that, beyond next week or month – think about how this lifestyle change will benefit you in the LONG TERM as this is where true progress is made.
Find out more about Dee here – https://deemurphyfitness.com/